by Rose Churma
The third edition of this well-loved book was finally released in 2023.
More than just a cookbook of Filipino-Chinese dishes, it also explores Chinoy (slang for Filipino-Chinese) culture and history.
This publication is a peek at the cuisine of the Fujian-based traders, merchants, and Chinese immigrants who made the Philippines their home.
In the introduction written by Clinton Palanca, it can be inferred that most of the Chinese who immigrated to the Philippines were from the province of Fujian, a province that lies on the southeast coast of China across the straits of Taiwan.
Fujian was a largely agricultural society with a strong military presence. During the years before the Communist Party came to rule China and closed it off from the rest of the world, as its port at Fujian was a gateway to the rest of the world.
The late Doreen Gamboa Fernandez, the noted expert on Philippine cuisine, wrote a preface to this book that provided important insight into how Chinese cuisine became embedded in Philippine culture.
She notes in her preface that Chinese merchants traded with the folks in the islands we now call the Philippines as early as the 8th century, although documentation of Chinese presence is only available by the 11th century.
Some Chinese traders settled in the islands and had Filipino wives and children, thus, many Filipinos have Chinese origins and bloodline,s creating a culture referred to as Chinoy.
These developments had a major impact on Philippine food and life.
The book not only provides recipes for cooking but also documents the contributions of the Chinoys to the culinary heritage of the Philippines.
Well documented and illustrated, this publication will be of interest to those who love food—in whatever form or cuisine, but also to those who are curious and interested in the study of migration and its impact on identity and cultural assimilation.
The main author is Clinton Palanca, but aside from Doreen Gamboa, other guest writers are Jeffrey P. Yap, who wrote the piece on “Ysla de Binondo,” the area in Manila where pre-colonial Chinese traders rooted their presence in the Philippines.
Another guest writer is Mara Coson, who wrote “The Quiet Man” about her angkong, or grandfather.
In an anecdotal style, one gets a glimpse of the dynamics of a Filipino Chinese family and their reactions to food.
The same holds true for the essay by Rafael A.S.G. Ongpin titled “Binondo Sundays with Dad,” where he writes about his dad, Jimmy Ongpin, who kept a notebook “where he would write down details of every meal in every restaurant, in every city he visited.”
What makes this book exceptional is the writing of Clinton Palanca, which Grace Young (author of Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge) describes as “poetic, poignant, and preserves the rich Chinese Filipino culinary heritage.”
This book takes us on a journey to kitchens of migrant Chinese families as they assimilate into the Filipino culture, to market food stalls, to eateries, pansiterias and upscale gourmet restaurants.
Well-kept family secrets on how to prepare recipes handed down through generations, secret techniques to prepare a dish, to anecdotes and adventures related to food—all these conspire to what Doris Magsaysay Ho of the Asia Society, Philippines calls “A fabulous, must have book…A culinary delight.”
Clinton Palanca, who passed away at age 45 in 2019, was a food writer who combined his historical and cultural observations from his travels and his interest in culinary arts into his narratives.
He is also a three-time Palanca Memorial Award Winner for two of his short stories and an essay. He graduated from Xavier School and received a BA in both Philosophy and English Literature at Ateneo de Manila University.
He later took up an MS in Sociology at the University of Oxford and a Doctorate in Food Anthropology from SOAS University of London. He was a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer as well as a few other online publications.
Neal M. Oshima, who is originally from Hawai’i, contributed the photographs for this book. He has photographed food for numerous books, some of which have won awards. Ginny Roces de Guzman, an award-winning chef and author of books on food, was responsible for recipe development.
My favorite part of the book is the section “This is How We Roll” or the description on how to make Chinese fresh lumpia—not really a dish but “a sacrosanct ritual.”
He calls the Fujianese lumpia an act rather than food. He notes that to “serve lumpia is a labor of love and to be invited to a lumpia party is a rite of inclusion.”
This brings back memories of when our grandmother would organize the young people of the house (usually during summer vacation when we’re spending time in the province) to help in prepping the raw veggies and then rolling cooked filling into these wraps with a frill of green lettuce at one end.
We’d end up with a variety of shapes—some very skinny or too bulky that the filling spills out.
After a while, we’d agree to just serve it as lumpiang hubad—just the filling sprinkled with the sweet and sour sauce with crushed peanuts and minced garlic.
Like serving fresh lumpia, this book is also a labor of love.
It is just fitting that the book’s publisher, Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei, dedicated this book to “our immigrant grandmothers and great-grandmothers who had to work daily at the stove. Their love for and loyalty to their families were best shown in the food they served.”
ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.
About Author
+ There are no comments
Add yours