While lots of people talk about Filipino food in America today, I'm more interested in telling my story as a middle-class kid who grew up in Manila in the 90s. While I wasn't ashamed of having Filipino food in my lunch box, I definitely wanted hotdogs and french fries more than rice - and so did everyone else. But how exactly did Filipinos come to love American food so much? I asked Rene Alexander Orquiza, a professor based in Rhode Island whose research and teaching interests focus on...

This episode, we’re going to the central Visayas region of the Philippines with Louella Alix, author of a book called "Hikay: The Culinary Heritage of Cebu".

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...

The illustrations, photos and artwork in Bryan’s books are beautiful. I’m driven by the narrative, structure, and immediacy of his stories - like I feel like I’m there - and constantly think, reading the recipes…that "really, that’s all it takes to make that?"

We’re talking with Bryan Koh, author of the book "Milk Pigs and Violet Gold" - a hardcover title from a Philippine university press, first published in 2013 and then re-issued three years later to the rest of Southeast Asia. The illustrations, photos and artwork in Bryan’s books are BEAUTIFUL. Turning the pages, I’m driven by the narrative, structure, and immediacy of his stories - like I feel like I’m there - and constantly think, reading the recipes…that “really, that’s all it takes to...

This episode, we're going off the usual path - actually, quite a ways off from my studio in Toronto, back to where it all begins: the Philippines.

This episode, we're going off the usual path - actually, quite a ways off from my studio in Toronto, back to where it all begins: the Philippines. We can't really "Explore Filipino Kitchens" without going back to the motherland, right? So today, no interviews - just some raw thoughts from my trip, instead - and you'll hear horns rise above the traffic of Manila, tricycles speeding by, the calm of the countryside and the best joke about a caterpillar. Let's go!  Show notes 02:05 A walk...

This month we’re talking with Dr. Ame Garong, researcher at the Archeology Division at the National Museum of the Philippines.

What can we learn from our ancestors' diets? This month we’re talking with Dr. Ame Garong, researcher at the Archeology Division at the National Museum of the Philippines. In 2013 Dr. Garong published a book called "Ancient Filipino Diet". It's the first study of Filipino food in pre-history - before colonizers or any foreign influence arrived in the Philippines - written to explore and understand the prehistoric diet of our ancestors. Dr. Garong shares her research with us, including...

Pinoy Heritage is a culinary project Francis started with his wife, Dian, following a trip to the Philippines. For the full story of how that led to the most exciting pop-up dinner series I've ever heard of - one that's grounded in Filipino food traditions - you'll have to listen in.

We’re talking with Francis Ang, the man behind a pop-up dinner series called Pinoy Heritage. Francis has worked in some of San Francisco's best restaurants, including the acclaimed Gary Danko and Fifth Floor. He's been named a west coast "People's Best Pastry Chef" by Food and Wine Magazine and nominated for Zagat's "30 Under 30" list in San Francisco. Pinoy Heritage is a culinary project Francis started with his wife, Dian, following a trip to the Philippines. For the full story of how that...

We’re talking with Betty Ann Quirino - an author, recipe developer and prolific blogger at AsianInAmericaMag.com whose thoughts and experiences on cooking has personally helped me develop confidence in my own cooking abilities - to become part of what keeps global Filipino food culture alive.

We’re talking with Betty Ann Quirino - an author, recipe developer and prolific blogger at AsianInAmericaMag.com whose thoughts and experiences on cooking has personally helped me develop confidence in my own cooking abilities - to become part of what keeps global Filipino food culture alive. This episode we talk about adapting Filipino recipes for modern kitchens, how our personal histories and experiences shape our relationship with food, and why you just need to pick up some groceries,...

We talk about why building community is really about creating experiences that bring people together - and then keeping that momentum going forward, and sustaining it so that people gain a sense of ownership and pride in the places they live in.

This month, we’re talking with Joanne Boston, a founding member of the Filipino Food Movement. Their vision for the success of Filipino food in the American mainstream has and always will be supported and inspired by community - the main theme we’re talking about on today’s show. Another big thing we’re talking about today is place - San Francisco, California in particular - and the people who live there. We talk about why building community is really about creating experiences that bring...

Felice Sta. Maria is the Philippines’ foremost scholar on food history - an award-winning author and advisor to the country’s top cultural institutions, whom I can honestly say has ignited my desire to read as much as I can about food history.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to study food history? In the Philippines, it’s not a topic often discussed by the general public - despite our love for debating the origins of pancit or adobo. There are a handful of authors who delve into questions about where Filipino food comes from - and fewer still who frame the question of “tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are” in the context of being Filipino. Felice Sta. Maria is the Philippines’ foremost scholar on food history...

I wanted to know where those beautiful ingredients that Amy posts on her Instagram feed come from. What do they taste like and what did it take to get them to the restaurant? How can we use food to better understand Filipinos in general?

Why does Amy Besa go to great lengths to find a vanishing fruit, turn it into jam, then serve it to diners who come to her restaurant in search of a truly Filipino meal? That answer is in Amy and Chef Romy Dorotan’s philosophy to cooking at Purple Yam - the restaurants they own in Malate, Manila and Brooklyn, New York City. What prompted this episode? Filipino chefs are drawn to Amy’s quest for sourcing the best Philippine ingredients available like bees are drawn to nectar for making...

This episode, I share how I fell in love with Filipino food in four stages - and what drives my desire to explore the country's foodways.

Why am I so keen to learn about the history, traditions and culture that surround the food from my homeland? This episode, I share how I fell in love with Filipino food in four stages - and what drives my desire to explore the country's foodways. What prompted this episode? For a really long time, I wondered about how to best convey the feelings I had toward food from the Philippines. Why did it matter so much that I felt an intense disconnect between how the world and I perceived the food...

This episode, I visit a coffee farm along the foothills of a mountain range in Mindanao province, discover why we need to save the "barako" coffee bean, and chat with the founder of a coffee company with a social purpose.

Welcome to the Exploring Filipino Kitchens podcast! This episode, I visit a coffee farm along the foothills of a mountain range in Mindanao province, discover why we need to save the "barako" coffee bean, and chat with the founder of a coffee company with a social purpose. What prompted this episode? My dependence on coffee started with packets of cigarettes and Nescafe 3-in-1. Though I now buy locally roasted beans from my neighbourhood coffee shop (and quit smoking), sometimes I get a...

What's “Exploring Filipino Kitchens” about, you may ask? Well, to be honest, it’s about me telling my story - and the stories of many amazing people from the Philippines who have contributed to what is arguably one of the most fascinating things to watch - and that is the story of how food brings people together. At the heart of it, this podcast is about learning about yourself through Filipino food - regardless of where you come from. If you’ve ever felt that warm fuzzy feeling of a...