Sate / satay is not peanut sauce
Sate / satay is skewered meat. Not only chicken but just about any meat including organ meats. It’s Indonesian / Malaysian sate but known by other names across Southeast …
Food Tales
To understand food and its cultural and social significance, it is often necessary to go beyond recipes and cooking tips. This section includes a comprehensive guide on ramen broth, a history of mac and cheese, a dive into the (mostly Western) misconception that sate / satay is peanut sauce and how chocolate evolved to become the (second?) most popular Valentine's Day gift.
What your coffee says about you, and why psychologists want to know
It's a marketing game. Psych studies on coffee drinkers and how they want their drink are used for ad targeting.
Ambrosia: the colonial root of Filipino fruit salad
Filipinos look forward to noche buena and the most important Christmas dessert. Fruit salad. I wonder how many realize how deep its colonial roots go.
Is there such a thing as “pure” cuisine?
Ramen, beef pho, banh mi, Thai curry and khao soi are fusion dishes. Colonization, trade and migration gave birth to fusion cuisine long ago before the word "fusion" was …
The truth about Filipino adobo
Over two decades ago during the early years of food blogging, I was approached by the people of a local TV show to prepare dishes for its Christmas special. On the list …
Let’s talk about chocolate, shall we?
Before you send a seductive box of chocolates for Valentine's Day, know that there is no credible scientific study to prove that it is an aphrodisiac nor a health food.
Food bowls: Asian versus non-Asian
Food bowls are traditionally Asian. Bibimbap, donburi, gaifan, bun cha — all of which are about harmony of ingredients. Western food bowls are entirely something else.