Filipino food for a global setting

MILLIE: A new cookbook is out on the market and it’s good enough to eat. Authored by Yasmin Newman, an Australian food and travel writer by birth and literally a Filipino at heart, 7000 Islands was inspired by the love story of Yasmin’s Australian father John Newman and Filipina mother Ruby Morillo, to whom she dedicated the book.

The author spent many happy meals bonding with her cousins when she was growing up and her family would often travel to the Philippines. Yasmin paints a food portrait with everyday and party food selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner, merienda, which she calls a bonus feed, and pulutan and pica-pica or bar and finger food with easy-to-follow recipes that are authentic, not put-on and not fusion. It deals with Filipino dishes made from scratch, no shortcuts and without the use of instant mixes — it’s more fun that way.

The book is ideal for Pinoys living abroad and for Australians and other nationalities. Yasmin sensibly tweaked the recipes to adapt to a foreign palate. She also gives a descriptive background on the food’s origins, whether historical fact, myth or fable. The book is filled with interesting anecdotes about Pinoy eating habits and traditions and even includes an amusing narration of “How to know you’re Filipino.”


7000 Islands is one of the better Philippine cookbooks I have seen or read in recent times as it is filled with many colorful shots and scenic spots as, seen from Yasmin’s eye, who, by the way, is also a photographer.
Some of the dishes that caught my eye were the ginataang alimasag at buko, prawn and salmon sinigang, ginataang sugpo at aligue, and her rendition of lechon liempo or lechon-style roast pork belly, bringhe , lumpiang singkamas and, believe it or not, Filipino spaghetti.
Although we did not get a chance to conduct kitchen tests of her recipes, we could almost taste the dishes just by scanning the recipes. We did try to validate the recipe for binagoongang baboy and found it to be less salty, in order to adjust to a foreigner’s taste buds. The kare-kare made use of beef brisket instead of the usual oxtail and tripe, as some foreigners might not appreciate it. Karla and I were lucky to have been invited to conduct a one-on-one interview with Yasmin the day before the book was launched at National Book Store.

KARLA: In 2009, Yasmin took a sabbatical and came to explore the Philippines. In her lifetime, she has been here close to 20 times. But it was only during her 2009 trip that she discovered other regions and islands aside from Manila and Mindoro. Being a travel and food writer, Yasmin believes that the best way to explore the country is through its food. Food is related to culture and history, which the Philippines is equally rich in. Telling the history, including our colonizers, is important to fully appreciate the food of a certain country, and why it is different from its neighboring countries.


Yasmin talked about how there are not many accurate resources available regarding Filipino food.  After her previous article in an Australian magazine about the Philippines was published, it sparked interest from readers. This is when she pitched the idea for the book to her publisher. She focused on target readers, which were Filipino expats and their offspring, and foodies who are curious about food.  The whole idea of the book is to put authentic Filipino cuisine and culture in the limelight, targeted to a global audience — mainly the Australian audience.


The book is not your typical cookbook. There are a lot of side stories, too.  But for me, the more interesting part of this book is how much effort Yasmin put into it with the recipes alone. With her mission to introduce Filipino cuisine to Australia, she has developed recipes with substitutes for ingredients found in the local Australian market, or at least, the Filipino food stores in Australia. This will benefit not only Australians but, more importantly, Filipinos in Australia. Yasmin tried as much as possible to tone down some intense flavors like patis or fish sauce, and bagoong or shrimp paste, so as not to overwhelm the palates of her target readers.


One of our first questions for Yasmin was, “What is your favorite Filipino dish?” Although it made her squirm in her seat a bit, mom and I totally understood her difficulty in answering our question. First of her top three favorites is lechon skin. She tells us that Filipinos are masters of pork. And since pork is not frequently consumed in Australia, only prime cuts are usually ordered from the local butcher. Some parts of the pig aren’t used at all, whereas Filipinos embrace the entire animal, using every part possible so nothing goes to waste.

She is also fond of what she calls the “addictive, sweet and savory brioche-like pastry with Eden cheese, whipped butter and sugar” also known as ensaymada. And lastly, sansrival and silvanas are definitely something she indulges in. She tells us how hazelnuts and almonds are so common in Australia yet cashews are quite expensive and a luxury. Yasmin shared an amusing story about using loads of cashews and adding them into a cake when she bakes. This is when mom and I realized how interesting it was to be talking to a foreign foodie who appreciates Filipino cuisine possibly more than most locals do since most people take it for granted.


MILLIE: I remember way back in the ‘70s, when I was very much  involved with the Hotel & Restaurant Association of the Philippines,  the late Tourism Secretary Jose Aspiras  tried to promote the country by inviting food and travel writers from abroad to come visit the Philippines.  But somehow, despite all these efforts, Filipino food has not gained global acceptance as compared to Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Singaporean or other Asian cuisines. Yasmin notes with sadness that most Filipino migrants in Australia do not have sufficient capital to finance or start a restaurant.
It is gratifying that Yasmin Newman has taken that big, bold step of helping promote our country and fabulous Filipino cuisine, and we feel that we need more food ambassadors like her to make a big impact globally.
Through her book, Yasmin invites her readers to experience the Philippines through our culinary treasures. Truly the way to people’s hearts!


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7000 Islands: A Food Portrait of the Philippines is available at National Book Store and Power Books for only P1,295 each.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.