Inato, a new Filipino restaurant in Makati, takes their inihaw game seriously, using free-range chicken from Baras, Rizal grilled over charcoal until perfectly charred on the outside and succulent within. "Inatô" in Binisaya means "our way"—and that way is one that's highly personal and based on the preferences of Chef JP Cruz and the team.
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00:00 [Music]
00:25 You can start with the name of the restaurant. It's called Inato. In Binisaya, "Ato" means "our way".
00:33 Basically, the food that we do here is our take on Filipino food.
00:37 The idea behind Inato actually started way back.
00:44 It's an accumulation of all our experiences because we get to travel from different parts of the world.
00:51 At the same time, we were exposed to different cultures, different ingredients.
00:56 One thing that we've learned with that is that whenever we bring in our taste profiles or condiments,
01:06 when we do collaborations or just basically cooking in some friend's house in different parts of the world,
01:15 we could do something Filipino with it.
01:18 So no matter what we use, we can come up with something that we can call Filipino.
01:23 Since Filipino food is so diverse, and it's not just one thing,
01:29 the use of different ingredients also amplifies what Filipino food can be.
01:35 I started to be interested in food when I was young.
01:41 My mom was frustrated to have a daughter or just two siblings.
01:48 Since I'm the youngest, I get to be with her when she cooks.
01:54 One of the most memorable dishes that we often cook together is Pinakbet.
02:04 The vegetable dish that we had is pretty much inspired on how the northern style Pinakbet is done.
02:14 We have different vegetables that we use.
02:19 We use native eggplant, native squash, native tomatoes, onions,
02:26 and we use patis bagong that we make, which is made from bisugo.
02:32 It has no water in it, so we use the liquid from the vegetables as well, and we shake it from time to time.
02:39 We also serve it with fried fish, which is asujos that comes in from Mindoro.
02:47 The oysters came in from Washington State.
02:51 Those are Pacific oysters, and then we grill it lightly over charcoal,
02:57 and then dress it up with a spiced coconut vinegar.
03:00 After that, we top it with garlic chives and pickled ginger.
03:05 The young corn from Tarlac.
03:08 We made a mixture of roasted garlic and butter with achara vinegar,
03:13 and then to finish it off, we have cheese from France called mimolette.
03:18 The abalone came in from South Korea, specifically in Wangdo County.
03:27 What we did is, after steaming it in a salt water solution,
03:34 we mixed it with spiced coconut vinegar, and we paired it with red onions.
03:43 The grilled fish.
03:47 Chicken from Barras Rizal.
03:50 In different parts, we have the oyster, the isol, and the wings.
03:56 For the ulam, we have the pompano.
04:00 That one came in from Calatagan, Batangas.
04:03 We steamed it and served it with some toppings,
04:07 which are crispy cebollas tagalog, stir-fried kangkong, seared spring onions, and cilantro.
04:15 The sauce on the side would be a mixture of spring onions, ginger, garlic, and fish stock.
04:24 The last one would be Iberico presa.
04:28 The pig came in from Spain.
04:31 It's near the tenderloin, and it's a bit more leaner with a small layer of fat.
04:37 So I would say it's more like a steak, pork steak.
04:41 The glaze outside is a pork sauce that we've been taking care of since we started Toyo.
04:46 So I carried it over here and added a bit of vinegar in it,
04:51 and the complements would be pickled ubud and stir-fried watercress.
04:57 Papsi is a mixture of four different fruits.
05:03 We have guayabano, dalandan, mangoes, and pineapple.
05:08 The glaze outside is made of roselle or rosella.
05:13 And we finish it off with citrus that came in from Bauco, Mountain Province.
05:20 It's called Bauco Orange.
05:22 I really like the space that we have right now.
05:28 It's also something that's very new to us.
05:31 The feeling of serving guests right in front of you
05:37 also is a factor on why we enjoy this space and why we enjoy cooking.
05:45 I guess it gives us more room to express what we do.
05:50 But not just that, really, it's about showing what we do and sharing our way of cooking.
05:59 [Music]
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06:07 (bell chimes)