Philippine dish lugaw, inspired by Chinese congee, stirs debate in locked-down Manila
- The popular rice porridge trended on social media after an official told a Grab delivery driver that it was not essential during Covid-19 curfew restrictions
- The issue took a political slant, with government official Epimaco Densing III taking a swipe at Vice-President Leni Robredo, who had been nicknamed #LeniLugaw
The humble rice porridge lugaw has become a trending topic in the Philippines after a lowly official was recorded preventing a Grab driver from delivering the food to a home because it was past the coronavirus curfew.
The incident happened in the early hours of March 30 when delivery man Marvin Ignacio was stopped in the city of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan province, north of Metro Manila.
When Ignacio showed her a copy of the latest government curfew guidelines allowing food delivery services 24/7, she taunted him to record her, which he promptly did on Facebook Live.
The 30-minute video shows her telling Ignacio in a condescendingly polite voice: “Why is Grab [delivery] still operating? People are no longer allowed to loiter outside. Because while you still operate, people will continue to go out. Nonsense, sir. Yes, do take my video.”
She then uttered the now-famous line: “Is lugaw essential? No. Because people can live without it. Lugaw is not essential because we can live the entire day without it.”
On Thursday, she outed herself as Phez Raymundo, posting a public plea on Facebook to “stop bashing me, give me a chance to change my mistakes”. She thanked the village chief for firing her from her post, blaming the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases for their “confusing guidelines” and expressing hope that the government “would learn from this incident”.
The video, which has had over 420,000 views, provoked responses of incredulity and ridicule, prompting the trending hashtags #LugawIsEssential and #LugawIslife.
Even the presidential palace was forced to issue a statement, with spokesman Harry Roque saying, “Lugaw, or any food item for that matter, is considered an essential good. Delivery of food items must remain unhampered 24/7. Don’t bar these at checkpoints.”
The Philippine National Police also waded into the controversy by issuing a statement that “any kind of food that is legitimately delivered upon orders by residents” is considered an essential good, but did not explain what “legitimately delivered” meant.
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The state-led National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) took the opportunity to teach a bit of history and promote April as Filipino Food Month. “Lugaw is not just food but also a symbol of our culture,” it said, adding that it is the ultimate comfort food made by mothers for their sick children, which is why it is described as being “cooked with love”.
The NCCA explained that Chinese migrants brought their rice congee to the Philippines before Spanish colonists arrived in 1521, but the earliest mention of lugaw as “rice mixed with milk or water or of both” is recorded in the Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala compiled by Spanish priest Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613.
Filipinos then tweaked the Chinese congee into something uniquely Filipino, it said.
One version is the rice porridge called arroz caldo where the rice is simmered in chicken broth heavily laced with ginger, sprinkled with bits of toasted garlic, chicken and spring onion, and coloured golden yellow with a pinch of saffron.
This is usually eaten with a side dish of fried cubed pork and tofu in a vinegar and soy sauce mix, topped with raw onion slices.
Another version is called goto, where the rice porridge is cooked with ginger, black pepper and beef tripe, then topped with toasted garlic, chicharon (pork rind) and scallions.
Kalamansi lime and fish sauce (patis) are often added as flavouring before serving both versions.
On Wednesday, Densing said that “Si lugaw” (referring to Robredo) is really not essential, but “lugaw [as food] is” and added for emphasis, “Lugaw [meaning Robredo] is really non-essential in our opinion.”
Densing, who became controversial after he proposed that Duterte should do away with the Philippine Constitution and instead head a revolutionary government, came under fire and was mocked on social media for his comments about Robredo.
On Thursday, Densing told GMA News network that while what he said about Robredo was “just a joke, I’m serious in saying that she is a non-essential today. She has not done anything. All she does is make unfounded criticisms”.
The vice-president’s supporters were, however, quick to turn Densing’s mocking words around by calling Robredo the “LugawPilipinas standard bearer” for 2022, referring to the Liberal Party (LP) she heads.
Through this all, the popular ride and food delivery app has had the last laugh. On April 1, Grab thanked all its riders and announced a free delivery promo with the code “LUGAWISESSENTIAL” for anyone ordering the ingredients for making lugaw. It also posted on its Twitter page, “If food is essential and lugaw is food, therefore lugawisessential.”
