Connecting the Pots, Food from the Philippines to America
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Malou Perez-Nievera, author of the new Filipino cookbook Connecting the Pots, is also the YouTube star of the Skip to Malou Modern Asian Cooking Series (Photography by Edward Dela Cuesta)
Malou Perez-Nievera, self-taught chef, YouTube celebrity, and popular food blogger based in St. Louis, Missouri, capped a successful decade in the Filipino food world by indie publishing her first cookbook, joining the surge in Philippine cookbook publication.
They say a good cookbook is one you can trust. We all have that favorite cookbook. The one you open before you google recipes online. The one with recipes that are foolproof.
This is what Malou’s hardbound cookbook is like. The 75 Filipino recipes, and 30+ full color food photos serve as a guide and resource. Her personal stories tug at your heart. And you linger for the whimsical art illustrations on the book cover and among the chapters.
Malou charted her culinary journey with a different symbolic “pot,” starting from Tuguegarao, Philippines all the way to her current home in St. Louis. Each pot is a chapter, all pots simmer with delectable entrees.
Pot 1 – Tuguegarao : Family recipes from her childhood.
Pot 2 – Manila: Recipes from her husband’s family.
Pot 3 – New York: Traditional Filipino cooking in America, in the first city they lived in.
Pot 4 - Melbourne, Florida: Creative, budget-friendly meals at the time husband, Christian was in graduate school, their three kids Heather, Isabelle and Joey were school-age.
Pot 5 – San Diego, California: Where her blog Skip to Malou was born, and she experimented with fusion Filipino food.
Pot 6 – St. Louis, Missouri: Where home is today, she revisits well-loved dishes.
Malou’s recipes are traditional yet have a fresh whiff of present-day newness. She shares tried and true dishes from her family network.
“My followers are like me, immigrants, who want to bring back a taste of home, and instill it on the palates of their children,” Malou said, when we talked on the phone.
The food photos are mouthwatering. “I styled the shots myself. I wanted the dishes to look the way I cook it, “ Malou said.
Connecting the Pots: Charting Stories and Filipino Recipes to find home by Malou Perez-Nievera is a collection of recipes and memories experienced through living in different cities from the Philippines to America.
Malou shared heartwarming stories of the good, sad, happy, poignant and realistic sides of her life. She delved deep into Philippine recipes like Ibanag Longanisa, Batil Patung, Sinanta and Pinafuku, Lengua with Creamy White Sauce, Pandan-Wrapped Chicken, Custard Cake and lots more that were inspired by her close-knit family.
“I shared cooking secrets. Like how to make the Fried Chicken a la Jollibee-crunchy. If I don’t share, I lose credibility. I want my recipes to work.”
Malou is one of the first Filipino authors to focus on Ibanag dishes, her hometown cuisine. Her recipes entice with robust, powerful flavors, varied textures and vivid colors characteristic of the northern provinces of the Philippines. Malou’s instructions are clear, concise and one can sense her charming personality guiding you.
“Our years in Melbourne, Florida (Pot 4) were challenging and an important chapter.”
“It was my father’s last visit. He wrote me an emotional letter afterwards. He answered the question I always had for him,” Malou said, with a teary voice. The entire letter is in her cookbook. It speaks of a father’s unconditional love.
Malou’s book shines bright next to other Philippine cookbooks.
“It tells you where home is. Readers told me I put in words their very thoughts. My book tackles the food we miss, as immigrants.”
“Start with the breakfast recipes, “ she suggested to those cooking from her book. “Try the Lomo Lomo, a pork dish, rustic, homey and takes you to my hometown.” She also recommended old favorites like Beef Tapsilog, Embutido and Morcon.
Sinanta is described by the author as a favorite noodle dish in Tuguegarao, usually served for meryenda (snacks) or special occasions, and sometimes during a padasal (novena prayers). (Photo by Izaiah Johnson).
Malou had been wanting to write a cookbook for the last 10 years. But life happened in between. Little did she know that living in different cities would make her recipe repertoire even richer.
“After writing my cookbook, I’m going back to cooking commercially at pop-ups.”
She plans to bring her cookbook home to Tuguegarao, for a launch in 2020. Plus, a book tour is planned in the States next year.
Malou’s advice to cookbook authors is timeless: “Do not be dictated by what’s trendy or sophisticated. Do what is in your heart.”
As Malou Perez-Nievera stirs the pots in her life, she adds, “Don’t be afraid to do what you can do. I have brought to the table my childhood food. It is what I love. It’s basic and simple. It is the food of my soul.”
Connecting the Pots: Charting Stories and Filipino Recipes to Find Home by Malou Perez Nievera is available hard bound at SkipToMalou.net or Amazon.com
Elizabeth Ann Quirino
Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey is a journalist and author of the “Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot” Cookbook. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and blogs about Filipino home cooking on her site AsianInAmericaMag.com.
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