Sour Flavors of the Philippines: sinigang and adobo
How does Philippine cooking  differ from other Southeast Asian cuisines?  Sourness is at the heart of Philippine cooking:  sinigang (soups soured by sour fruits like tamarind, guava, kamias); adobos (natural vinegars) and kinilaw (citrus juices, sour fruits or vinegars).
Sinigang or Philippine sour soup
Sinigang is a sour soup that [...]

We were like children in a candy store –let loose to harvest anything in the Herb Garden of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden because we were cooking up turnovers and croquettes for the Sunday celebration of the opening of the Herb Garden.  This past Friday, Caleb Leech, Herb Curator of the BBG, toured us around the [...]

Purple Yam cooks with BBG Herbs

August 14, 2010

Herbs harvested from the BBG Herb Garden: Thai basil, fennel, hyssop, lemon thyme, different chiles, bay leaves and Cuban oregano.  Outside the bowl: eggplant, okra, Malabar spinach leaves (alugbati to Filipinos) and Asian pears.
On Sunday, August 15, 2010, Purple Yam will be at the BBG to give out some Filipino home cooking using herbs harvested [...]

Read the full article →

Purple Yam yummies at BBG Herb Garden, Sun, Aug 15, 2010

August 9, 2010

BBG Herb Garden weekend, Aug 14 – 15, 2010
It was quite a pleasant surprise to get an email from Kate Blumm of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, to invite Purple Yam to provide some small treats for the weekend celebration of the Herb Garden on Aug 14 – 15.  She had come to PY and loved [...]

Read the full article →

Looking forward to exploring Brighton Beach

July 30, 2010

Brighton Beach guide NY Mag
My friend, Daisann McLane, former NYT Frugal Traveler, is in town for the summer and has enticed me to explore the world of Brighton Beach.  So next week,  we are going with a friend, Lilet Camara, who is also visiting NYC for the week.  Daisann has been living in HK for [...]

Read the full article →

Filipino Food Uncut –F&B World article on Purple Yam

July 21, 2010

22-23 Class Time
F&B World Philippines, July 2010 issue, has an article about Purple Yam.  Thanks to CJ Juntereal’s writing that captures all our hopes for Filipino food.  Thanks to Enderun Colleges for allowing me to do the Ang Sariling Atin Workshop in their campus.  Thanks to Nana Ozaeta, editor-in-chief of F&B World for featuring our [...]

Read the full article →

A Gumamela (hibiscus) thrives in Ditmas Park

July 7, 2010

This hibiscus (gumamela in the Philippines) was given to us by  Stewart, Tabori & Chang, the publisher of our cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens when Frank Bruni, then food critic of the New York Times gave us a 2-star review of Cendrillon on August 3, 2005.
This gumamela flowered and gave us so much pleasure for [...]

Read the full article →

Purple Yam open Mon, July 5th for dinner

July 5, 2010

Yes, we are open for dinner starting at 5:30 pm Monday, July 5, 2010.
For those of you who are tired of spending many hours before the grill, let us do the cooking for you tonight.  You don’t have to wash dishes either.  So relax and come to Purple Yam!
Hope everybody had a relaxing weekend!

Read the full article →

Crispy Pata (deep-fried pig trotters) at Purple Yam

July 3, 2010

I distinctly remember the year when I was a teen-ager in Manila when crispy pata became the rage and Filipinos discovered one more way to enjoy an otherwise ignored part of the pig.  This dish, along with sisig (sizzling pig cheeks, snout & ears marinated in lime juice and spiked with chopped onions and chiles) [...]

Read the full article →

White House Chef Cris Comerford has brunch at Purple Yam

June 27, 2010

It was a leisurely Saturday brunch at Purple Yam and we were enjoying a visit with Clarissa delos Reyes and Steve Payne.  Clarissa had just come back from Bohol, Philippines where she worked as second camera for John Sayles’s latest movie, Amigo, a fictionalized moment of the Philippine American War.
Then Romy excitedly told me that [...]

Read the full article →