The customary practice of speaking common words in your target language is one of the best ways to truly master and become confident in what you are learning. In today’s post, we will walk you through the essential words for Tagalog cooking utensils so that you can easily converse about this topic with the locals.
Learning Tagalog words for cooking tools is a fun way to connect with Filipino food. It’s perfect for talking about recipes with locals. If you’re into cooking, these words are your first step into the Filipino kitchen!
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What Are Tagalog Cooking Utensils?
Tagalog cooking utensils are the kitchen tools Filipinos use daily, each with its own Tagalog name. They include common things like palayok or clay pots and special items like tulyasi or iron vat for Filipino food. Learning these names helps you get to know how Filipinos cook and their food culture.
Want to learn more Tagalog? Try the Ling app. It’s a comprehensive language app for learning Tagalog and 60+ other languages. Now, let’s get back to the Tagalog cooking utensils you need to know:
1. Kaserola (Sauce Pan)
Almost entirely of the Filipino people are fond of eating soup and other types of stew. The saucepan or kaserola in Tagalog is the cooking utensil that they use to cook and boil ingredients such as pork, beef, and vegetables. Not to mention, the famous Filipino soup Sinigang (sour soup/broth) is cooked using kaserola.
2. Kawali (Frying Pan)
One of the most commonly used kitchen utensils in the Philippines is the kawali. Considering that there are countless street foods or turo-turo in the country, using kawali is perfect for cooking appetizing fried foods like pritong isda (fried fish) and pritong manok (fried chicken).
3. Pang-Lechon (Rotisserie)
A roasted pig skewed on a long rotating solid rod and cooked on hot coals is called Lechon. The long rotating rod is called pang-lechon or rotisserie. This roasting style is ordinarily served and eaten during festivals and special occasions in the country. Other types of meat like beef (Lechon Baka) and chicken (Lechon manok) can also be used instead of a pig.
4. Palayok (Clay Pot)
One of the most elegant kitchen items in Filipino cuisine is the palayok or clay pot in Tagalog. Instead of using metal cooking pans, many Filipinos used to cook their stews and soups in clay pots, especially in the provinces of the Philippines like Mindoro and Palawan. Using clay pots will make Filipino recipes more savory and tangy. In addition to that, the most delicious Filipino food that is cooked in a palayok is sinaing na tulingan (braised fish).
5. Salaan (Strainer)
Apart from knowing that there are varieties of Filipino dishes, the Filipino people tend to eat fresh fruits during peak seasons. Since the Philippines has a tropical climate, some bountiful fruits and vegetables can be eaten right away.
Just wash them with running water and use a salaan to strain the water, then viola! It’s chow time! In addition, wide strainers are also used to strain pasta or noodles in cooking Filipino-style spaghetti and pansit.
6. Pandikdik At Pambayo (Mortar And Pestle)
Pandidik and pambayo are widely used in the Filipino kitchen. Seeing that Filipino soups need to have spices, these two Tagalog kitchen utensils are used to grind pepper, salt, and other spices. The Filipino ingredients are added and mixed to make their recipes rich in flavor.
7. Sandok (Ladle)
Kitchen utensils used by Filipinos depend on the food that they will cook. For instance, cooking Filipino soups customarily uses sandok or large spoons because they have a soupy and pastelike base.
8. Kaldero (Cauldron)
This Filipino kitchen utensil is similar to kaserola, but broader and more prominent. Kaldero is used in cooking a large amount of a particular Filipino dish that is frequently served on big occasions. A smaller kaldero is commonly used to cook rice or pangsaing.
9. Kalan De Uling (Charcoal Stove)
The charcoal stove or kalan de uling in Tagalog is used in other parts of Southeast Asia, and the Philippines is one of them. This type of stove is the traditional stove used by Filipinos when gas and electric stoves were not yet invented. They use wood, bamboo, or charcoal to light the fire. It is often associated with the use of palayok in cooking Filipino cuisine.
10. Takure (Kettle)
Filipinos love to drink hot coffee, cocoa, and tea during their almusal (breakfast) and merienda (afternoon snack). They are partnered with Filipino traditional dishes such as bibingka, suman, and common Filipino bread. They use takure to make hot coffee or tea. If it’s too cold to take a bath, most Filipinos will boil the water first using takure then add it to the pail of water they will use for washing their bodies.
11. Tulyasi (Iron Vat)
Tulyasi is identical to Kaserola but bigger in terms of dimensions. Because of that, tulyasi is used to cook a large amount of Filipino food. Also, this Filipino kitchen utensil like the kaldero is generally used when there’s a festival and big Filipino occasions.
Other Tagalog Utensils
Besides the big cooking tools, there are also smaller Tagalog cooking utensils used a lot in Filipino kitchens. They might be small, but they’re important for making and serving food. Each one has a special Tagalog name that’s good to learn.
Different Cooking Tools Across The Philippines
The Philippines is full of different cooking traditions, and each place has its special kitchen tools with their own names in Tagalog. Here’s a look at some unique tools from different parts of the country:
1. Northern Luzon (Ilocos Region)
- Clay Jars (Banga): In Ilocos, people use banga, big clay jars, for storing things like fermented fish (bagoong) and sugarcane wine (basi). These jars are made from strong local clay and are really important for making traditional Ilocano food.
2. Central Luzon (Pampanga)
- Big Frying Pan (Malaking Kawali): In Pampanga, they have these huge frying pans called malaking kawali. They’re perfect for cooking large meals for many people, like their famous sisig or big servings of paella. It shows how much they love sharing meals with others.
3. Bicol Region
- Coconut Milk Press (Pambayo): Bicol is known for spicy food with lots of coconut milk. They use a pambayo, a tool made from wood, to squeeze out the milk from coconuts. This is key to making dishes like laing and Bicol Express.
4. Visayas Region
- Big Serving Plates (Bandehado): In Visayas, bandehado are large plates used at parties. They’re great for serving lots of food, especially seafood, and lechon, showing off the region’s love for big and lively feasts.
5. Mindanao (Muslim Regions)
- Brass Cooking Tools (Tansong Gamit sa Pagluluto): In Muslim areas of Mindanao, brass kitchen tools are very special. They’re used for important dishes like black soup (Tiula Itum) and yellow rice (Kuning). These tools are part of their culture.
6. Palawan And Other Coastal Areas
- Bamboo Steamers and Grills (Bamban at Ihawan): Near the coast, like in Palawan, bamboo steamers (bamban) and grills (ihawan) are common. They’re used a lot for cooking seafood, making food healthy and tasty.
In each place in the Philippines, these special tools tell stories about the people, their way of life, and their traditions. Knowing about them helps us understand and appreciate the different flavors and stories of Filipino cooking.
How Do You Say Cooking Utensils In Tagalog?
The Tagalog word for cooking utensils is kagamitang pangluto.
Practice These Phrases And Sentences When Using Tagalog Cooking Utensils
These cooking utensils in Tagalog also needs to be memorized! It’s something you can brag about in a Filipino family reunion. Take a look at some of these easy to memorize Tagalog vocabulary below.
Common Questions About Tagalog Cooking Utensils
What Are The Traditional Cooking Utensils In The Philippines?
Apart from the usual kalan de uling, kalderos, and kawali, there are many pre-colonial cooking utensils used in the Philippines. According to William Henry Scott’s research on Sixteenth-Century Visayan Food And Farming, Visayans sat on low tables and used porcelain bowls, plates, and cups for cooking and eating. However, in any part of the Philippines, whether Tagalog or not, the wealthy used gold for their cooking utensils and for eating. Moreover, the tradition of turo-turo or carinderia was already prominent during the 1800s.
What Is A Popular Superstition For Cooking Utensils In The Philippines?
Although Filipinos are very religious, there are many superstitions that revolve around cooking utensils. For example, if you drop your fork, that means a guy visitor will come soon. If it was a spoon, then it’s a girl.
What Old Tagalog Words Are Connected With Utensils?
Tagalog words are rich with history and culture which can be told the same for cooking utensils. Words like malamlam (soft food), suya (get fed up), and piging (feast or invitation for people to eat) originates from old Spanish words. However, many people still used these old Tagalog words with no modern equivalent for the standardized Filipino language.
Tagalog Cooking Utensils: Quick Wrap-Up
So, we’ve just had an informative look at the cooking tools Filipinos use. We learned that each one, like the kaserola or palayok, tells us about life in the Philippines and old traditions. These Tagalog cooking utensils are part of what makes Filipino food special. Next time you try making a Filipino dish or learn a Tagalog word, think about the stories behind them. Enjoy cooking and your food adventure!
