Second of Three Parts
The Philippines is known in the Gastronomic Community as Adobo Nation.
The word "adobo" is rooted from the Spanish term adobar which means to marinade or to season with vinegar and spices to preserve the meat. This is basically not the dish itself but the manner of conserving and stabilizing so the meat will not deteriorate and still remain edible over time.
Adobo is an all-time favorite as, like wine, "the longer it sits, the better it tastes."
In 2021, Taste Atlas included Philippines' adobo among its list of the 100 world's best-loved dishes, ranking 81st. Not bad. Adobo was way more liked ahead of Italy's favorite, puttanesca, a noodle dish.
On December 2023, Taste Atlas scored adobo with 4.5 rating, placing 33rd among the 100 Best Cuisines in the World. The Top 5 were dishes from Italy, Japan, Greece, Portugal, and China, in this order.
The leading cuisine duo were Italy's Neopolitan Pizza and Japan's Kaisendon, a sashimi rice bowl. This was followed by Greece's saginaki, an appetizer made of fried cheese served in a small frying pan.
This vinegar-braised dish, a favorite in many Filipino households, served with rice, is to really to fight for.
While Filipino chefs have made variations of adobo but the plain, simple, oily, laced with soy sauce and lots of garlic is the more authentic and original version.
Top Chefs in North America
Filipino chefs' centerpiece is still the adobo. Most of them have made a name in the international art of cooking not leaving behind "a taste of Filipino cuisine."
The most popular among professional chefs is Cristeta Pacia Comerford, the first woman of Asian origin to be designated as White House Executive Chef. Comerford has held the post since 2005.
For sure, Chef Comerford has included adobo, the Filipino pride, in the First Family's meal as she has fed five presidents. In the process, Comerford has had the privilege to "taste as many types of food as possible." A graduate of the University of the Philippines, Comerford majored in food technology.
In Canada, there are a number of well-respected masters of cuisines.
Chef Jeremy Senaris is a byword. He was voted as one of Canada's Next Star Chef by The Globe Mail and has appeared in several seasons of Masterchef Canada. Senaris has creatively put modern spikes on traditional Filipino dishes.
In Toronto, Filipino food is a growing fancy in local restaurants and bars that these are now in the mainstream culinary scene, according to Chef Lester Sabilano whose parents own Barrio Fiesta. Sabilano is confident that, no doubt, Filipino cuisine gained its niche in the discriminating palates of other nationalities.
Chef Marc Buenaventura started by admiring and imitating the dishes whipped up by his mom and aunts back home. His passion was "exported" to Canada where he began serving the best of Filipino home cooking.
Top Chefs in the US
One that made twice it to the finals of Top Chef, an Americal reality cooking show, is Sheldon Simeon, raised in Hawaii by Filipino parents.
Chef Simeon grew up with delectable Filipino dishes served at home. With a great appetite and craving for authentic Pinoy dishes, he mastered the culinary arts with gusto. For him, serving goof food is an incredible communication tool with crawlers.
In joining Top Chef, while he did not bring home the plum, Simeon managed to put Filipino cuisine in the limelight. Pinakbet, which originated from the Ilocos Region, was his best bet. He did not just imitate the way it was cooked that he grew up with. Simeon went deeper researching how each dishes came to be.
Simeon also authors a 100-recipe book, "Cook Real Hawai'i," that featured the ancestral roots of Hawaiian cuisine. It is packed with anecdotes on timeless favorites presented with his own shot on the original recipes. Of course, also included here are pinakbet, pork belly adobo, and the Filipino okra salad.
Just last month, the James Beard Foundation named Filipino chef, Lord Maynard Llera, as "Best Chef in the California Region" during its awarding in Chicago, Illinois.
The foundation, founded in 1986, is also known as the "Oscars of the Food Industry" in recognizing excellence in food service. It provides a center for culinary arts to highlight all aspects of food and its preparation, presentation or plating, and consumer's satisfaction.
On Tuesday, July 9, watch out for a feature on Chef Lord who placed Filipino culture and cuisine in the international culinary centerstage.
(email opinyon.luchie@gmail.com, luchiearguelles@yahoo.com)
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