The celebration of Thanksgiving, given our colonial history, is a little hard to swallow and celebrate. This is because, like Philippine history, Thanksgiving is also a story of conquest. While subjugation is not my topic today, and I won’t go into specifics, readers probably know the Thanksgiving history and how the British landed (and survived) in the United States. Suffice it is to say that I recognize the plight of American Indians and their right to say that it is a day of national mourning and not celebration.

It is a bit funny too, in a weirdly satirical way, how we Filipinos are slowly adapting to this celebration. We’re always looking for a reason to celebrate. Like Halloween, and Mother’s Day, are both American traditions that are slowly entering the Filipino consciousness. I’m sure, in a few more years, we’d be celebrating Black Friday too! 😛

More than 10 years ago, I used to work in a call center serving the United States continent and through all the centers I passed, one of the American traditions we celebrate is Thanksgiving. I had this American team leader who once invited us to his condo, and he cooked this really large turkey.  I remember thinking that it was bland, dry, and has this peculiar smell which we might sometimes call as “malansa”. I ate everything with gusto, of course. It’s Thanksgiving after all. 😛

Already, the grocery store near me is stocking up on Turkey, weird, no? But I’m really not feeling the vibes with Turkey.

So, anyway, if you’re planning anything Thanksgiving this year, I prepared a laid-back Filipino feast menu so you can get an idea on what to prepare.

PS -Thanks for dropping by! I have an updated additional Filipino Thanksgiving menu ideas here:

Menu for Filipino Thanksgiving

Main:

Fried Chicken ala Max

Slow Cooked Hongkong Style Roast Pork Belly

Baked Lechon Belly Roll

Sides:

Cheesy Loaded Potato Skins

Stuffing:

Longanisa Pandesal Kesong Puti Stuffing

Soup:

Special Kinamatisang Bisugo Soup

Dessert:

Kalabasa Leche Flan  by Pinoy Recipe