SAN FRANCISCO -– The Year of the Dragon will be the Year of the “Adobo” if some local foodies are predicting it right. Braised chicken or pork in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic, Adobo is considered a signature dish in Filipino cooking, which, judging from the buzz at this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, could be poised to ride the next gourmet food wave.
The show’s organizers, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade decided on a Filipino dish for the cover of their latest magazine edition. In her feature story, Joanna Pruess cites what makes this cuisine stand out: “big, bold flavors of sour, sweet and salty.”
One example is “Kare-Kare” or oxtail and vegetable stew in a peanut sauce, which no Filipino will eat without a dab or three of “bagoong,” fermented shrimp sauce.
Veteran food writer Nancy Freeman has been a long-time fan. “I think there are so many hot Filipino restaurants now, and they have really helped get this food bubbling to the surface of the marketplace,” she said during the recent “Kulinarya” event in San Francisco, a celebration of Filipino cuisine. As president of the Asian Culinary Forum, Freeman also organized a chefs’ panel for the organization’s Filipino Flavors Symposium in 2010 in San Francisco.
In the Bay Area, several hotspots for Filipino food have emerged, ranging from fine dining restaurants to lounges, bakeries, and popular gourmet food trucks, including Adobo Hobo, Señor Sisig, Hapa SF and Lumpia Cart. At The Naked Chorizo’s food booth at Kulinarya, hungry guests lined up for tasty chorizo tacos with avocado and salsa.
Filipino Culinary Superbowl
Organizers for the Kulinarya, led by the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, say they want to elevate the cuisine to the next level and make it more palatable for American tastes. Many believe it’s just a matter of time, pointing out that Filipino food -- like the community—is a sleeping giant ready to join the ranks of other Asian fare already popular in the American gastronomic vernacular.
The Philippine Consulate launched the Kulinarya Showdown events, the community’s cooking Superbowl, in line with its ongoing “Kulinarya” (Culinary) Food Trips -- travel packages designed by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism in conjunction with Philippine Airlines aimed at attracting more US travelers to the Philippines, giving them a chance to discover authentic regional cuisine there.
Over several centuries, Philippine cuisine has evolved from its Malayo-Polynesian origins to a mixed repertoire with Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, American and other Asian influences. Provincial specialties have added to the mix of styles.
“Out of these influences and combinations, we developed our own distinct taste,” says chef and event judge Ron Bilaro, segment host of The Filipino Channel TV’s Adobo Nation and one-time sous chef for Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef. That taste was on display at the Kulinarya, where three amateur and three professional chefs presented 4 courses each: a starter, a 1st entrée; a 2nd entrée: their own interpretation of the classic “Adobo” and dessert.
Among the judges were Lynne Bennett, staff writer and wine coordinator at the San Francisco Chronicle, and Pinay food bloggers Joanne Boston-KwanHull and Rose Ravasco aka Urban Food Maven.
In the amateur division, Arlene Nunez took the prize for her menu including “Vegetarian Fresh Lumpia” and savory “Adobo Banh Mi” - crossing the Filipino dish with the classic Vietnamese sandwich.
Manila-born Chef Albert Rivera, meanwhile, won in the professional division with a sampling that included shrimp and vegetable fritters with a “Calamansi” Ponzu Sauce and “Halo-Halo,” a dessert of shaved ice, evaporated milk and a mixture of various fruits and beans topped with purple yam ice cream.
(To be continued next week)
Editor’s note: This is the first of two parts on Odette Keeley’s coverage of the 2nd Kulinarya Cooking Showdown Grand Finals last January 21, 2012 held at the San Francisco’s Carnelian by the Bay restaurant. Keeley is host and executive producer of ‘New America Now,’ NAM’s TV show airing on weekend nights (6pm PST) on Comcast Hometown Network channel 104.)
(www.newamericamedia.org)
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