The bittersweet bulb that binds us

The sizzle of onions hitting hot oil echoes through my neighborhood in the early morning. I peek out my window to see Aling Linda, the tindera [seller] on the corner, setting up her humble carinderia [roadside food stall]. She smiles through watery eyes as she chops a small mound of sibuyas, the pungent aroma already making my stomach grumble.

Our beloved Filipino sibuyas is often taken for granted, but when prices soared early this year after storms destroyed crops, its value became clear. We winced at P100 price tags for tiny bags at the palengke [market]—an outrageous sum for an ingredient we use almost every day. Sibuyas finds its way into nearly all our classic dishes, from the mighty adobo [vinegar-braised dish] and sinigang [sour stewed dish] to the lowly itlog [egg] and rice. Its absence leaves our food feeling hollow, incomplete.

As we tightened our belts and got creative with leftovers, I realized what a binder sibuyas is in our cuisine. Its versatility bridges flavors and ingredients; its sunny bitterness balances salty, sour, and sweet. An unassuming, tear-inducing bulb, sibuyas nonetheless carries the weight of our dishes and brings us together through food.

I thought of families adjusting recipes or sacrifices vendors made to keep selling affordable lutong bahay [home cooked meals]. Of farmers toiling through storms and supply chain workers racing to move bags from the north down to Manila. An ordinary ingredient revealing connections between Filipinos of all walks of life.

The Price Surge Heard and Felt Nationwide

When onion prices soared to over P500 per kilo this past January, my neighborhood carinderia owner Aling Linda paled at the sight of the small bags of red onions delivered to her door. “Paano na tayo nito [What do we do]?” she muttered. Her face crumpled with worry as she calculated that using her usual onion volume would decimate her daily earnings. Known for her generous hand with spices and affordability, Aling Linda built a loyal clientele over decades as a food vendor. Now, the astronomical onion prices threatened the homestyle flavors, drawing her customers back each day.

Aling Linda’s plight echoed that of backyard cooks, carinderia owners, and small restaurant staff nationwide. Sibuyas constitute such an essential element in Filipino cooking that menus from streetside isaw [barbecued pig or chicken intestine] to high-end crispy pata [deep-fried pork trotters or knuckles] feel incomplete without that hit of allium sweetness countering salty, sour, and fatty components. As the pungent bulbs nearly disappeared from market shelves, home cooks faced disappointing meals lacking that final umami punch.

 The Crisis Traced from Farm to Table

What caused this seismic price hike reverberating throughout Philippine kitchens? Early January storms swamped the top onion-producing regions of Nueva Ecija, wiping out thousands of small farms cultivating red and white varieties.

Cold storage onion supply got stretched to the limit until the next harvests in March. Compounding transportation woes, damaged roads slowed the movement of existing supply down to Manila markets. From farms, to trucks, to the congested avenues of Divisoria [a commercial center known for its shops that sell low-priced goods]—the supply chain strained at all links.

While urban cooks cringed at onion costs, the agricultural workers felt an even greater economic blow. Farmers lacked crop insurance and bore ruined fields without alternate income sources for months until replanting. Trucking contractors paused routes until infrastructure repairs, losing those transport fees. Wholesalers struggled to pay high wholesale buy prices, betting on risky shipping to sell at slight retail margins.

 Lessons from a Humble Bulb

As supply bounces back and prices stabilize, the sibuyas fades quietly into the background of meals once more. Its reliable pungency melds into pinakurat [spiced vinegar] and tamarind soups, garlic fried rice bowls, and stir-fried monggo [mung beans].

But I will remember this upheaval and the connections revealed. How small ripples along the supply line unleashed a price tsunami. How an unassuming allium bulb up costs and flavors alike. How onions flowed between home, street cart, and restaurant kitchens—linking Filipinos across social strata through food.

Beyond nourishing our palates, this humble sibuyas nourishes relationships and livelihoods. It represents the hardship of farm work, the skill of vendors, and the solace of a well-seasoned meal.