A group of high-profile Filipino foodies have come together to create an e-book celebrating the distinct flavours of the country's cuisine.
Cuisinero – Taste the Philippines was spearheaded by author and Dubai resident Flavel Monteiro, whose previous works include Come Together and Home Comforts: Simple Lockdown Recipes from the World's Best Chefs and Bartenders, which was produced in partnership with The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
For Cuisinero, Monteiro enlisted the help of co-author Keesa Ocampo, an Emmy Award-winning director, writer and producer, as well as two big-name chefs, John Buenaventura, executive chef at Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, and Nouel Omamalin, aka The Nifty Chef. "I connected with John and Nouel in May, telling them that I planned to do a book on Filipino cuisine, but something different and with a twist, taking Filipino cuisine to a totally different level. And they jumped at the idea," Monteiro tells The National.
Click here to discover two recipes from 'Cusiniero'
The result was unveiled on August 15, on www.filipinofoodmovement.org, with proceeds going to the non-profit organisation, to benefit Filipino-American food businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to Philippine International Aid, in support of education for disadvantaged children in the Philippines.
“There are 7,641 islands in the Philippine archipelago and several ways of cooking popular dishes in different provinces, making it a very diverse and inclusive cuisine,” Monteiro says.
Everyone involved with the book recognises how food can be infused with love, memories and a sense of belonging. It can offer solace for those far from home, and act as a source of pride for people wanting to share a little slice of the Philippines with those around them.
Over the years, the kitchen has become my place of joy and refuge... It always made me feel more connected, less lonely, like I belonged somewhere
“Over the years, the kitchen has become my place of joy and refuge,” says Ocampo, who is Filipino-American, reminiscing about the food she used to cook in her late teens – roasted chops with apples, lapu-lapu al cartoccio cooked in oranges and dill, minaggang adobo, or her family nacho recipe.
After leaving the Philippines for the US, she would cook dishes that reminded her of her mother’s kitchen – aubergine parmigiana, French apple pie with butterscotch sauce and sinangag. “It always made me feel less lonely, like I belonged somewhere,” she says.
Today, Ocampo’s cooking reflects her multicultural experiences, which is entirely fitting for a cuisine that has long been a melting pot of international influences. “Now, I cook what reminds me of who I am as a Filipinx Cali girl,” she says.
“My Filipino side insists that if a friend wants to try Filipino food for the first time, they come to my home. The Cali girl cooks with fresh, locally available ingredients. Both sides dictate that I cook by memory, with love, because when anyone eats my food, they will get to know a part of my culture and more of who I am.”
Unexpectedly, Cuisinero starts on a sweet note. Pastry chef Omamalin crafted 50 dessert recipes infused with Filipino flavours, including yema, a thick, gooey, custard-like mixture that is rolled into spheres and coated in sugar, ground nuts or syrup; ube chocolate halaya, which combines purple yam with coconut milk, chocolate and palm sugar; mango-moringa bars; a durian tart; and a dense chocolate cake made richer by the addition of Barako coffee, a variety grown in the Philippines.
The book's savoury section, meanwhile, features such delicacies as tinolang halaan (clams in ginger broth); inihaw na hipon (tiger prawns marinated in calamansi, a citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines); kingfish ceviche; and a host of other seafood dishes cooked in intriguing ways. A hearty bulalo, or bone marrow broth, is "best enjoyed in cold weather and moderation", while pisngi ng kalabaw transforms buffalo meat into a tender centrepiece braised in root beer and beef stock.
“This book is an opportunity for us to go back to our roots and apply the techniques and experiences we have learnt through years of cooking on the global stage,” says chef Buenaventura. “My objective is not only to cook Filipino cuisine, but to create a desire for the world to ‘Taste the Philippines’, using our prized raw materials and products, and applied with modern and classical techniques.”
Monteiro serves up a version of sardinas at bangus (sardines and milkfish) with a Spanish-Filipino twist. The award-winning author talks with relish about the food of his homeland. “Filipino cuisine is all about character and personality, in addition to being a fusion of many international influences,” he says.
“This is a cuisine where technique and ingredients shine with the balance between flavours – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savoury – in one bite. Some of its main techniques, adobo (to braise in vinegar), sigang (to boil with a souring agent) and kilaw (to prepare in citrus juice or vinegar), are thought to be names of dishes but rather, refer to cooking techniques.
“Hence, one may find a hundred variations of an adobo, and all are probably and legitimately the best in town. Rice is part of almost every household meal in the Philippines, transformed into a steady accompaniment, snack and dessert. Fresh catch from waters around the islands or backyard produce lend a freshness that needs not be masked by heavy spices, but rather, allowed to shine,” he adds.
The book includes a foreword by Hjayceelyn Quintana, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, which strikes a typically humble note. “Talking about our native cuisine to other people does not come naturally to Filipinos,” she says. “We would be the last to think there is something others would find interesting in the food we eat.
“All we know is the gustatory delight we feel from the flavours and ingredients we have grown accustomed to as part of our daily living. That is why when a foreigner begins to see something special, unique and promising in Filipino cuisine, we are both amazed and grateful at the same time.”
Cuisinero – Taste the Philippines goes a long way in highlighting all that is special and unique about Filipino cuisine. And Monteiro is already working on a sequel, Cuisinero II – The Flip Side, which is scheduled to come out in time for Christmas. A book focusing on food that is a little closer to home, called The Best of Dubai – A Dining Experience, is also in the works.
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Investors: Core42
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
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- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
