Filipino Food for Health and Happiness
Jacqueline Chio Lauri, UK-based Filipina, compiled and edited We Cook Filipino, Heart-Healthy Recipes and Inspiring Stories from 36 Pioneering Food Personalities and Award-Winning Chefs (Tuttle Publishing, Vermont, USA 2023).
UK-based Filipina Jacqueline Chio-Lauri said, “Heart problems run in my family, in many Filipino families, and in the world at large. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of deaths globally. I wanted to create a book to give us a nudge to take care of our hearts and well-being, and to show that we can do so without giving up the food we love or the food we grew up on.”
Jacqueline gathered recipes promoting healthy, wholesome Philippine cooking, edited them, and We Cook Filipino was born.
How did this overseas Filipina develop a passion for Philippine cooking?
“You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone. That’s what it was like with me and Philippine cuisine. I had lived in countries where there were no Filipino restaurants or ingredients for cooking Filipino food. In 2000 when we moved to Croatia, I had to drive far from where we lived just to buy soy sauce, and asked my mother to ship basic ingredients, like ginger, to me from the UK. “
Later, when Jackie moved to the UK, she got to know more about the Filipino community.
“There are about 200,000 Filipinos in the UK, which make us a mere 0.2 percent of the UK population. But because 70 percent of the Filipinos in the UK live in or around London, we’re very scarce elsewhere. In Greater Manchester where we live, I barely see Filipinos. I’ve read that Filipinos in the UK work in a variety of sectors, including hospitality, engineering, information technology, and politics.”
It was the global pandemic that gave Jackie a view of UK-based Pinoys up close.
“I had my first glimpse of what the Filipino community here is like during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Thirty NHS (National Health Service) workers had just arrived in London and were feeling homesick. They were missing Filipino food. The community was quick to respond. Money was raised and several members of the community in London and Greater Manchester cooked 2,600 meals. Everyone in the community pulled together. A true bayanihan story.”
To most of us Filipinos who live in the diaspora, hearing a story about overseas kababayans coming together is not unusual. It is innate in our hearts to care.
“Filipinos usually ask one another, ‘Kumain ka na? (Have you eaten yet?)’ whenever we meet. Because like you and most Filipinos, I care,” Jackie said.
Jackie shows her love to her family by cooking their favorites: Adobo and Pinais na Pinaputok, stuffed fish wrapped in banana leaves, then baked. A testament to how the simplest Filipino meals can be so soothing, yet so healthy.
After the first success of The New Filipino Kitchen the Philippine cookbook she edited in 2018, there was no stopping Jacqueline on her quest to prove how much she cared for kababayans to eat healthy. She had an idea for the next cookbook and contacted Filipino chefs, food writers, professionals in the culinary industry in different countries, for nutritious, heart-healthy recipes.
Raves and reviews from various food experts poured in for We Cook Filipino including from this article's writer herself.
“The contributors for We Cook Filipino wave the Philippine flag wherever they are in the world. I wanted to get as wide of a range of perspectives. They were chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, bloggers, podcasters, and recipe developers from across the globe; 24 out of the 36 are based all over the US. Some volunteered to participate, some were suggested by others, and some were selected by me.”
I had the honor of reading an advance copy of We Cook Filipino, out on October 24, 2023 in the USA. I couldn’t wait to try wholesome recipes that stood out: Meatless Tortang Giniling, Shrimp and Pork Lumpiang Shanghai, Vegetarian Pancit Bihon Guisado, and No-Bake Food for the Gods. In my book review, I gave it five stars:
"This collection of Filipino recipes, and essays, is a scrumptious buffet of unique, personal stories, and familiar Philippine cuisine, made modern for today's kitchen. The storytelling is heartwarming, dishes are doable, and so luscious, they entice you to cook immediately. This is the cooking resource that will nourish your heart and soul.”
Jacqueline’s mission to write healthier Filipino books on food is never-ending. “Next year, I’m debuting as a picture-book author with Mami King, a delicious story about people from all walks of life coming together over bowls of mami noodle soup.”
Feeding, nurturing, and nourishing is the Filipino way to show love, as Jacqueline Chio-Lauri emphasizes: “I think We Cook Filipino is one of the few, if not the only Filipino cookbook for health and well-being today. Besides presenting the food culture of the Philippines through the stories and recipes, it is for those who’d like to be healthier and happier. “
Elizabeth Ann Quirino, is an award-winning journalist, food writer, and cookbook author. Her new book is Every Ounce of Courage, a memoir, is now available. Find her on TheQuirinoKitchen.com.
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