We Cook Filipino Cookbook

We Cook Filipino is filled with Heart-Healthy Recipes and Inspiring Stories from 36 Pioneering Food Personalities & Award- Winning Chefs.

We Cook Filipino

Everyone! I photographed a Healthy Filipino Cookbook and I am also one of the contributing Authors. It is edited and compiled by the great Jacqueline Chio-Lauri.

This book presents the extraordinary food culture of the Philippines in stories and recipes from 36 culinary trailblazers—award-winning chefs, food writers and social media stars from around the globe. They share with us not just their favorite recipes for classic Philippine dishes like adobo, sinigang and ginataan, but also their personal family stories about what Filipino food and food culture mean to them.

Here are just a few of the fascinating stories and recipes found in this book:

• James Beard 2023 Awardee Margarita Manzke discovers that the secret to a great life is no different from the secret to a great adobo, the recipe of which she reveals.
• Two-time Michelin Star awardee Roger Asakil Joya finds a place truly deserving of the much-coveted star and suggests a clean, light, and delicate recipe for sinigang (sour and savory soup) as a prelude to a meal.
• Award-winning writer, blogger and podcaster Liren Baker explains how family recipes were passed down to her by her Tita Leah and presents her favorite recipe for pancit bihon guisado (vegetarian stir-fried rice noodles).
• IACP Food Photography Award finalist and 2023 Chair Rezel Kealoha, who photographed most of the food featured in the book, recalls the birth of her premature baby and shares her American take on tinola (chicken ginger soup).
• James Beard semi-finalist Amormia Orino moved to Atlanta in 2018 and started hosting kamayan communal feasts—she shares a heart-wrenching story about her aging mother and her unforgettable recipe for ginataang alimasag (coconut-stewed crabs)
• Plus recipes and stories from 31 others!

Along with insightful stories and 51 different recipes, readers will learn many tips and techniques to balance flavor and nd heart-health inyour dishes, such as

• Using Filipino cooking methods to achieve bold flavors without adding extra sodium or sugars to your diet
• Preparing ingredients to retain the maximum amount of heart-healthy nutrients
• Managing your sodium intake while still using salt to heighten flavor
• Using heart-healthy tricks—like how to increase nutrient density and reduce the caloric value of a cup of white rice
• Quick methods for brewing flavorful broths, whipping up no-fry crispy treats, and so much more!The 51 delicious recipes in this book are not just “from the heart”—they are also “good for the heart”—specifically included for their health benefits. The result is a cookbook presenting food as something central to Filipino culture and one’s personal well-being in addition to being nutritious and amazingly tasty!

About Jacqueline Chio-Lauri

Philippine-born-and-raised Jacqueline Chio-Lauri had lived in seven countries around the globe before she settled in the United Kingdom. Some of her most delicious childhood memories are strolls with her lola (grandma) from the city’s panaderia (bakery) at the crack of dawn—she, munching warm, freshly-baked pandesal bread and Lola, regaling her with fascinating stories. 

Jacqueline has worn several hats through the years. She is an anthologist, author and editor, and a former science scholar, restauranteur, teacher, sales and marketing consultant and copywriter. Above all, she is a mum.

Pre-Order The Book

You can pre-order the book now and it will be shipped to you on October 24, 2023.

Pre-Order We Cook Filipino

Favorite Shots of in the book

Here are some of my favorite shots in the book as a preview:

My Experience Photographing a Cookbook

Not going to lie. It was hard! It was during that big second wave of COVID in early 2021, so I was basically homebound and my daughter was doing zoom school. I didn’t have an assistant and did everything. The shopping (praise Instacart!), the cooking, styling, picking the props, photographing it and editing it. It was a process. Now I know why people say have at least one assistant when you are photographing a cookbook.

I have to admit seeing the book now it is all worth it. I love all the vibrancy of our food and how fresh and inviting everything looks. Don’t ever let anyone tell you Filipino Food is brown! IT IS NOT! They are just eating one part of the cuisine. Even people that live there are not exposed to the breath and variety of Filipino Food.

So use this cookbook as a gateway to eating healthy. I made all the recipes. They are all amazing and have flavor and depth and very good for you.

Pre-Order the book so more healthy and vibrant Filipino Cookbooks can be made! Maybe one that is all me.

We Cook Filipino.