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Filipinx: Heritage Recipes from the Diaspora
In her debut cookbook Filipinx , acclaimed and award-winning chef Angela Dimayuga shares her passion for Filipino food with home cooks, cowritten with food writer Ligaya Mishan.
Filipinx offers 100 deeply personal recipes—many of them dishes that define home for Angela Dimayuga and the more than four million people of Filipino descent in the United States. The book tells the story of how Dimayuga grew up in an immigrant family in Northern California, trained in restaurant kitchens in New York City—learning to make everything from bistro fare to Asian American cuisine—then returned to her roots, discovering in her family’s home cooking the same intense attention to detail and technique she’d found in fine dining.
In this book, Dimayuga puts a fresh spin on adobo, perhaps the Filipino dish best known outside the Philippines, is traditionally built on a trinity of soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic—all pantry staples—but add coconut milk, vinegar, and oil, and it turns lush and silky; ribeye steaks bring extra richness to bistek, gilded with butter and a bright splash of lemon and orange juice. These are the punches of flavor and inspired recipes that home cooks have been longing for. You’ll find recipes such A modern, welcoming resource for this essential cuisine, Filipinx shares exciting and approachable recipes everyone will wholeheartedly embrace in their own kitchens.
“The recipes are inviting and easy to follow, while the narrative merits a book unto itself. The whole is a dinner party, full of delicious food, interesting people, and compelling stories that describe a proud, diverse, and inclusive community. This is a book you’ll want to devour whole.” —Anita Lo, Michelin-starred chef and author of Solo
Includes Color Photographs
Filipinx offers 100 deeply personal recipes—many of them dishes that define home for Angela Dimayuga and the more than four million people of Filipino descent in the United States. The book tells the story of how Dimayuga grew up in an immigrant family in Northern California, trained in restaurant kitchens in New York City—learning to make everything from bistro fare to Asian American cuisine—then returned to her roots, discovering in her family’s home cooking the same intense attention to detail and technique she’d found in fine dining.
In this book, Dimayuga puts a fresh spin on adobo, perhaps the Filipino dish best known outside the Philippines, is traditionally built on a trinity of soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic—all pantry staples—but add coconut milk, vinegar, and oil, and it turns lush and silky; ribeye steaks bring extra richness to bistek, gilded with butter and a bright splash of lemon and orange juice. These are the punches of flavor and inspired recipes that home cooks have been longing for. You’ll find recipes such A modern, welcoming resource for this essential cuisine, Filipinx shares exciting and approachable recipes everyone will wholeheartedly embrace in their own kitchens.
“The recipes are inviting and easy to follow, while the narrative merits a book unto itself. The whole is a dinner party, full of delicious food, interesting people, and compelling stories that describe a proud, diverse, and inclusive community. This is a book you’ll want to devour whole.” —Anita Lo, Michelin-starred chef and author of Solo
Includes Color Photographs
288 pages, Hardcover
Published November 2, 2021
77 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 3, 2022
I love trying new cookbooks and different ethnic foods and this cookbook, as part of Abrams Dinner Party, is no exception. It takes us to the Philippines and all of the delicious dishes that they serve there. So many flavors are melded together and while I am not extremely familiar with this cuisine, I have heard of a few dishes including Adobo and Lumpia. But this culture has so many more wonderful dishes beyond what we might be familiar with from what we have experienced.
I was first drawn to the recipe Food of the Gods which is a Molasses, Date, and Walnut square. This is so delicious and I feel like it is healthy when it is not when you look at how much sugar is included. But never the matter, I ate every last bite and even made a batch for my book club for our sweet treat exchange.
Outside of the wide variety of recipes, there is also history and culture presented to us. I found this very fascinating especially when it came to the language which is very gender-neutral, to kamayan which is eating with your hands versus silverware. I love the example about being out in nature and trying to set up a table with silverware just isn't something that is done because it is more work than necessary. There is even a seasoning matrix at the beginning to educate us on what might mix well together and where they are on the sweet, sour, salty, or fat scale.
There is so much to learn from this book outside of the various dishes. This would make a great cookbook to share with the family and to have an education dinner over some traditional dishes popular in the Philippines. I think it would make for an interesting evening in any household.
I was first drawn to the recipe Food of the Gods which is a Molasses, Date, and Walnut square. This is so delicious and I feel like it is healthy when it is not when you look at how much sugar is included. But never the matter, I ate every last bite and even made a batch for my book club for our sweet treat exchange.
Outside of the wide variety of recipes, there is also history and culture presented to us. I found this very fascinating especially when it came to the language which is very gender-neutral, to kamayan which is eating with your hands versus silverware. I love the example about being out in nature and trying to set up a table with silverware just isn't something that is done because it is more work than necessary. There is even a seasoning matrix at the beginning to educate us on what might mix well together and where they are on the sweet, sour, salty, or fat scale.
There is so much to learn from this book outside of the various dishes. This would make a great cookbook to share with the family and to have an education dinner over some traditional dishes popular in the Philippines. I think it would make for an interesting evening in any household.
December 29, 2021
This will probably start a fight somewhere but the adobo from this book is one of the best I’ve ever had. Really bang-on recipes.
June 22, 2024
This is one of several Filipino cookbooks I borrowed from the library.
I love that this book includes phonetic pronunciations. There are so many recipes and they are well written a d have photos. Great information about ingredients and building flavor. Just a really well done cookbook.
I love that this book includes phonetic pronunciations. There are so many recipes and they are well written a d have photos. Great information about ingredients and building flavor. Just a really well done cookbook.
February 13, 2025
This has the perfect mix of old, nostalgic favourites and new takes on dishes I haven't yet had myself. That tinola recipe practically saved my life while getting over a cold.
October 17, 2022
Food traditions symbolize family history and represent cultural pride. For Filipinx from different generations in the worldwide diaspora, the cuisines enjoyed by our ancestors and immediate relatives are what brings us close together as a community. Influences from our colonial history and contemporary streams of migration have transformed the Filipino palate. In an elegantly written and illustrated book, chef Angela Dimayuga and writer Ligaya Mishan collaborated to bring beloved and soul-satisfying Filipinx recipes to more than four million Filipino-Americans.
I read the book from the point of view of an immigrant who has been in the U.S. for more than thirty years. I was delighted to see traditional recipes for classic dishes like kare-kare, pancit palabok and embutido. I was intrigued by dishes that are not so familiar to my Tagalog palate, like homemade spam and pastel de lengua. Some featured recipes have an obvious American influence, such as Filipino spaghetti hotdogs.
This book belongs in every FilAm’s library, as well as everyone who appreciates Filipinx culture and cuisine. What sets the book apart is the rich storytelling that comes with each heritage recipe, where the authors share personal experiences and reflections. Memories of family icons and gatherings accompanied by historical photos may cause readers to long for the comfort and closeness of large family gatherings that make good food more enjoyable.
I read the book from the point of view of an immigrant who has been in the U.S. for more than thirty years. I was delighted to see traditional recipes for classic dishes like kare-kare, pancit palabok and embutido. I was intrigued by dishes that are not so familiar to my Tagalog palate, like homemade spam and pastel de lengua. Some featured recipes have an obvious American influence, such as Filipino spaghetti hotdogs.
This book belongs in every FilAm’s library, as well as everyone who appreciates Filipinx culture and cuisine. What sets the book apart is the rich storytelling that comes with each heritage recipe, where the authors share personal experiences and reflections. Memories of family icons and gatherings accompanied by historical photos may cause readers to long for the comfort and closeness of large family gatherings that make good food more enjoyable.
November 16, 2025
I have long wanted to explore Filipino cuisine as my only experiences were as a guest at a few Filipino-American celebrations. “Filipinx” is a beautifully presented education on the cuisine.
Each recipe includes commentary by the chef-authors and is laid out in a very accessible way for the home cook. The photograph is lush and drool-worthy. This cookbook is beet meat-centric which pairs beautifully with my other recent Filipino food cookbook “In the Kusina” which is vegetable-forward.
I am so eager to explore these flavors with the new understanding that “Filipinx” has provided.
Each recipe includes commentary by the chef-authors and is laid out in a very accessible way for the home cook. The photograph is lush and drool-worthy. This cookbook is beet meat-centric which pairs beautifully with my other recent Filipino food cookbook “In the Kusina” which is vegetable-forward.
I am so eager to explore these flavors with the new understanding that “Filipinx” has provided.
October 3, 2022
Filipinix: Heritage Recipes from the Diaspora
By Angela Dimayuga
2021
A pleasant cook book. I appreciated it more for the cultural information and the author's internal journey, than for the actual recipes.
3 1/2 stars
By Angela Dimayuga
2021
A pleasant cook book. I appreciated it more for the cultural information and the author's internal journey, than for the actual recipes.
3 1/2 stars
January 9, 2022
This is so much more than a cookbook. It's filled with stories of rich cultural tradition and belonging.
Read
April 30, 2022Made the bola-bola meatballs and they were really good.
March 1, 2023
loved this, both full of accessible recipes and history. the added bonus of the list of additional reading at the end was especially helpful.
March 12, 2023
loved this cookbook (thank you to my sweet friend pao for gifting me this!) and i’m so excited to make these recipes with/for loved ones. ❤️
September 19, 2022
What better way to learn and celebrate another’s culture than through delicious food?!
Renowned chef Angela shares 78 recipes on popular traditional Filipino dishes, sauces, drinks, and desserts—but with a twist! She adds her own tweak that elevates the flavor.
Adobo is my Achilles heel and I can never get it right. After another tasteless trial, my family begged me to stop cooking adobo. So I immediately scanned Angela’s adobo recipe to see what I’m doing wrong. Whoa. Her process is completely different from what I’ve been told to do. So now I’m excited to try a small batch, or maybe next time when I’m not too lazy to cook.
I love Angela’s cookbook! She shares her story as she shares her recipes. It’s a daunting undertaking, with so many creative hands at play. The photos by Alex Lau vibrantly capture the delectable array of mouthwatering food. And the styling is classic with a modern slant. It’s gorgeous and atypical that I repeatedly peruse the pages for inspiration. This is a great addition for cookbook collectors and foodies.
This cookbook/memoir format reminds me of another Bay Area chef, Alan Cailan in his 2020 “Amboy—Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream.” I hope more creatives adopt this format to tell their story as they share their work.
Kain na! (Let’s eat!)
@IvyDigest
Renowned chef Angela shares 78 recipes on popular traditional Filipino dishes, sauces, drinks, and desserts—but with a twist! She adds her own tweak that elevates the flavor.
Adobo is my Achilles heel and I can never get it right. After another tasteless trial, my family begged me to stop cooking adobo. So I immediately scanned Angela’s adobo recipe to see what I’m doing wrong. Whoa. Her process is completely different from what I’ve been told to do. So now I’m excited to try a small batch, or maybe next time when I’m not too lazy to cook.
I love Angela’s cookbook! She shares her story as she shares her recipes. It’s a daunting undertaking, with so many creative hands at play. The photos by Alex Lau vibrantly capture the delectable array of mouthwatering food. And the styling is classic with a modern slant. It’s gorgeous and atypical that I repeatedly peruse the pages for inspiration. This is a great addition for cookbook collectors and foodies.
This cookbook/memoir format reminds me of another Bay Area chef, Alan Cailan in his 2020 “Amboy—Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream.” I hope more creatives adopt this format to tell their story as they share their work.
Kain na! (Let’s eat!)
@IvyDigest
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews