Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands

I had purchased this book so that I would be able to make the foods I grew up eating. Although my mom did teach me how to cook them, her version of a recipe was "just add this and this and taste it". Half the time my cooking was hit or miss and the other half I totally missed key ingredients since my memory is not all that long at times. After a few years of calling my mom to ask about ingredients or how to make something I started looking for a cookbook to fill in the blanks.So, I purchased this book. After I received it, I brought it over to my mom's house to get her opinion and she was stoked on how authentic the recipes were. So much so, that she ended up announcing that she was keeping the book and I could buy another one.The recipes are good but since most Filipino families have a distinct way of making dishes you may have to adjust them to suit your taste and preference.

Here in the US, Philippine cuisine is most often summarized by the following: lumpiang shanghai, lechon (manok), pork barbeque, pancit, sinigang and adobo. If you can cook the above, consider yourself an experienced Pinoy chef; this book, fortunately, blows this notion out of the water.The book reveals a cuisine that is the amalgamation of history and geography; it features a multipage discussion on how Filipino cuisine can be subdivided into regional specialties, each with its own historical influences; it provides a grouping of dishes by genre (how many Filipino cookbooks describe the various meat and seafood ginataan variations while smartly leaving the dessert ginataan for later?); it compares and contrasts dishes with similar ones from other parts of the Philippines. From reading the book, one gets a glimpse of just how diverse Filipino cooking really is, each major region in the archipelago of 7100 islands, large and small, developing a unique taste that warrants its own recipe book.Accurate/appropriate English translations for many of the recipe names help make the recipes seem less exotic and unapproachable while the clear instructions guide the novice through even some of the more intricate dishes.

Learning recipes from my Mom was difficult because instead of saying things like "put 2 teaspoons", she would say things like "you just put this much (puts arbitrary amount using hand or random sppon), you know, till its good". She would get frustrated when the OCD in my needed specific measurements. After talking with friends, I found I was not alone. This book gives easy directions and measured amounts. It also has optional add on ingredients for some recipies. I've gotten so good at cooking my favorite dishes that I too, can now fine tune the ingredients to match the way my Mom made it. In others words I just use the ingredient servings mentioned in the book, and then add more or less "till its good". Interestingly my Mom read it too and she loved it so much that she asked me to order a copy for herself.

I ordered this cookbook as a birthday gift for my father. He absolutely loves Filipino cuisine and he is an experienced cook and knows how to cook a wide array of Filipino dishes. He was surprised by the large amount of recipes and beautiful pictures in this cookbook. My father was born in Manila and knows real authentic Filipino food! This cookbook portrays real Filipino cuisine in a comprehensive and simple format. I love the variety of recipes and feel that this cookbook will be loved and cherished by anyone who admires Filipino cooking! If you are a novice or you are experienced in south Asian cuisine, you will absolutely love this cookbook like I did! Highly recommended, you will not be disappointed!

This cookbook turned out to be the most helpful cookbook I own. My father is Filipino and my mother is German. Now that they both live with us, I was at a loss as to what I can cook for him that he would remember from his youth. This book had all the recipes I needed and my father was very happy sampling the finished dishes. My mother even tried a few. After leafing through the cookbook, we had to go to the Asian market and buy bihon pancit, squid and sweet rice. This book has a nice selection of recipes and a good book to give an overview of Filipino foods. I recomend it to everyone.

This is a great compendium of traditional recipes. I am second generation Filipino American, and have been frustrated as I try to recreate the foods I grew up with as nothing is written down in my family ("add a little of this, some of that.."). The recipes in this book are well-written and well explained, and I have been really happy with everything I've made. It's quite big-- 280 pages, and comprehensive. It is definitely worth the price, and I've purchased again for a gift.

AMONG THE BEST BOOKS ON FILIPINO CUISINE. The famous/infamous iconic super-hot BICOL EXPRESS recipe is missing though.Reason for the one-star deduction.

Not your authentic traditional Filipino food recipes. The ingredients and cooking methods are somewhat on the "safe" side. It gears toward Filipino Americans, non-Filipino or western readers who are new to Filipino cooking.

I bought this for my nephew at his request.He has a Philipino wife and has travelled in the Philipines..He was delighted with book as it gave a good representation of the cuisine. There are a wide variety of recipes from around the country which are a delight to cook.