Despite the historical and cultural effects of architecture on Filipino homes, there is nothing quite as charming as having one’s own dirty kitchen upon which to prepare home-cooked meals. The dirty kitchen or ‘abuhan’ brings back so many memories, too. For those of us who love to cook, the dirty kitchen was our teacher: it taught us how to make our own fire, including the art form of the proper placement of firewood to maximize the flames as well as how to manage cooking times, with only wood and ember as measurements.
Some houses still have the dirty kitchen as an area where food can be cooked, in spite of more modern stoves. If the space allows, a house with a decent cook must have a dirty kitchen. For some reason, eating viands or stews cooked over coal or wood taste a lot better than those cooked in modern stoves. We don’t know why. And let’s not forget how good rice tastes compared to those prepared through rice cookers.
The Philippine abuhan is designed to either be apart from the main structure of the house or close enough to be within reach of water or the area where the dishes are stored. As the term suggests, it is literally where the ashes are, with the ash from previous cookings settling at the bottom of the firewood- or coal-fed stove and essentially becoming its own fireproofing.
Architecturally, it was smart of earlier Filipinos to make sure that the abuhan was located outside the house to avoid filling the home with the scent of unpleasant food such as dried fish. Like modern kitchens, the abuhan is located near the dining area and the dishrack, but seldom inside enclosed spaces unless these are properly ventilated.
Imagine starting a smoky stove and all your belongings smelling of the deed afterwards.
Reference:
Domigpe, J. and Domingo, N., 2014. Elementary Tagalog. North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing.
Life in the Philippines, and Annika. “Dirty Kitchen in the Philippines – Life In The Philippines.” Wanderlusting. Me., June 18, 2015. https://wanderlusting.me/lifeinthephilippines/dirty-kitchen-in-the-philippines/.