We’re going to the province of Cebu, in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, to talk about a much-beloved way of cooking with Louella Alix, author of a book called "Hikay: The Culinary Heritage of Cebu". Cebuano cooking in itself - like many regional cuisines of the Philippines, is a reflection of its landscape - with local communities that each have distinct ways of preparing meals and various traditional food products. Like "puso", those perfectly steamed heart-shaped rice packets, and the famous "sutukil". I am so excited to dive into the regional cooking of Cebu. Let’s get to it! Show notes 02:30 About 03:25 "I was commissioned to write about food" 05:30 The meaning of "Hikay" 08:05 How families eat 09:30 Writing to preserve culinary traditions 10:25 Cebuano adobo 12:10 Flavours of Cebuano cooking 13:30 The essence of tinolang/tuwang isda (fish soup) 14:00 Cebuano escabeche 14:50 "There's ginger in everything" 16:50 Utan bisaya and the need to keep vegetables whole 20:00 Finding "Lagda Sa Pagpangluto" 25:30 Recipes from the book 29:30 All about torta 35:30 "This is my life's work" 36:30 "Reality makes you optimistic" 41:00 A little context on local food culture 43:15 What happens when you eat an "old" dish 44:10 "Filipinos are all about food" SUBSCRIBE TO EXPLORING FILIPINO KITCHENS AND SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!