Memories of Philippine Kitchens (A Review)

Memories of Philippine Kitchens, Stories and Recipes from Far and Near

By Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan

(Stewart, Tabori & Chang; 2006)

Reviewed by Regina Newport

[This review was published in the October 2010 issue of CHoWLine, by the Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHowDC).]

Memories of Philippine Kitchens is much more than a cookbook--it is a superbly researched encyclopedia of the history and evolution of Philippine cuisine, with its many indigenous as well as “borrowed” ingredients. Filipino food is an undiscovered gem among Asian cuisines, and here it is successfully presented in the context of the country’s culture and history. The book is also a travelogue, with well-written essays on the regions of the Philippines visited by the authors, to seek out home cooks who are famous for their specialty dishes.

Memories is the first major Philippine cookbook ever published by a major international publisher. It won the 2007 IACP’s (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Jane Grigson Award for Distinguished Scholarship in the Quality of Research and Presentation, and was hailed as one of the best cookbooks of 2007 by the Sunday Times of London. The well-known journalists and cookbook authors, Peter Kaminsky and Raymond Sokolov, contributed the foreword and introduction, respectively. Neil Oshima, the multi-awarded Filipino photographer, adds the final touch, with his sumptuous photographs giving a vivid focus to the country’s food and its people and culture.

The authors both hail from the Philippines and are restaurateurs in New York (Cendrillon, their Asian-fusion restaurant in Manhattan from 1995 until 2008, reopened in Brooklyn in 2009 as The Purple Yam).

Chapter 1 reflects on Amy’s early childhood food experiences with her grandmother and family and friends (the “Memories” of the title). Her stories evoked memories of my own grandmother and her sumptuous dishes at family gatherings. My mother, also a superb cook, continues to use the same techniques. Amy’s absorbing stories are accompanied by recipes which, with a few exceptions, are easy to replicate in the home kitchen. Chapters 2 and 3 provide a wealth of information about indigenous dishes and ingredients, as well as those brought into the country by the earliest migrants (Indonesians and Malays), who were then followed by foreign traders (mostly Chinese) and colonizers (Spain and the United States).

The strongest influences on Filipino food came from China and Spain. The Chinese traders brought their own ingredients and cooking techniques and permanently changed the local culinary landscape. Today Pancit (noodles) and Lumpia (eggrolls) are the two most well-known Filipino dishes outside the country. The Chinese influence is strongly evident in Filipinos’ daily cooking today, with plenty of stir-frying and sautéing going on in most households.

Spain colonized the country for more than 300 years, but their expensive ingredients (olive oil, olives, chorizo, and ham) were reserved for the society’s elite and for important occasions. The savvy Chinese Hispanized the names of many of their own dishes to appeal to the Spanish and the elite. Today, parties and celebrations typically feature dishes with Spanish names, although the cooking methods for most of these dishes did not necessarily come from Spain, but were mostly adapted by local cooks using the “borrowed” ingredients.

The Americans’ brief 50-year stay brought convenience foods, processed foods (mostly canned), and chiffon cake and cream pies, which to this day remain very popular.

The family recipes of Chapter 4 make up the bulk of the book. Amy writes, “We have always believed that the best Filipino food is found in the homes of families with a tradition of good cooking and appreciation of fresh ingredients found locally.” The authors traveled to 10 of the country’s 81 provinces to research this book, eschewing the big cities and restaurants and focusing instead on the home kitchens of cooks renowned for their dishes. Recipes from these home cooks are featured, accompanied by interesting stories and informative notes about the ingredients’ histories and origins.

Chapter 5 is a short segment on how Filipinos celebrate Christmas, while the final Chapter 6 features the recipes of Cendrillon, the now-shuttered New York restaurant; presumably, these recipes live on in the new Purple Yam restaurant in Brooklyn.

In my tests, the Adobo recipes were the easiest to follow, but I pulled back on the vinegar, which I felt overwhelmed the dish. Fe’s Special Pork Sinigang (a lemon juice-based soup) was not sour enough for my taste, so I added more lemon juice. The Kare Kare (ox tail braised in peanut sauce) is very similar to how I make this dish, and the flavor is unbeatable, especially when eaten with rice and Bagoong (fermented shrimp paste). Among the Kakanin (glutinous rice-based desserts), the Cassava Bibingka is the easiest to replicate, but many Filipino cooks I know have their own version. The other Kakanin recipes are more challenging. The Pinipig (rice crispies) Cookies were delicious and easy to make. The Coffee-Roasted Pompano may look daunting at first glance, but I replicated it successfully, substituting striped bass for the hard-to-find Pompano. The Mango Ice Cream and Avocado Ice Cream were heavenly.

The Glossary, Bibliography, and Sources list at the end of the book are helpful, especially for cooks who may not be familiar with Asian terminology and ingredients. The editing, however, could be a little bit tighter—I found three typo errors and one word omission in one recipe (Ukoy, page 210).]

Memories is a joy to read, and it has taught me more about my own country’s culinary history. If you are a fan of Asian cuisine, this is one book you should have, and it also makes a wonderful present for those gastronomes among your family and friends.

In short, Memories celebrates the best of Philippine cuisine, a fitting homage to all those superb Filipino home cooks who continue to keep alive the country’s culinary heritage.

Regina Newport is a Cordon Bleu graduate of the Orlando Culinary Academy, and has published a cookbook that has been privately distributed. She is also completing a cookbook that combines her background in Philippine cuisine with her professional culinary training. She gives cooking demonstrations for small private groups, both in Manila on her frequent visits there, and in the Washington, D.C. area, where she lives.