Aired (August 6, 2023): Chef JR Royol returns to the Center for Asian Culinary Studies to see his old mentor, Chef Gene Gonzales, and shows him what he's learned over the years by preparing Ginataang Pinikpikan and Chocolate Gateau.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 I last visited the kitchen of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies
00:17 11 years ago.
00:19 That's a long time.
00:21 I would say, since my life is transitioning to this world,
00:28 when I was attending their classes,
00:31 all of my classmates, all of my batchmates, all of our instructors,
00:37 they all contributed to the beautiful memories I have here.
00:42 Of course, you experience new techniques, new cooking, new cuisine,
00:49 because we learned everything.
00:51 For 11 years, I have often imagined myself cooking for my teacher.
01:01 I never did that, because I didn't make it to our Report 1.
01:07 But this is what I look forward to.
01:11 This is what I imagine I will do on the farm-to-table one day.
01:16 I will cook for Chef Gene.
01:18 For my father in the kitchen,
01:21 I will make one of my favorite recipes I learned while I was in their school.
01:27 What would top that expectation is if I get to cook with him.
01:34 This is what we are looking for, Chef?
01:36 Yes.
01:37 It's beautiful.
01:38 The touch you made is beautiful.
01:40 You even put the onions inside.
01:44 That would be bonkers.
01:45 That would be mind-blowing for me.
01:47 It's a different kind of experience.
01:48 It's not enough.
01:51 It's not enough, Chef.
01:54 I'm calling for more.
01:55 I'm calling for more.
01:59 Chef, restaurateur, best-selling author.
02:06 That's what Chef Gene Gonzalez is known for.
02:10 And for me, he is a mentor.
02:14 He is one of the first people who believed in my cooking skills.
02:18 He gave me a broad perspective on my knowledge.
02:20 And he gave me the inspiration to uncover my identity as a chef.
02:26 Here at the Café Isabel and Center for Asian Culinary Studies,
02:31 I will finally be able to cook with my idol chef.
02:36 In Kapampangan, this is called "palukluk."
02:39 "Palukluk."
02:40 "Lukluk" means "sit."
02:43 So, this is a very easy recipe, but it's so delicious
02:49 because you can hide all the chicken's flavors.
02:55 And Chef, the aromatics are traditional.
03:00 Actually, this is freewheeling.
03:02 Once you cook the chicken with the rice,
03:06 all of the ingredients are combined.
03:07 You know, in the field, they are very simple when it comes to cooking.
03:14 Here, we will trap all the chicken's flavors.
03:20 So, it's like a version of Singapore rice.
03:24 Chicken rice, right?
03:25 There. Let's add a lot of oil.
03:28 You can use ordinary oil too.
03:30 Just saute the onion and the anchovy oil a little.
03:36 So, we'll just sear it?
03:38 Yes, we'll just sear it a little.
03:40 Let's add the garlic.
03:51 Let's add the ginger.
03:53 The smell of the tinola, the woody and floral of the anchovy oil
04:01 will go in there.
04:03 We'll just saute it.
04:04 You thought there were only people who are just cooling it down.
04:07 Yes, exactly.
04:08 Because it doesn't have a smell, it doesn't have a taste.
04:11 Its taste and smell just comes out when the ingredients are combined.
04:18 Yes.
04:19 Let's add the pepper.
04:20 I think this is one of the traditional recipes that is not done that often.
04:30 What's nice about this is that people forget about it but you can make this at home.
04:35 One pot. One pot cooking.
04:38 It's really for the times.
04:43 Especially for people who live in condos or apartments.
04:47 It's easy.
04:48 But you don't have to cook it far away.
04:50 You don't have to.
04:51 We'll just make it rustic.
04:52 We'll make it rustic so that we can serve it to the table.
04:54 This is what we're looking for in our Kulay Shop.
04:57 There.
04:58 Okay, it's nice.
04:59 Yes.
05:00 Okay, so the rice.
05:02 The touch you made is nice.
05:04 You even added the onions inside.
05:07 Yes.
05:08 It's really...
05:09 It's really in there.
05:10 It's a sweet and sour taste.
05:12 Let's add the fish sauce.
05:13 The seasoning.
05:14 Then, let's add the alagaw.
05:21 Okay.
05:22 Just before it gets spicy.
05:24 And you have your own.
05:26 Yes, we have our own.
05:28 I planted this so that the students can use it.
05:34 The water we're going to make...
05:45 It's the same measurement.
05:47 Yes.
05:48 I measured this with the rice.
05:50 What we're going to do is...
05:51 One is to two.
05:52 Okay.
05:53 Then, whatever water the chicken has, we'll take care of the total cooking of the rice.
06:00 Then, before we serve it, I got a cutting board.
06:09 Then, what I did was I cut it and planted it.
06:13 It's a delicious vegetable.
06:15 Actually.
06:16 Sometimes, I put a few of these leaves in the salad.
06:19 But, we'll just put this on top later.
06:23 We'll cover it.
06:25 It'll steam.
06:27 Okay.
06:28 Our meal is complete.
06:29 We have vegetables, chicken, and rice.
06:33 And then, the very subtle flavor that Talino has will add to the simple dish that we're preparing.
06:41 Very well cooked.
06:44 [Music]
06:49 We're good to go.
06:51 So, we're good to go, Chef?
06:52 We won't cook this anymore?
06:53 We'll just cover it?
06:54 We'll just cover it and carry over cooking?
06:56 Yes, just carry over cooking.
06:58 Then, we're good to go.
07:00 [Music]
07:11 While we're letting Chef Gene's chicken rest, I'll prepare another special chicken dish.
07:18 When I first started cooking, of course, the flavors I knew were the ones I grew up with.
07:26 The influence of my mother's eggplants and of course, the way my father's bicola was served.
07:34 So, growing up, I was exposed to the cuisine of eggplants.
07:38 Of course, we'll always have our eggplants.
07:40 And I had the opportunity to create my own.
07:44 And here it is, the result.
07:47 The bicola of our eggplants.
07:49 Basically, this is just a pinik-tikan with coconut milk.
07:52 Our chicken is ready.
07:55 We'll just slice our eggplants.
07:57 We have two kinds here.
07:59 This is the smoked.
08:00 And this is the salted.
08:03 [Music]
08:08 And our leeks.
08:10 [Music]
08:30 After we've sliced our meat, we'll add our stock or water.
08:36 And our bicolano element, coconut milk.
08:39 [Music]
09:08 [Music]
09:14 Maybe if we ask where I was really inspired in the world of cuisine,
09:21 I can say that it was in Pantalan, Mansalay, Mindoro.
09:25 We all know that I was born in Benguet.
09:29 And then our house was burned down there, so we had to move to Mindoro.
09:34 And Mindoro, just to explain our house there,
09:39 maybe it's a few meters of sea, but behind us is a mountain.
09:43 So I have a good balance of maybe the access to the sea and the lush ingredients.
09:52 And then there was this one time of the season of dill.
09:56 Where you don't have to go to the sea to catch it.
10:01 There are times that depending on the climate, they come close to the beach.
10:07 And of course, people get confused because it's a very once in a blue moon.
10:14 And when there's a chance like that, what the locals do is
10:20 they get their own tools to catch dill, monamon, depending on the size.
10:27 And then they'll grow.
10:30 If I have one of the first dishes that I learned, I would say it's this one.
10:35 And even when I traveled abroad to demo recipes, I still love dill.
10:44 So we're making Kalamansi now.
10:50 I just realized that it's delicious to use only vinegar.
10:55 So that it's like a cooking.
11:00 Here in Kilauin, because we use acid, what happens is it's like what we call liquid fire.
11:06 So in a way, there's a chemical reaction that we can imitate in applying heat.
11:14 What I would do is 60-40, 60% vinegar, 40% acid from our lime or Kalamansi.
11:22 So we have, I think, enough.
11:25 We'll just use coconut vinegar.
11:28 And also, spiced vinegar.
11:33 And then we'll set it aside to prepare the other components of our Kilauin.
11:44 So once we get our preferred balance of our acid,
11:49 we'll season it with salt.
11:53 You can also use fish sauce or shrimp paste.
11:56 Just to add contrast to the other flavors that we have, we'll also add a little sugar.
12:05 And of course, pepper.
12:17 So I'm ready with our acid.
12:19 I've already seasoned it.
12:20 For me, the balance is already there, the sourness, sweetness, and of course, the saltiness.
12:25 And since we used spiced vinegar, there's also ginger in it.
12:30 So for me, it adds a deeper flavor.
12:34 And once I get my onion, the balance of acid, and the type of protein that I'll be cooking,
12:44 everything else, it's up to you on what tripe you'll be using.
12:48 So let's set that aside.
12:53 We'll just proceed to our tipino.
12:55 [music]
13:17 And of course, for the life of our dish, our dilis.
13:21 So there's basically two ways of filleting your anchovies, or what we call dilis.
13:30 One is the most practical, we use our fingers, or we can use a knife.
13:36 What I do is, I just press the fish's mouth until you see a little flesh coming out.
13:45 And then, you slide the fish you've just filled in the mouth, so the inside can be revealed.
13:56 We'll just take the other side, slide the finger in, and then we'll remove the mouth.
14:09 [music]
14:31 I'm satisfied with the amount of fillets we've filleted.
14:34 We'll just put it in our container.
14:36 What we'll do now is, of course, we'll soak our ingredients in our liquid fire.
14:42 This is optional.
14:44 Of course, the traditional way of making filawin is just to put it all together.
14:48 You don't need to give it its own container.
14:51 But then again, because I would consider that my father in culinary arts is the one I'm serving,
14:59 I just want the flavors to be cleaner.
15:01 I want you to still be able to distinguish the taste of onions, cucumbers, and our fish.
15:08 That's why I sliced it.
15:10 [music]
15:35 We'll just wait a little longer. We'll be mixing it up, Food Explorers!
15:38 But before we eat, do you want to know if being a chef is also for you?
15:43 Let's listen to the story of some students of CICS.
15:49 When I was working abroad, I wanted to go back and join culinary.
15:55 So you're already working?
15:57 In the food and beverage industry.
15:59 I wanted to continue enrolling in culinary school.
16:04 That would be weird, because normally, when you're already in the industry,
16:09 you don't go back to culinary school.
16:13 But no, I know I'm lacking. I don't have enough knowledge.
16:17 There's something wrong, and this is right.
16:20 Since I was young, I've always wanted to eat.
16:22 Because, of course, I'm sure a lot of us who go to this industry,
16:27 they have a background that, "Ah, it's delicious to cook."
16:30 Family, right? It's delicious to cook. Grandmother.
16:32 My grandmother was a great cook.
16:34 I worked for 7 years as a corporate company.
16:37 So I didn't have much time.
16:40 I quit corporate.
16:42 I also worked abroad for a while. I was in the US for 6 months.
16:45 Then in those 6 months, I said, "This is it. I'll do it."
16:49 I'll shift completely to what I really want.
16:52 Is it still feasible? Is it still practical?
16:55 For parents to endorse them or to push them to attend culinary school?
17:03 For me, culinary is not just about cooking.
17:11 For me, there's discipline and responsibility.
17:17 The kids grow up.
17:20 It's not just the kids.
17:22 I'm old.
17:25 I mean, the hands-on training helped a lot.
17:29 But the stories, the experiences I had in these places,
17:36 it's a big deal.
17:37 Well, chefs, thank you so much.
17:39 If we're talking about an iconic Filipino dish,
17:46 this is one of them.
17:49 [music]
17:59 The development of flavor, the fermentation of amino acids
18:05 in these two types of fish,
18:08 it really gives you the depth.
18:12 And if this is just a fish,
18:14 our clients will just tag it, "Check in, we have a fish."
18:17 There's no seasoning.
18:19 In Europe, they'll just pour the sausage.
18:23 They'll pour the ham.
18:25 Which is basically the same idea of developing
18:30 adding more amino acids in food.
18:34 That's right.
18:35 That's how they show it.
18:36 What's missing?
18:38 I'm missing something.
18:40 I can't see it.
18:41 What's missing?
18:45 I'm missing something.
18:46 Let's just get some rice.
18:48 That's right!
18:49 Rice!
18:50 That's right!
18:51 That's what I was talking about.
18:52 That's it!
18:53 This is what I was talking about.
18:54 The will to make a banh kia.
18:56 It's so good.
18:57 Wow.
18:58 You made me feel like I won the competition.
19:03 Really?
19:04 Yes.
19:05 Seriously?
19:06 That was the last time I knew about it.
19:10 I showed this to them because a lot of them have dealt with spices.
19:17 This, I showed them the natural flavors that can be produced
19:27 that doesn't need a lot of spices.
19:32 So, I tasted the texture of the rice.
19:36 It's natural. It has the characteristics of Filipino cuisine.
19:41 The ingredients are normal.
19:45 We use ginger, garlic, and anise.
19:48 But it doesn't overpower the ingredients that we use.
19:52 To complete our Reunion Dinner with Chef,
19:58 they gave me a dessert that seems familiar to the students of CACS.
20:05 And to finish off, the menu that I make is for my dad in the culinary school.
20:10 I will make one of my favorite recipes that I learned when I was in their school.
20:16 It's the Chocolate Bavarian.
20:18 I brought this to all the hotels that I worked at.
20:21 I named this Chocolate Gato.
20:23 It's very simple.
20:25 We have here our double boiler or our bain-marie.
20:28 The water is hot.
20:30 We just melt the chocolate.
20:34 And while we melt it,
20:36 we have here warm milk.
20:39 We will use it to bloom our gelatin.
20:43 Again, the blooming of gelatin is a very important step
20:48 so that we can activate our gelatin.
20:51 Then, we will let it simmer while we melt our chocolate.
21:01 The reason why we use bain-marie is for us to be able to,
21:05 one, of course, to melt our chocolate.
21:07 But what we are really looking for here is to temper our chocolate.
21:12 Basically, it's a culinary term that tells you that the molecules of our chocolate are perfectly aligned.
21:19 What it means, in layman's term, is that it's already glossy and there's no more lumpiness.
21:25 So once we get that, we can now add our other ingredients.
21:29 [Music]
21:41 Let's put in our milk.
21:42 [Music]
21:58 Nice.
21:59 Very nice.
22:00 The texture is different, the flavors are deep.
22:06 The chocolate proportion is good.
22:13 I just followed the recipe.
22:16 You know, it's not like a normal bain-marie.
22:20 It's not like a bain-marie.
22:22 But the character of the chocolate is there because of the cheese.
22:26 [Music]
22:34 The restaurant that has been serving delicious Filipino and European cuisine since the 1980s,
22:40 is now located in their new home here in San Juan.
22:46 And because of their delicious heritage dishes and relaxing ambience,
22:50 this is a favorite place for the Filipino family to come back.
22:54 Come food explorers, let's do a food trip to Cafe Isabel.
22:57 What did you bring for us?
22:59 Well, Cafe Isabel prepared this for you because right now,
23:03 it's trending although nowadays, it's a popular heritage food.
23:09 This is paella sulipena, very similar to the Spanish cuisine style,
23:17 with salpicao.
23:19 We have here pinsec, but with tinapa.
23:22 We just added salsa and lingua.
23:27 Compared to brinje, the flavor is cleaner.
23:37 And there's no turmeric.
23:38 The brinje is turmeric-based, so it's more coconut-y, more earthy.
23:42 This is what we're fighting for.
23:46 The real paella is socarat.
23:49 This is the real deal.
23:51 Born out of the churches.
23:54 Because the egg whites are mixed with cayola,
24:00 then it's adobe.
24:03 But this, the egg yolks became rich bread.
24:07 Cheers!
24:08 Cheers!
24:09 And with that, cheers!
24:10 Amazing!
24:13 It's so smooth, it melts in the mouth, it's so sensual.
24:17 Just egg yolks, butter, sugar, and caramelization for the technique of getting it all together.
24:26 Sometimes, people are really embarrassed.
24:34 They think that we're just eating ordinary food.
24:37 I think it's not just about documenting or rediscovering.
24:43 Because no matter where in the Philippines,
24:47 if you're looking for delicious food, it will come out.
24:52 [music]