We Cook Filipino: Heart-Healthy Recipes and Inspiring Stories from 36 Filipino Food Personalities and Award-Winning Chefs, compiled and edited by Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, features an incredible collection of 51 recipes alongside memories from the chefs and writers behind the food. A few highlights include Lugaw (Oat Porridge with Soft-Boiled Egg), Vegan Ube Pandesal, Sinigang sa Calamansi (Sour and Savory Soup), Inihaw (Pork and Vegetable Barbecue), and Turon (Banana Rolls). I will also be sharing her recipe for Silog: Sinangag at Itlog (Cauliflower Fried Rice with Sunny Side-Up Egg) following the review.
Disclosure: I received this book from Tuttle Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.
Jacqueline Chio-Lauri
Jacqueline Chio-Lauri is a cookbook author, editor, and writer behind the website, My Food Beginnings. Her work has appeared on CNN, Well+Good, NBC, Huffington Post, and Epicurious.
She was born in the Philippines and is currently based in the UK. Jacqueline is also the author of The New Filipino Kitchen and Mami King.
We Cook Filipino
Jacqueline begins We Cook Filipino with an introduction and history of Filipino food and culture. I absolutely love the focus on the people behind the recipes with writings and memories from contributors based around the world.
For those new to Filipino cuisine, there is helpful overview of essential ingredients with photos and descriptions. There are also notes on flavor-enhancing techniques and how to cook rice using both the stove top and instant pot.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Kanin at Agahan (Rice and Morning Meals); Baon (Packed Lunches); Pulutan, Sabaw at Merienda (Nibbles, Soups and Noshes); Ensalada (Salads); Gulay (Vegan and Semi-Vegetarian Meals); Lamandagat (Seafood Delights); Karne (Meat); and Panghimagas (Sweets). The contents page has a list of the included recipes and stories with page number for easy reference.
Every dish is paired with a quarter to full-page photo of the finished dish. There are also portraits of each of the contributors.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in Tagalog/the original regional language and English. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, preparation time, yield, helpful tips, and nutritional notes.
Silog: Sinangag at Itlog
To pair with the review, I made Jacqueline’s recipe for a lightened version of Silog! Silog is the blending of two words- Sinangag (garlic fried rice) and Itlog (egg- in this case: pritong itlog/fried egg).
I make Sinangag at home often, but this was my very first time incorporating riced cauliflower. It worked out so well! My family didn’t even notice the cauliflower pieces among the rice (and I didn’t hide it- they were actively looking).
It all also comes together in less than 30 minutes. Start by lightly frying garlic in olive oil just until golden (be careful- it will quickly darken). Remove 1/4 of the garlic (this will be used for garnish) before tossing in the leftover rice and riced cauliflower. Continue stirring everything together until heated through with the crispy pieces of garlic evenly mixed.
Remove the Sinangag from the pan and finish by frying the eggs just until set. Serve while still warm with a sprinkling of garlic powder, pepper, salt, and remaining garlic pieces as desired.
Silog Serving Ideas
Jacqueline serves the Silog with Daing na Bangus (Pan-Fried Marinated Milkfish) to make Bangsilog and a tomato-cucumber salad (both recipes in book).
The kids were home while I was photographing and requested Hotsilog- the rice and egg with hot dogs. In keeping with the heart-healthy focus, I used turkey hot dogs in lieu of the more vibrant red hot dogs.
Other combinations include beef tapa (Tapsilog), sausages (Longsilog- my personal favorite), pork Tocino (Tosilog), and so on.
I minced three of the garlic cloves, but thinly sliced the last one just to have those thin slices on top of the Sinangag as garnish.
More Dishes
I also made Skinless Longanisa (Turkey and Pork Breakfast Sausage), Vegan Sisig (Mushroom and Tofu Hash), Espasol (Rice Logs Rolled in Toasted Rice Flour), and Buko Pandan Latte.
The Skinless Longanisa recipe by Kathy Vega Hardy of A Taste of the Philippines restaurant in Chicago is a lighter version of the breakfast favorite. Along with ground pork, ground turkey is added to the meat mixture and flavored with pureed dates (instead of brown sugar), lots of garlic, tamari, and optionally beetroot powder for color. They were a huge hit with my son.
The Vegan Sisig (Mushroom and Tofu Hash) recipe from Richgail Enriquez-Diez of Astig Vegan Cooking swaps the traditional chopped up pig’s head for a variety of mushrooms and firm tofu. The pieces are cooked in a frying pan until tender and seasoned with vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, chilies, garlic, and calamansi. It also all comes together in about 20 minutes.
In the Sweets chapter, Minerva Manaloto-Lott of Foxy Folksy shares a trio of kakanin (rice based desserts). I made the Espasol (Rice Logs Rolled in Toasted Rice Flour) from Laguna. Glutinous rice flour is toasted, then mixed in a sweetened coconut mixture and formed into individual logs. The logs are then rolled in more toasted rice flour to finish. The other cake options to make the trio are Pichi-Pichi (Steamed Cassava Cake Rolled in Coconut) from Quezon and Tibok-Tibok (Milk Pudding) from Pampanga.
I was so excited to see Mostra Coffee included in the book. Before visiting the San Diego Zoo Safari Park a few years ago, we stopped by Mostra Coffee’s Carmel Mountain Ranch location. We enjoyed the Bibingka Creme Brûlée Latte (espresso with homemade vanilla syrup, coconut and vanilla bean infused milk, torched sugar, and Bibingka topping) and Ube Wan Kenobi (ube milk).
In We Cook Filipino, Mike Arquines of Mostra Coffee shares a recipe for a Buko Pandan Latte. This comforting drink pairs freshly brewed espresso with a homemade pandan syrup and buko (young coconut)-infused milk.
We Cook Filipino is a fantastic pick for those interested in Filipino cuisine with a focus on heart health. Across the pages, you will find everything from breakfast inspiration to celebratory meals, packed lunches, weeknight dinners, and sweet treats- all paired with stories and personal memories.
Having a market with Southeast Asian ingredients nearby will be helpful in locating items such as fish sauce, bihon noodles, lemongrass, spring roll wrappers, bagoong guisado, banana blossom, taro leaves, and buko. Substitutions are provided when possible.
Silog: Sinangag at Itlog (Cauliflower Fried Rice with Sunny Side-Up Egg) Recipe
Excerpt from We Cook Filipino
Silog: Sinangag at Itlog
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) cooked rice preferably refrigerated leftover rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup (120 grams) riced cauliflower or 4 ounces (120 grams) cauliflower florets blitzed in a blender
- 4 small eggs
- 1 teaspoon water
- pinch garlic powder
- pinch freshly ground pepper
- pinch salt
Instructions
Make the Sinangag:
- Crumble the rice with your hands to break up the lumps.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet with a lid until it shimmers.
- Add the garlic and stir-fry until lightly golden.
- Remove about a quarter of the garlic using a slotted spoon. Set aside.
- Add the rice and the riced cauliflower to the skillet and stir-fry.
- Continue stirring for about 5 minutes until the rice is slightly golden and the garlic is mixed evenly. Transfer to serving dishes or containers.
Make the eggs:
- Lower the heat to medium.
- Crack the eggs into the same skillet, making sure they are evenly spaced.
- Sprinkle with the teaspoon of water. Immediately cover with a lid.
- When the egg whites are completely opaque, about 1-2 minutes, place a fried egg on top of each portion of rice. Season with garlic powder, pepper and salt and sprinkle with the remaining toasted garlic.
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