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I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook
2019 James Beard Award Finalist
Named a Best Cookbook of the Year by The New Yorker , Boston Globe , Chicago Tribune , Los Angeles Times , New York Times Book Review , Houston Chronicle , Food52, PopSugar, and more
To eat—and cook—like a Filipino involves puckeringly sour adobos with meat so tender you can cut it with a fork, national favorites like kare kare (oxtail stew) and kinilaw (fresh seafood cured in vinegar), Chinese-influenced pansit (noodles), tamales by way of early Mexican immigrants, and Arab-inflected fare, with its layered spicy stews and flavors of burnt coconut. But it also entails beloved street snacks like ukoy (fritters) and empanadas and the array of sweets and treats called meryenda. Dishes reflect the influence and ingredients of the Spaniards and Americans, among others, who came to the islands, but Filipinos turned the food into their own unique and captivating cuisine. Filled with riotously bold and bright photographs, I Am a Filipino is like a classic kamayan dinner—one long festive table piled high with food. Just dig in!
Named a Best Cookbook of the Year by The New Yorker , Boston Globe , Chicago Tribune , Los Angeles Times , New York Times Book Review , Houston Chronicle , Food52, PopSugar, and more
To eat—and cook—like a Filipino involves puckeringly sour adobos with meat so tender you can cut it with a fork, national favorites like kare kare (oxtail stew) and kinilaw (fresh seafood cured in vinegar), Chinese-influenced pansit (noodles), tamales by way of early Mexican immigrants, and Arab-inflected fare, with its layered spicy stews and flavors of burnt coconut. But it also entails beloved street snacks like ukoy (fritters) and empanadas and the array of sweets and treats called meryenda. Dishes reflect the influence and ingredients of the Spaniards and Americans, among others, who came to the islands, but Filipinos turned the food into their own unique and captivating cuisine. Filled with riotously bold and bright photographs, I Am a Filipino is like a classic kamayan dinner—one long festive table piled high with food. Just dig in!
304 pages, Hardcover
Published November 13, 2018
130 people are currently reading
700 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 13, 2020
Very informative and beautifully put together. I can't wait to start making adobo and kare kare.
November 13, 2018
I have never read a cookbook cover to cover until this one. The history of my culture’s food is seriously interesting. I also LOVED reading about her travels ‘round the different regions of the Philippines. And the ingredients! ‘Loved reading about those, too! I am really looking forward to cooking from this; I have already marked some favourites. :-)
November 20, 2018
Really great primer on Filipino food for anyone who wants to learn more. Good sections on traditional cooking techniques, taste difference between geographic regions and, of course, recipes you can try for yourself!
*Opinion that no one else asked for but is going to get anyway: The connection between culture and food has always been important to me. While I’m really glad that lutong Pinoy is finally being recognized in food circles, it’s important that we acknowledge the history and culture it comes from. The erasure of people from their own food is something that happens too often, particularly in western society, so do your part to learn about the (delicious) food you’re consuming from those within the culture!
*Opinion that no one else asked for but is going to get anyway: The connection between culture and food has always been important to me. While I’m really glad that lutong Pinoy is finally being recognized in food circles, it’s important that we acknowledge the history and culture it comes from. The erasure of people from their own food is something that happens too often, particularly in western society, so do your part to learn about the (delicious) food you’re consuming from those within the culture!
December 19, 2021
I didn't expect to love this, but I'm so glad I was wrong. It taught me so much about my own culture that I wasn't even aware I didn't know or had to know. It also brought so many wonderful memories of my simple childhood delicacies.
Filipino food truly is the original fusion or food mashup, having been influenced by so many cultures throughout its rich history. I read the Kindle version, but will have to get a hard copy for myself. And I can't wait to buy one for each of my daughters when they marry someday.
Filipino food truly is the original fusion or food mashup, having been influenced by so many cultures throughout its rich history. I read the Kindle version, but will have to get a hard copy for myself. And I can't wait to buy one for each of my daughters when they marry someday.
December 5, 2019
I probably won't use this as a cookbook, but I will be searching for local Filipino restaurants, I never tasted any except for some baked goods.
April 15, 2020
Trying to find a recipe I wanted to try from this book for our cookbook club was challenging. Everything seemed to have lots of sugar cane vinegar and was way outside the realm of my normal international food adventures. Maybe I need to taste the cuisine first to make up my mind, but since the pandemic canceled our cookbook club, I guess I'll never know. I was going to make a roast with burnt coconut and sugar cane vinegar, but my family doesn't like coconut, so I nixed that recipe. I did make a weird rice-flour cake wrapped in banana leaves and topped with boiled eggs and Edam cheese. It was way too sweet for me to eat more than a couple of servings. Nobody else in the house wanted to even try it. The banana leaves made it taste tea flavored. Now I have so many banana leaves in my freezer. Anybody need banana leaves? The 2 stars is just my reaction to the recipes. I might revise it if the cookbook club meets later.
April 26, 2019
I tend to like cookbooks that are more written to be read than to be looked at. This has a lot of glossy photos, but also a lot of good text. Ponseca and Trinidad are the owner and chef, respectively, of two Filipino restaurants in New York (and are a couple). I think the book would be a great introduction to Filipino cuisine for someone not already familiar with it. I appreciated the book's attention to the internal diversity of Filipino food, highlighting differences in foods from different parts of the archipelago. The main recipe I'm interested to try is burong isda, a ferment of fish and rice from Pampanga.
Miguel Trinidad is an interesting figure to me, as he's a Dominican-American chef who basically learned how to cook Filipino food so that he could be the chef for his partner's restaurant. I'm sure his contributions to this book are significant, but I would have loved to hear more of his personal voice in the book. Especially for me as someone who also married into a Filipino family, it would have been really interesting to read about his experience learning about Filipino food, coming from an existing background as a professional chef with expertise in other cuisines--what he could relate to things he already knew, what he felt was unique, etc.
Miguel Trinidad is an interesting figure to me, as he's a Dominican-American chef who basically learned how to cook Filipino food so that he could be the chef for his partner's restaurant. I'm sure his contributions to this book are significant, but I would have loved to hear more of his personal voice in the book. Especially for me as someone who also married into a Filipino family, it would have been really interesting to read about his experience learning about Filipino food, coming from an existing background as a professional chef with expertise in other cuisines--what he could relate to things he already knew, what he felt was unique, etc.
December 3, 2018
I’m part Filipino but lost my relatives in the US when I was kid. So I have to teach myself. This book pays homage to western cooking techniques and finds a way to relate these to Filipino cooking. Using the colonial influences not just on the food but as the technique itself, helps to make some of the recipes more accessible. If you have a french foundation of cooking you will easily understand the point the authors try to get across. Understanding the how of a recipe and what’s its flavor profile should be allows for the recipes to be a blueprint to experiment. I love this book.
February 19, 2019
I haven't made anything from this book yet, but the narrative style was engaging and the text was really informative. It's also full of fun facts (for example, a calamansi isn't a lemon or lime, but an ancient cross between a mandarin and a kumquat). The Key Ingredients section and notes on each recipe are extremely useful - they break down different names that ingredients may be sold under, name specific Filipino brands to look for, and offer substitutions for everything that could be hard to find. All regions of the Philippines appear to be represented, including the southern Muslim region.
February 26, 2020
Jessica I've been meaning to tell you about this one. It has interesting recipes for sure but its even more interesting about the influences and history of filipino food. I havent yet made anything in it but the adobo is really high on my list of future cooking ;-)
November 19, 2024
Overall, okay. I was kind of hoping for a little more of the anthropology side to maybe go into the analysis of recipes. I was hoping for a bit more meat on the history and various cultural influences, but maybe that wasn't really the point of the book and that's okay. Don't get me wrong, there is some history and cultural context in there, but with the way the book started, I thought there'd be more.
My main issue is the page formatting. I felt like there weren't enough photos, or maybe it was the way they formatted the pages, but there are entire 2+ page spreads of just plain black text on white pages and it's hard to read. I wish they'd integrated the photos more with the actual recipes they were presenting. For example, for popular dishes like sinigang na baboy or bistek tagalog, you'd expect photos, right? They were just walls of text. Sure, I already know what they look like and I can easily Google them if I want a reminder, but it's not visually pleasing. Or after two pages of plain text, you turn the page and have two full-page sized images of food. But you've already turned the page so you don't get that impact anymore of the picture of the food with the recipe.
There are also some photos that feel like they don't necessarily belong with the recipe. Like sinigang na hipon had a photo of assorted fruit and another of clay jars, with both photos side-by-side at the bottom of the recipe instead of being spread out. It took some scrutinizing before I realized there are pineapples in the assorted fruit photo and pineapples are one of the ingredients in the recipe. And that the clay jars are probably representing the fermentation process that creates patis. It's like playing connect the dots.
I wanted to like it more... I really did...
My main issue is the page formatting. I felt like there weren't enough photos, or maybe it was the way they formatted the pages, but there are entire 2+ page spreads of just plain black text on white pages and it's hard to read. I wish they'd integrated the photos more with the actual recipes they were presenting. For example, for popular dishes like sinigang na baboy or bistek tagalog, you'd expect photos, right? They were just walls of text. Sure, I already know what they look like and I can easily Google them if I want a reminder, but it's not visually pleasing. Or after two pages of plain text, you turn the page and have two full-page sized images of food. But you've already turned the page so you don't get that impact anymore of the picture of the food with the recipe.
There are also some photos that feel like they don't necessarily belong with the recipe. Like sinigang na hipon had a photo of assorted fruit and another of clay jars, with both photos side-by-side at the bottom of the recipe instead of being spread out. It took some scrutinizing before I realized there are pineapples in the assorted fruit photo and pineapples are one of the ingredients in the recipe. And that the clay jars are probably representing the fermentation process that creates patis. It's like playing connect the dots.
I wanted to like it more... I really did...
October 10, 2021
5/5, please read, whether you’re Filipino or not!
This book describes itself as “a cookbook and manifesto” and I couldn’t agree more.
I loved how Nicole Ponseca decided to make her own space for Filipino cuisine. I had heard of Maharlika and Jeepney, but unfortunately I’ve never gotten the chance to visit. Maybe one day 🤷♀️
But what resonated with me was her honesty about the shame and embarrassment she felt about Filipino cuisine. But as she grew older she learned to love and appreciate the culture she was born into, resulting in such a beautiful expression of pride that extends past the Filipino community. I relate heavily, growing up I felt embarrassed having Filipino food for my school lunch, i used to beg my mom to just make sandwiches or some microwaveables instead of tilapia, monggo, pancit, or anything relatively outside of the norm. Now I miss her cooking more than ever and wish that I appreciated what my parents tried to share with my sisters and I regarding the culture of a country we took for granted.
I felt detached from Filipino culture for so long. But in recent years I’ve tried to get in touch again, and it makes me so so happy that there are books like this doing their best to share in our culture, and food is definitely one of the easiest medians to share with everyone ❤️
This book describes itself as “a cookbook and manifesto” and I couldn’t agree more.
I loved how Nicole Ponseca decided to make her own space for Filipino cuisine. I had heard of Maharlika and Jeepney, but unfortunately I’ve never gotten the chance to visit. Maybe one day 🤷♀️
But what resonated with me was her honesty about the shame and embarrassment she felt about Filipino cuisine. But as she grew older she learned to love and appreciate the culture she was born into, resulting in such a beautiful expression of pride that extends past the Filipino community. I relate heavily, growing up I felt embarrassed having Filipino food for my school lunch, i used to beg my mom to just make sandwiches or some microwaveables instead of tilapia, monggo, pancit, or anything relatively outside of the norm. Now I miss her cooking more than ever and wish that I appreciated what my parents tried to share with my sisters and I regarding the culture of a country we took for granted.
I felt detached from Filipino culture for so long. But in recent years I’ve tried to get in touch again, and it makes me so so happy that there are books like this doing their best to share in our culture, and food is definitely one of the easiest medians to share with everyone ❤️
January 2, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this cookbook. I am a Filipina-American, who grew up with immigrant parents and grandparents, so a lot of the definitions, ingredients and traditions I was completely aware of. This is definitely a great book that introduces Filipino cuisine - I believe this would be a great for Filipino-Americans who did not grow up with someone raised in the Philippines and wants to know more about their culture. It is a great start for someone not familiar with Filipino culture and the various dishes and sub cuisines by the different provinces in the Philippines. I haven’t tried the making the recipes yet — but I am curious to try a few of them and will report back.
-2022 Popsugar Reading List: (1) A book by a Pacific Islander; (2) A book with a recipe in it
-2022 Popsugar Reading List: (1) A book by a Pacific Islander; (2) A book with a recipe in it
April 20, 2019
A very nice overview of Filipino food, one of the best I've seen. My nitpicks: I was disappointed they didn't show Ilocano Pinakbet since it hails from my grandparent's region. I also would liked to have seen more variations on certain dishes because that's one of the things about our cuisine - the many iterations. But I understand it's a TALL order!
The bottom line: this cookbook is a Love Letter from people who grew up with the cuisine - and I deeply appreciate that. The authors present our soul food with clear explanations and background. The colourful photos clearly show the dishes in all their glory. Salamat!
The bottom line: this cookbook is a Love Letter from people who grew up with the cuisine - and I deeply appreciate that. The authors present our soul food with clear explanations and background. The colourful photos clearly show the dishes in all their glory. Salamat!
June 12, 2024
I have Filipino step kids and they have been asking for more Filipino recipes, so I checked out every Filipino cookbook available at the library.
This cookbook starts off with a lot of great basic information about Filipino cuisine. The recipes are organized well and are easy to follow. There are a lot of great photos, and I appreciate the step by step photos (such as the ones for making fresh lumpia wrappers). I also appreciated that there were some vegetarian recipes.
Overall, this is a good introduction to cooking Filipino recipes.
This cookbook starts off with a lot of great basic information about Filipino cuisine. The recipes are organized well and are easy to follow. There are a lot of great photos, and I appreciate the step by step photos (such as the ones for making fresh lumpia wrappers). I also appreciated that there were some vegetarian recipes.
Overall, this is a good introduction to cooking Filipino recipes.
January 28, 2021
This is a great introduction to a relatively low profile cuisine. It’s a wonderfully educational mix of solid recipes and info about regional differences & the history (often touching on Spanish or Chinese influences) of them.
People leaving 2* reviews are intellectual cowards, and some are just plain dusty knees racists. The point of cookbooks like this is to expand your cramped little minds, not babysit you through already familiar experiences. Grow up.
People leaving 2* reviews are intellectual cowards, and some are just plain dusty knees racists. The point of cookbooks like this is to expand your cramped little minds, not babysit you through already familiar experiences. Grow up.
May 24, 2021
This is a really interesting cookbook about Filipino food. It gives a lot of history about the various influences on Filipino food (which there are a ton of, due to trade and colonialism) so it's very informative. Mostly, it looks very hard to cook from because there are a lot of specifically Filipino ingredients, but it was still so interesting and informative.
September 27, 2023
Loved reading about how the foods and recipes were influenced by cultures and history. Have tried some recipes. But if you are accustomed to how your parents or favorite Tita cooked it, the recipes will never compare. But it is a good reference especially when your Tita would say, a handful of this or that :)
January 5, 2019
This is an interesting cookbook with, for me at least, new words for dishes and their ingredients. I copied a copy of the recipes for future use. i also lover in-your-face title. Very colorful and appetizing.
June 21, 2019
A must-own for Filipino cookbooks. Great recipes and photos! It’s a vivid journey of Filipino cuisine from the Philippine Islands to America where Ponseca and Chef Miguel own and operate two successful restaurants!
December 2, 2020
What an in depth description about Filipino cuisine!!! Such a thorough book about islandic nation.. Of course I don't have access to iconic Doreen's book ,BUT I love this book !! Have so many recipes to cook from !
March 5, 2019
I read this book cover to cover. Twice. I've never done that with a cookbook before. I miss my dad's cooking. So hopefully now I can recreate some of the flavors of childhood.
March 6, 2019
a great reference to come back to with a wide range of recipes.
March 9, 2019
I'm so hungry right now. This makes me so proud of my family's cooking and teaches me the value of good marinade, coconuts, eggplants and a lot of patience.
January 3, 2020
This is a cookbook and so much more. A love letter to Filipino food. A history. Political. All of it together with beautiful photos.
February 1, 2020
Very well-written and a great homage to Filipino food. Not vegetarian friendly, but otherwise good.
March 28, 2020
I love a cookbook that teaches me about new food and new places. This book does that. I admit a slight fear of bagoong... but I love fish sauce, so bring it on.
September 17, 2020
Fantastic introduction to Filipino ingredients, cooking styles, and cuisine
November 29, 2020
A brilliant insight to the history of the Philippines and how it has shaped their cuisine
January 14, 2021
So educational and wonderful all around
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews