The 16th-century Visayan meal revolves around *kanon* (steamed or boiled rice), accompanied by one or more *ulam* (side dishes — fish, meat, vegetables). *Sawsawan* (dipping sauce or condiment, often based on coconut vinegar) completes each bite. Feasts and rituals add roast pork and *tuba* (palm wine). There is no sequential service: everything is placed together on banana leaves or in earthenware pots, and everyone eats with their hands.

*Sukà*, naturally fermented vinegar from coconut sap, is the foundational acid of Visayan cuisine. It is used for cooking (*kinilaw*), as a condiment (*sawsawan*), and for preservation. Pigafetta mentioned vinegar drawn from coconut trees during his stay in Cebu in 1521.