For your consideration

My cookbook, Make It Plant-Based! Filipino, is available for pre-order now!

Good morning! Today is a big day because my cookbook, Make It Plant-Based! Filipino, is officially available for pre-order wherever books are sold. It feels like forever since I first signed my contract and started working on this book. More than two years later, I’m proud to finally say it will be out this spring.

This cookbook features a collection of plant-based recipes I imagined my lolo and lola would love as much as their original versions, so you can savour Filipino dishes you’d rarely find vegan-friendly options for (think of dishes like sizzling sisig, traditionally made with pork, and kare kare, a hearty peanut stew typically made with oxtail).

Here, you will discover 60+ easy and customizable recipes for stews, stir-fries, noodles, salads, condiments, snacks, and desserts. There’s a range of beloved Filipino dishes, coupled with unexpected recipes that slightly deviate from tradition to better utilize plant-based ingredients, and some fun recipes I imagined my younger self would enjoy the most. Beyond the recipes, I also wrote essays exploring the rich history of Filipino cuisine, the cultural significance of ingredients like rice and coconut, regional cooking, and an in-depth guide on hosting a memorable kamayan—the traditional act of eating with your hands—for any size gathering. Think of it as your guide to Filipino cuisine with a fresh and approachable plant-based twist.

The book, at its core, is an ode to my upbringing and unique experience as a first-generation immigrant. I grew up in a household where food played a big part in our lives, with my family often hosting gatherings and feasts, especially during fiestas. I ate dishes like adobo (often made with pork or chicken), pansit (noodles), lumpia (spring rolls), and arroz valenciana (a dish similar to paella); fought my cousins for the last piece of longganisa (Filipino sausage), and snuck into the kitchen late at night to eat spoonfuls of ube ice cream from the freezer.

When my family and I moved from Manila to Toronto almost two decades ago, my parents worked tirelessly to ensure I wouldn’t forget my culture. They did this by cooking Filipino food at home, often having to adapt Western ingredients to replace native ingredients they couldn’t find. In high school, kids used to say my packed lunches were stinky. I often felt self-conscious about the strong sweet, sour, and garlicky aroma of my Filipino food, so I sometimes ate my lunches cold and avoided using the microwave to prevent drawing attention. At times, it broke my heart knowing how delicious my meal was and how my mom made time to cook it for me before leaving for work. When I eventually graduated, I went to culinary school and learned classical French techniques and dishes. I often wondered why Filipino food, a cuisine I thought deserved to be celebrated, didn’t get the same treatment.

As I grew older and met people whose eating habits differed from mine, I made an effort to reimagine the Filipino food I know and love. This experience ultimately shaped my unique perspective on blending contemporary cooking techniques with traditional Filipino cuisine, so when I got the call to work on this cookbook, I poured my heart and soul to not only share my unique take on Filipino cuisine out into the world but also to honour its origins.

Make It Plant-Based! Filipino is officially out on May 13, 2025, along with the other plant-based cookbooks in the series written by Andrea Aliseda, Mehreen Karim, and Srishti Jain. Special thanks to Judy Pray, Katherine Cowles, Suet Chong, Kimberly Ehart, Suzanne Fass, Analucia Zepeda, and the rest of the Workman team for working with me on this project. To the talented photo team, Emily Fishman, Tyna Hoang, Emily Eisen, and Sophie Strangio, for bringing my recipes to life and producing the most beautiful images. My recipe testers and dear friends, Delaram Basiri, Elliot Sedgwick, Joe Rhodes, Andy Webb, Genesis Fernandez, Darrel Almario, Shadi Basiri, Greg McInnis, Abi Balingit, Carly McCready, Paul Allardyce, and so many more.

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