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How did you become interested in food and cooking?
My father Dedios is a chef. As a teenager, I needed some work and asked him for a job. I worked with him for a year and a half and absolutely hated it. The professional kitchen is a very tense and stressful environment; I made a lot of mistakes and he was very quick to single me out. No matter what I was doing, no matter how good it was, it would never quite be good enough.
Then on one occasion he and I went to cater a party together, and what he did that day was amazing. He took melons and squash and created flowers and birds and all kinds of wonderful carvings. It really awakened my interest in the artistic side of the food. We were at home later and I grabbed an apple off the table and asked him to show me how to carve it. He was really astonished and surprised that I showed that much interest in it.
From then on we enjoyed an improved father-son relationship. He was much more forthcoming with information and really mentored me. That's how I got started. I did an informal apprenticeship with him and he would send me to work for other chefs, so I would work on special events for weeks and months at a time learning new cooking styles.
You have represented the US in the Culinary Olympics. How do your roots in Filipino cuisine influence your cooking style?
I grew up with Filipino food and culture at home and absorbed those influences early in my life. But, by the time I was selected to be a member of the US culinary team, I was really concentrating on what we call the grand cuisines, the German and the French. Six hundred chefs tried out for the US team, and they only picked twenty seven of us, so it was quite an accomplishment.
The chefs on the US team were often European, so there was a decided European influence on American cuisine. We were determined to make a team that best represented America's food culture. I don't think I was selected because I was Filipino, I think I was selected because I was an excellent chef, but the fact that I had that background brought something more to the table.
The goal once you were selected to be on the team was to define, create and present for the world stage our uniquely American cuisine. As we developed this philosophy for our team, we identified the five basic influences on American cuisine: European, Asian, Native American, Mediterranean and African-American. We began to really look in the mirror as a food nation, and I began to look in the mirror as well, and think, "What do I have? I am from the US, and on the US culinary team, so what can I contribute?" At that point we began to really integrate Asian influences in our food style.
The US team has been a major player in the world culinary scene for the last sixteen years or so. People see America coming and are really interested in us as a food nation. With a history of only a little over 200 years, they are interested in what we see as American Cuisine. In that short time we've risen to the top and are always in the top three nations in the world for food.
Filipino food is influenced by Malay, Chinese, Spanish and American cuisines. How would you say that Filipinos have taken these influences and made them into their own distinctly unique style of cuisine?
I think that Filipinos are copycats, and that's evident in what we do. If you take a look at a menu in a Filipino restaurant you may see a Paella Manilena, a Manila-style paella, which shows the Spanish influence on our cuisine. On the same menu you may have pancit noodles or lumpia, which are very Chinese. You will also probably find kare-kare which are stews cooked with peanut butter, and some other dishes that incorporate coconut milk. They show the Malaysian influence. When you talk about American influences you can point to fried chicken, spaghetti, and that type of thing, so it is kind of complex.
I think that Filipinos play off those different kinds of influences and really make them work together. One challenge for Filipino chefs and restauranteurs is that primarily our food is served "family style", in large portions. Filipinos pride ourselves on communal dining, bringing our family and friends together and sitting down with big plates and platters of food. But, as chefs, we really want to cross over and make Filipino an identifiable ethnic cuisine, and take it to the next level. In order to do that we have to take some of those dishes, re-purpose them and apply them to the "center of the plate" type dish.
What are some of the distinctly Filipino flavors or cooking techniques not found in other cuisines?
Filipinos enjoy salt and we enjoy sweet and sour flavors. For the salty taste we use soy and marinades. Sweetness is one of the characteristics we like in our food. For the sour flavor, we use vinegar or green mango. It is delicious to put all those flavors together, and very refreshing too.
Ingredients you will see in Filipino food are patis, a fish sauce, much like the Vietnamese nam pla. Soy sauce plays a very important part. Coconut and coconut milk are widely used, as are different kinds of tropical fruits, both ripe and green mango. For vegetables there is ube, which is a purple yam, and ampalaya which is a bitter melon. Another distinctive ingredient is bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste added in the cooking process, but also as a condiment in certain dishes to give a little flavor to it.
Filipino food remains relatively undiscovered here in the US. What do you see as the reasons for this?
Filipinos tend to have smaller restaurants such as "Turo-turo", or "Point-point" joints, where the food is delicious but you get served in a Styrofoam container. It is hard to draw American friends or co-workers to that style of Filipino food- they are looking for a different dining experience.
In the US, regional cuisines have been carried over to the general population by certain people who represent it: by chefs, by culinary figures and by restauranteurs. But it is very hard to describe and define Filipino food, and that is one of the drawbacks. If someone could get on national TV and stylize Filipino food so that it is more desirable, that would make it easier.
The issue with that, however, is that you may get criticized for not cooking like your Lolo or Lola (grandfather or grandmother)! I've had that happen. I took Filipino food here to a new level and introduced some dishes that were a little more suitable for a white tablecloth. Everyone loved the fact that I was promoting Filipino food- but in some of the Filipino papers, people were questioning the authenticity of my food because it was made with that spirit in mind. We were adapting it a little bit more for the mainstream diner.
How difficult is it to find the necessary ingredients for a Filipino meal?
It is not at all difficult. Back in San Diego we have a huge Filipino population. Often now with Asian markets you can find Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese ingredients all under one roof.
How about the Philippines, do you spend much time there? Have there been recent developments in tastes and preferences there when it comes to Filipino food?
One of the most rewarding things that I do now is my work with Shangri-La hotels in Asia. In the Philippines, I work at the Makati Shangri-La in Manila as a guest chef. We have family there and it's like being home- it keeps me in touch with who I am. I am very proud of being Filipino-American. Usually in Asia at any of the big hotels, large resorts or fine restaurants, the chefs are European. A Filipino chef can never really work to that level. So, to have a chef brought in from another part of the world that is of Filipino heritage is really wonderful.
There are some great chefs doing wonderful things in the Philippines. Many have gone to school here, or in France, or to some of the better cooking schools, and are returning home to try a more contemporary approach to Filipino food. The philosophy is simple- you could ask yourself, "Who can cook kare-kare better than my grandma?" The answer of course is no one! So there's no point trying to duplicate what she's doing. But you can take a different cut of meat, like lamb or veal shank instead of oxtail and make a new version of kare-kare, and you would serve it in a fusion type of restaurant.
I think what is happening is that people are getting more comfortable moving away from the traditional, heavier kind of food. Filipino food is considered calorie laden, high in fat and carbohydrates, and we eat so much of it! The perception is that it is not as healthy, because of the fat and the salt. So people are making adjustments to recipes, in particular to fat content.
If you focus on Inihaw the Filipino method of barbecuing or grilling you can take away a lot of the fat, a lot of the deep-frying. At the same time Filipinos love crispy pata which is the pork foot deep fried in oil, it's so heavy but so good! So it's moderation too. If you can create a five-course Filipino dinner you can control the portions and the nutritional value with that.
What would you recommend as good traditional dishes to try for those unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine?
One dish that comes to mind straight away is lumpia, a Filipino-style egg roll. Pancit a Filipino noodle dish is another. The noodles are quick sautéed with vegetables and accoutrements such as shrimp, carrots or sprouts, typically in a wok. Liquid or stock is added to that and they are cooked right there in the pan. Adobo, which is a Spanish influenced dish, is probably one of the most popular. Adobo is a method of cooking meat, usually chicken or pork, or a combination of both, in a braising liquid flavored with peppercorn, bay leaf, vinegar and soy. The meat is cooked with a slow-simmering wet heat until it is tender and juicy and it creates a sauce with it.
Are there any Filipino restaurants here in the US that you would recommend to our readers?
Amy and Romy Dorotan, who own Cendrillon in New York are doing what we are hoping to do with Filipino food, which is a contemporary take on the cuisine. The chef is very creative, for example, ube which is a purple yam, is used in a lot of desserts. He has taken ube and made crepes with it. So he has taken a French dish, and used Filipino ingredients. In doing so, he has taken a particular Filipino product and raised it to a level of mainstream awareness.
In National City, San Diego there is a very good restaurant that started out as a franchise of the Max's chain of fried chicken restaurants that is very popular all over the Philippines. My friend Nancy Mendoza owns the restaurant, which is now called Villa Manila. In addition to selling fried chicken they offer a full menu. What is interesting about her restaurant is that it is one of the few Filipino restaurants where there is table service, and the food is brought to you. You order off the menu instead of going to the line and pointing as you do in many Filipino restaurants.
It is very good, and her success is evident in the fact that it is popular with Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics and certainly Filipinos. So she's already begun to make that step in that her food is acceptable. Her bridge to that audience, to that dining public, has been the fried chicken, because they are famous for it. But people come in and they'll look across at the next table and say "I'll order what they're having," and order some of the more traditional Filipino dishes such as adobo or inihaw or the grilled seafood platter. She has created that audience.
The criticism that we get sometimes is that it is more expensive than other Filipino restaurants, but of course it is, you are getting table service- you don't have to go to a buffet and you are not eating off Styrofoam. I believe so much in what she's doing and in her restaurant that I taped one of my shows on Filipino cuisine there when it was still called Max's. We brought in Filipino cultural dancers and musicians and taped a great show showcasing Filipino food and culture. I have also featured Nancy's cuisine on my international holiday show, we cooked Arroz Caldo (rice porridge with chicken) together.
One of the other things that's been really rewarding to me in terms of promoting Filipino food, is that organizers of a lot of the Filipino festivals that celebrate Filipino culture have asked me to participate because of my media involvement. I have gotten to know a lot of people from the entertainment industry in the Philippines, such as Lea Salonga. Here in the States, I have become good friends with Filipino-American actress Joy Bisco. We have done a number of appearances at the same events and now we always hook up and cook together! Joy has also been a guest on my cooking show. It is rewarding in that way. We know what our culture is and we all work to promote that.
Interview conducted by Sue Lin of AsiaFood.
Make sure to check out Chef Larry's online Filipino recipes and cooking demonstrations!
Filipino Wonton Soup
Filipino Chicken Sticks
Lumpia with Dipping Sauces
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