First Philippine cookbook for use in the United States If the title of this cookbook has a musical sound to it, let me give you a small anecdote that will explain it. While listening to Van Cliburn play, "Ang galing galing" could be heard from his fans. He then asked what the phrase meant and when told it meant very good, he exclaimed, "That Nora should be the name of your restaurant in New York." So to Van Cliburn, I say thank you for such an imaginative name for a cookbook. In the first two editions, I included recipes that I liked to use in my home in the Philippines. It was to be sort of handbook for the woman at home who wanted to use some tested recipes or one who needed to have her housemaid turned cook try her hand at the satisfying, challenging though sometimes tedious art called cooking. And with the comments I received from Filipinos, specially in the United States, I thouht I would write one just for them. Many Filipinos abroad have told me that my first editions were their "bibles" in the kitchen. Let me state right away the recipes in all cookbooks are guides and one's food sense must come into play in deciding the right amount of seasoning, cooking time and other modification needed for a dish. For food composition is not the same all over the world, and meats come from animals of all ages and breeds, so cooking time, flavorings and seasoning need to be modified to suit one's tastes. I know. When we put up "Aux Iles Philippines" in paris, we had to revise proportions for many recipes. Flour was not the same as that found in the Philippines. Vinegar did not have the same flavor nor the acidity as that of our native vinegar. Soy sauce was not exactly the same, neither was the "patis", a fish sauce called "nyok man" found in Vietnamese stores. Bagoong alamang was not to be found in exactly the same fashion we prepare it in our country, etc. etc. Having lived in North and South America and now in Paris, I find that our food has not yet found its rightful place among the "Cuisines of the World." When I opened the doors of "Aux Iles Philippines," my Philippine restaurant in paris, I did so with some misgivings. True, I had invited friends to sample our cuisine for almost three months more or less daily (so my son reminds me and my maid did say, that my apartment in Paris was something of a restaurant) but it was not exactly the same as serving the public in general. But as patrons came to sample this strange new cuisine (for many Frenchmen think that in the Philippines we eat with chopsticks or that our 7,100 islands are somewhere in the Caribbeans) they did so out of curiosity. When they came back several times after that, told their friends about their "discovery", my confidence grew. My cup spilled over after only six months of operation, the prestigious "Le Monde" wrote a half page extolling the virtues of the new and fine cuisine they had discovered. The Guide Michelin 1974 gave us two forks and spoons similar to "Au Pied Cochon" of Les Halles (I never dared hope they would even mention us), the Guide Kleber put us in the same category as "Jun" a restaurant which cost at least ten times our little nook in the Latin Quarter and the guide Auto Journal, a highly respected publication in France, included us among their "200 selected tables around Paris and Environs." I am obviously proud of the recognition "Aux Iles Philippines" got. But more important, I have become aware of the innate flair Filipinos have for the good life. We do know how to live and eat well. Yes, you can point out to me the greasy fried foods we unfortunately sometimes find, but food badly prepared, carelessly handled exists in all cuisines. Our Filipino food prepared with skill, understanding and love can regale the most exacting gourmet. When asked what is Philippine Cuisine? I can only inadequately say, "It is the result of the Chinese, Spanish and Japanese (for we had them too for four years during the second world war) and American influences on our country plus the ingenuity, the sensitive palates, the unique style and skill of the Filipino." Finally, our food is not really Chinese, not Spanish nor American, but FILIPINO. What wealth we have in our cuisine. Where in the World would you find soy sauce and tamato sauce combined in a dish? Where would you find the use of rice washing, the heart of coconut palm (fresh) used in vegetable dishes or salads, where would you find the fruits, vegetables, tubers, shoots, tender leaves, many, and various leaves that go into our Philippine cuisine. Where will you find the bount of fishes, shellfish and numerous produce of the sea in the 7,100 islands that make up our country? Where would you find assortment of fruits, so varied and seasonal that we have practically different kinds of fruits to enjoy every month of the year. All these not to mention seafoods and meats which abound the year round. There is much to be done, recipes to dig up, ingredients to rediscover, cooking afficionadas to seek out and ask to share their recipes so that Philippine Cuisine will be finally lodged in its rightful place among those that are the best in the world. A word of advise. I have tried and tested these recipes with foods available in the Philippines. Each product may not have the same acidity, alkalinity sweetness (so many sugars in France are not as readily soluble as Philippine sugar for they come from sugar beets while ours come from sugar cane). So, use your palate to guide you specially when you first try out a recipe. Make your own notes and modify the quantities suggested to suit your own tastes and those of your family. And as i often lecture my cooks in Au Bon Vivant, our French restaurants in Manila and Makati, it is easier to add salt to a dish than to reduce it. This is true of many ingredients. Adding too much of even a good thing can ruin a dish. So for all the Filipinos abroad and other nationalities interested in food as served in Filipino homes-- HAPPY COOKING AND "BON APPETIT!" |
Uy, may bagong teleserye - Dahil May Isang Ikaw, click mo lang 'to to see details and order. Click mo 'to to see the super creative na Pinoy Shirts.
|