03x06 - Ube in the Bay

[bunniefuu]

JOLLIBEE EMPLOYEE [through speaker box]:
Hi, Jolly afternoon!

PADMA LAKSHMI:
A Jolly afternoon to you.

Can I have one bucket
of chicken, six pieces,

one spaghetti,
one peach and mango pie, please?

JOLLIBEE EMPLOYEE:
Okay, will that be all?

That'll be all, thank you.

Fried chicken and spaghetti.

Here, it's not American food...
it's Filipino.

Oh, thank you!

And this only scratches the surface
of this lesser-known cuisine.

KIRSTEN: Bold flavors,

- very abundant. [laughs]
- Ooh, nice, yes.

Filipino food is
the Filipino love language.

MAN 1:
It's Asian soul food.

It's hearty, it's savory
and it's a little sour at times.

MAN 2: There's Chinese influence,
Japanese influence, Indian influence,

Spanish influence.

You name it, it's within our food.

PADMA: Chinese, Japanese,
and Thai restaurants are everywhere,

but so many of us don't know
that much about Filipino food,

despite the fact that they're
the third largest Asian group in the U.S.

That's why something like
representation is so important.

When something is a void,
you don't even know that it exists.

PADMA: Why is Filipino culture
invisible to so many Americans?

People are not taught to talk.

Keep quiet, talk only
if you are spoken to.

There's a lot
of self-hate with Filipino food.

PADMA: The source of this shame
lies deep within the country's history,

but now, there's
an abundance of Filipino pride,

showing its colors in the Bay Area,
in food and beyond.

♪ theme music plays ♪

I came to America when I was four.

I'm an immigrant and I'm not alone.

I've spent my life writing about food
and tasting the world.

Now, I wanna explore who we are
through the food we eat.

My game is strong.

What exactly is American food,

and what makes us American?

[camera clicks]
I'm Padma Lakshmi.

Come with me as we Taste the Nation.

♪ upbeat Filipino music playing ♪

PADMA: Just outside San Francisco
is Daly City, California,

where nearly
one in three residents is Filipino,

and where a purple dessert rules supreme.

[laughs] Is that an ube in your pocket?

Yeah, is that an ube in your pocket,
or are you just happy to see me?

Both.

Ube, a native Filipino root,
is taking social media by storm.

Only eat foods that are
the color purple today.

Challenge accepted!

Oh, my God, it smells so sweet.

Mm-hm. Mm-hm. They're so good.

PADMA:
Meet Ginger Lim-Dimapasok.

She's at the forefront of the ube craze
with seven locations of Cafe 86.

What is ube?

GINGER LIM-DIMAPASOK:
Ube is a purple yam.

- It's not quite taro.
- It's less dense than taro.

Yes. It's vibrant like our people,
unique like our people.

When we opened Cafe 86,
our intention was to educate people,

non-Filipinos, on what ube is,

and hopefully, take it to the mainstream

where not just Filipinos are making
ube desserts, but everyone else.

Today, we're gonna make
a Cafe 86 favorite, Halo-Halo,

traditional Filipino shaved iced dessert.

- Let's get crackin'.
- Yeah!

PADMA: At Cafe 86,
it's made with unexpected layers

of coconut gelatin, jackfruit...

- GINGER: Yeah.
- I remember the smell.

Yeah! [laughs]

PADMA: ... boba in place of beans,
brown sugar milk sorbet,

and, of course, ube ice cream.

Wow.

Then I'm gonna add a layer of cereal.

PADMA:
Halo-Halo is more than a dessert.

It's a map of Filipino history in a glass.

Taiwanese boba,
Indian jackfruit, Filipino ube,

and let's not forget the colonizers:
Spanish flan and American cereal.

A sweet treat that represents
a not-so-sweet past.

- Ta-da!
- Yeah!

- How does it look?
- That's gorgeous.

- So, Halo-Halo translates to "mix-mix."
- Okay.

So, what you're
about to do is just mix-mix.

Poke your spoon all the way down
and just kinda bring it up slowly.

Oh, I can feel
all the different textures...

- Yeah.
- ...just--

Mmm! It's so refreshing!

- Mm-hm.
- I even like the jackfruit.

Wait, you didn't like jackfruit?
[laughs]

I'm sorry. I know.
I'm a bad Indian, but I didn't!

- I gotta get the perfect bite. Okay.
- Yeah.

- That's the sexiest Halo-Halo shot ever.
- Damn. It's so--

I mean, Halo-Halo is sexy.
[Ginger laughs]

What do you think it took to make ube
so popular, and why is it now?

That's a little bit of a hard one
because I think, truly, what it took

for not just ube,
but Filipino cuisine in general,

to finally make it

our people have finally accepted
and loved it for what it is.

Why?

Well, there's a lot
of self-hate with Filipino food and--

- There is?
- Yeah! We'll look at our own food

and say, "That's kinda brown
and ugly and oily and not healthy,"

instead of us talking about
how healthy Filipino food can be.

PADMA: For many Filipinos,
this shame goes beyond food.

I grew up with this notion that
you need to be a, a people pleaser.

We sometimes believe
in others more than ourselves.

MAN: Comes from many, many different
colonizers coming into the Philippines

trying to erase our history,
trying to tell us we're nothing,

that we're second-class citizens.

PADMA: Internalized colonialism
is an insidious beast.

Luckily, Ginger refuses
to pass that baton down.

Coming to the United States
when I first moved here,

I met all these Filipinos, and they'd say,
"Join this community! Join!"

I would tell my husband,
"Why would I have to?

"I mean, I know who I am.

I'm Filipino.
I was born and raised there."

And then I had kids.

All of a sudden,
I have everything to prove.

PADMA: Why?

GINGER: Because they're not
just American-born kids.

They're Filipino American.

So, I have to work extra hard now--
I'm gonna cry.

Because I have to work extra hard
to make sure that they know their roots.

That they know that,
you know, ube was my vanilla,

how much it meant to me.

And now that we're
proudly establishing a business

and that it's deeply rooted in culture

and that's something they can be proud of

and that they can talk
about with their kids.

Is it moving to you
because you are concerned

that they would forget their roots
being here?

I am concerned. I am concerned

because another thing that Filipinos
are so good with doing is assimilating.

We needed to, you know, just be quiet,

and do things the way
everybody does to survive.

But now I have to tell my kids,

if I assimilated and opened a bakery
that was just a normal bakery,

I don't think we'd have
seven stores right now.

And I take pride in being able
to showcase Filipino culture.

And now I want them
to learn that they can be different,

they can be weird,
they can be loud, they can be proud,

and that's what we're about.

PADMA: Filipino Americans
have much more of the story to tell,

and I'm meeting someone
who's making sure that story is known.

♪

♪

JAMES ZARSADIAZ:
So welcome to Daly City,

the heart of Filipino America
in many ways.

PADMA:
Look at that fog rolling in!

JAMES: You know why
all that fog's rolling in?

PADMA: Why?
JAMES: 'Cause all the Filipinos

are turnin' on their
rice cookers right now.

- [laughs] Dinner time.
- It is dinner time!

PADMA: Under the fog
is a vibrant Filipino community,

bursting with flavors
that we all should know about,

including Tselogs.

Today, I'm joined
by James Zarsadiaz...

JAMES: Here, I can break--
PADMA: Are you breaking my yoke?

Ah! Okay.
PADMA: That's very personal.

- Hold on.
- Okay, that is very personal.

PADMA: We don't know each other that well.
[laughter]

...who heads one of the few programs
of Filipino studies in the U.S.

On the menu is Kare Kare,

a hearty stew known for its
thick and creamy peanut sauce.

Traditionally served
with oxtail and vegetables,

today, we're having it
with lechon, or pork,

and a side of bagoong,
an extraordinarily pungent shrimp paste.

JAMES: It's good.

- That's [bleep] good.
- Yeah. [laughs]

So good.

- 'Cause it's moist... and really savory.
- Yeah, it is.

- This sauce is amazing.
- The sauce here is usually peanut butter.

- American peanut butter?
- Yeah, American peanut butter.

The coloring, I believe,
here is from achuete,

- which is annatto seeds--
- From Mesoamerica.

Yes.

With Filipino food,
I say the flavor profile is oftentimes--

it's sour, savory, and funky.

It's in calamansi, soy sauce,

vinegar, lots of garlic,
bay leaves as well.

You know, a lot of Filipino food
has a, a variety of influences.

PADMA: Just like Halo-Halo,

I'm starting to see each Filipino dish
as a kind of history lesson.

Spain colonized the Philippines
for over three centuries

until the U.S. purchased the Philippines,
along with acquiring Puerto Rico,

after the Spanish-American w*r.

Over the last century,
America spread its values,

and its idealized image to its colonies.

But why a lot of Filipinos move directly
from the Philippines to the suburbs,

is because they'll watch
American movies made from Hollywood,

and the suburbs provide that opportunity
to live out the American dream.

PADMA:
America left its mark in many ways.

The food is influenced by American

- products and processed food, right?
- Oh, absolutely. Totally.

So, you have, like, condensed milk
is a good example of a processed food.

Spam, of course, right?
PADMA: Yeah.

But also, kind of, like mash-ups, right?

Like, Filipino Spaghetti.

You know, putting their own
twist with banana ketchup.

And then, usually, hot dogs also.

It's not just food,
but just culture in general.

One of the official languages
of the Philippines is English.

Many of them are Christian,
they're Catholic.

A system of education there
that's very similar

to the American system of education.

- Because the Americans set it up.
- They did, especially nursing schools.

PADMA:
American occupation of the Philippines

led to recruiting Filipinos
en masse to become nurses,

training them in Western
medical practices.

Post World w*r II,
this became a faster and cheaper way

to solve the nursing shortage in the U.S.

Today, nurses are the biggest
commodity of the Philippines,

with close to 20,000 nurses
traveling abroad each year.

When the pandemic hit,
Filipino nurses were hit pretty hard.

A lot of Filipino nurses
didn't get the proper protections.

They were not treated nicely.

They may not be Chinese,

but a lot of people,
with a lot of the anti-China rhetoric

- because of COVID...
- Right.

...saw an Asian face,

and you'd hear stories of being called
all-- every name in the book,

people getting s-spit on,

nurses who are there
to take care of them,

nurses who did really
put their lives on the line,

like all frontline essential workers,

and unfortunately, a lot of them perished

because of the pandemic.

PADMA: Over a quarter of all registered
nurses who died from COVID were Filipino,

another example of the invisible
suffering Filipinos in America bear.

[wind chimes tinkling]

I'm meeting with critical care nurse
Leslie Solorzano.

She sheds light on what it means for her,

and so many other
Filipino nurses like her.

- How long have you been a nurse now?
- I've been a nurse since 2007.

How were you raised
to think about your profession?

In the Philippines, people would
go into these certain professions,

so that they can go out
to different countries,

and then help bring back money
to their families in the Philippines.

'Cause I know,
at least for the Americans,

they brought over people
to set up nursing schools,

- so that Filipino nurses would...
- Mm-hm.

...understand the American
healthcare system, right?

- Yes.
- So does that complicate

your attitude toward nursing at all?

Not that I appreciate colonialism,

but... in a way, you know, we're
grateful because it did bring us over.

But at the same time, we definitely,
then, would just do our jobs,

work hard, 8-12 hours
without goin' to the bathroom,

really having time
to just sit down and eat.

You know, we were so grateful
to just even have jobs,

and just to be over here in the U.S.

Is that also some
kind of internalized colonialism?

Yes, definitely.

PADMA: Colonial mentality is the belief
of ethnic and cultural inferiority

internalized over generations,

often first introduced by colonizers
to justify their subjugation.

It's almost an unconscious self-hatred.

You know, we would stay loyal
to the same company,

and it didn't matter what they did to us.

Even though I know sometimes the system

doesn't necessarily work
in my favor as a nurse,

I can't let that affect
the people that I'm caring for.

Will you tell me a little bit about
what it was like during the pandemic?

You know, our Filipino culture,
we're very hard workers,

and treat everyone like family.

But on the other end,

it really made me rethink
this profession that I love,

should I be here in this moment?

I've seen people passing before,

but to actually know
that families are calling every hour

because they want to be there

and to know that

we were given... this opportunity

to represent those families,

it was hard.

There's a really selfless quality,
and it's not often appreciated.

The Filipinx culture
doesn't get the recognition it deserves,

especially in these service industries

because we don't tell our stories.

We all need to speak up,
but we need to do it together.

PADMA: Leslie is part
of a generation of Filipino Americans

who understands
the importance of speaking up,

whereas her father, Orland,
saw the advantages of assimilation

when he first arrived to the U.S.

So when did you come to this country?

I came in in 1971.

Do you feel more at home
now in this community

than you did when you first arrived?

Oh, yes, definitely.

LESLIE SOLORZANO: Growing up,
they wanted us to perfect our English,

so we didn't really talk in Tagalog,
or in the Filipino dialect at home

because it was really important for us

to blend in a part
of the American culture.

- PADMA: Assimilate.
- Yes.

You wanted them to assimilate as well?

Definitely, in order
for them to be competitive.

PADMA:
Leslie is now learning Tagalog,

and her family's recipes
before they are lost.

Starting with sinigang,

a cauldron of root vegetables,
shrimp, and greens

all stewed in a tangy, sour, umami broth.

It's pure comfort in a bowl.

Why do you love this dish so much?

It is a comfort food for us.

It is just like it fills your stomach.
LESLIE: Mm-hm. Sourness, too.

Like, when you have a cold,
and you don't--

your taste buds aren't working,

it really just gives you back
that flavor and that life.

PADMA: The defining ingredient
is what gives it its tang, tamarind.

It smashes so easily!

ORLAND NETHERCOTT:
Yeah, make it, like, into a paste.

That's crazy! That's so easy.

Once it's boiling, you know,
everything will blend together,

and that will be the base of your soup.

A lot of people do not
use celery in there,

but for me, I found that the celery
will give you the unami taste.

- And that's where--
- Umami?

Unami, right? The good taste.

As if you make it satisfy,
you know, like--

Umami.

- It's umami! [laughs]
- Umami! Umami!

Umami. [laughs]
ORLAND: Perfect. Umami. See?

I mean, I always say unami!
[all laughing]

PADMA: How's my sinigang?
ORLAND: It looks great!

PADMA:
Orland may have needed to assimilate,

but a new generation of Filipinos
no longer feels they need to conform.

In fact, they're pretty
in your face about it,

telling you just who they are.

Let's hear what they have to say.

♪

PADMA:
Sarap Shop is a Filipino food truck

that's stirring up excitement
in the Bay Area.

They are the first Filipino food place
to be inside a major arena in the U.S.

PADMA: And it's also a favorite
of Ruby Ibarra, an Oakland rapper.

RUBY IBARRA:
I can't wait for you to try this, Padma.

[all greeting each other]

KIRSTEN: Hey, Ruby!
JP: What's up, Ruby?

- Hi, here you go.
- Thank you. This looks incredible!

What you have today
is a little, like, sampling

of, like, our favorite family dishes.

So, the rice is called java rice,
on top of that is our lechon sisig,

and then next to it,
is our pork belly adobo.

We also have our Party Time Lumpia.

Thank you so much!

- JP: Thank you.
- We're gonna go chow down now.

- Yeah. Enjoy!
- Enjoy! Bye!

PADMA: This place is amazing!
RUBY: It's beautiful, huh?

PADMA: Yeah!
RUBY: It used to be a church,

and now they're using it
as a performance arts venue.

And I've performed here
twice, actually, already.

PADMA: Once a scientist working
in a lab to help develop a COVID vaccine,

Ruby now pursues her true passion, music.

♪ Us by Ruby Ibarra feat. Rocky Rivera,
Klassy, & Faith Santilla playing ♪

So tell me the name of your band.

So the name of my band
is called The Balikbayans.

In Tagalog, the translation is
actually someone who returns home.

And for me, it was fitting
to name our band The Balikbayans

because my album is all
about my immigrant experience.

PADMA: Ruby immigrated to the U.S.
when she was only four years old,

calling herself
a "1.5 generation immigrant."

With few memories from her
early childhood in the Philippines,

Ruby is now putting her
Filipino identity front and center.

Me and my family moved here
and, you know, I had all these images

of what America was from Hollywood films.

For the longest time,
I tried to diminish, you know,

that Filipino side of myself.

I would even re-record a song
until I felt my accent was gone.

I thought that, if I'm Filipino,
people aren't gonna like it.

There is this idealized
image of America...

- Yeah.
- ...around the world.

One of things I love
about that song Us,

is how forthright you are.

The, the very first bar goes,

♪ Yo [bleep] a story arc
if it don't involve no matriarchs ♪

Like, that is already, like,
a, a statement within itself.

I knew on the album I wanted
a song that dismantled patriarchy.

For Filipinos, it is
a very patriarchal society.

I saw it also reflected
in our religion that we practiced.

It's very Catholic, right?

Yeah, Catholicism is, is
definitely also patriarchal.

Thinking more deeply about it,

I think that it really is
rooted in history also.

The Philippines was
colonized several times.

So, I think, you know,
that having that sense of... identity

has not only been rewritten,
but a lot of it has also been erased.

I knew I had to carve out
space on, on the record.

Basically, tell people
that we're tired of being invisible.

♪ We don't take no sh*t
except an oppressor's lifeline ♪

♪ If you step out of your line,
I will protect what's mine ♪

PADMA: Filipino disruptors are now
pushing back on colonial mentality

with a philosophy
that predates colonialism.

You speak a lot about community in Us.

Can you talk to me about how that
plays a part in your music?

Bayanihan definitely plays
a, a large part in my music.

- Bayanihan. Okay.
- Bayanihan.

You need to have that sense of community,
especially a strong sense of community,

to even start a revolution.

Bayanihan is, in the most
simplest terms, "barn raising."

There are so many calamities
in the Philippines, that when

somebody's house got rooted up,
or somebody's house was torn down--

The whole village would
actually band together

to lift up that person's house,
and bring it to another area.

So, bayanihan is people power,
and when it becomes collaborative,

you do something really great.

I think that we have a sense
of bayanihan here in America as Filipinos

because the immigrant experience
is not a singular experience.

You need to have, you know,
that sense of community

to be able to make sense of who you are,

and how you fit...
into this puzzle called America.

PADMA: If you wanna see
bayanihan in its truest sense,

there's one last spot
in Daly City we've gotta try.

♪

PADMA:
I'm at Abaca, a Filipino restaurant

nominated for a James Beard Award,

and voted one of the best restaurants
by The New York Times.

Abaca is helmed by Chef Francis Ang.

I think she's staring at me.

- [Padma laughs]
- Smiling at you.

She's not gonna be smiling for long.
[both chuckling]

So this dish originated when there
was a surplus of just pigs' heads

because of the American presence.

- Correct.
- How so?

Every cut of meat is
being eaten in the Air Force,

but nobody touches the pig's head.

PADMA:
Sisig, a fatty and scrumptious dish,

made of pig's head and chicken liver,

was reinvented
when U.S. Air Force personnel

were discarding valuable pigs' heads
during America's occupation.

Local Filipinos, way before
the nose-to-tail movement,

saw an opportunity,

and this is how modern-day sisig was born.

So, first, we're gonna simmer
the pig's head in a large pot.

See ya later, buddy.

- All in there.
- [mouths] Oh, my God.

- And how long should that cook?
- For an hour, hour and a half.

You don't want it
to fully cook where it falls apart.

It basically gets cooked one time,

second on the grill, third on the wok,

and the fourth
in the fried rice wok again.

- This is just the first of four steps.
- Correct.

PADMA:
But not to worry about time.

Chef Francis has two at the ready:
one for him and one for me.

And I gotta admit, I'm a little scared.

Ooh, I'm not gonna pick that one.
That's a lotta teeth.

- She looks more jolly.
- This looks more jolly.

I just-- I have to tell you,
none of this seems jolly to me.

I've never butchered...
the face of anything in my life.

- All right, ready.
- Wish me luck.

We're gonna skip the gloves.

- Okay.
- Little bit more sensual.

For me or the pig?

- [Padma laughs]
- Both.

You put the smiling face facing you.

So, just cut...
all the way here, pull it off.

Cut around the jawline.

- Is that cartilage?
- Yes.

- Yep, and then you just pull it up.
- Okay.

- Like that?
- Right there. Yep.

That is half your pig's face.
And then just keep pulling.

There you go.

Made you work today, huh?

[laughs] You wanna keep goin'?

- Yeah, I guess so.
- All right!

So, from here, you're gonna actually...

Oh, man, come on. Really?

[cracks]
Oh!

...pull it apart.

And you got the skull.

The tongue is one
of my favorite parts as well.

[groans]

All right, ready.

[cracking]
[Padma grunting]

There ya go.

[Francis laughing]

- Now what? Take the tongue out.
- Yes.

I think I need a drink!

- Can you do that one more time?
- What?!

I never knew how much
a tongue could look like a p*nis.

After deboning the pig's head,

the meat is grilled
and cut into small pieces...

It's a lotta pork.

...cooked with chicken liver in a wok
with vinegar and calamansi juice.

Ah!

FRANCIS ANG:
So there's a secret to the vinegar.

- PADMA: What is it?
- Old wives' tale.

You're not supposed to stir...

- Uh-huh.
- ...until the vinegar has boiled.

- Now, we're gonna put our secret sauce.
- Okay.

- Yum.
- A little bit of squirt.

Cheers!

I would add those extra chilies. Delicious.

Part of the appeal of Abaca's sisig
is that it's turned into a fried rice,

resulting in a delectable
combination of flavors and textures.

So, I like to go pickled onions first,

little bit of scallions,

bit of, uh, chicharrón.

As if we didn't have enough
pork in this dish.
[Francis laughs]

This is, um, basically
slow-poached sous vide egg.

Oh.

- Put a dimple in there.
- Ooh!

Go like that.

It's so perfect!
Should we taste it at the table?

- Yes, let's go.
- All right!

Now that I've annihilated the pig's head,

I've worked up an appetite.

Joining us is Francis's wife,
Dian, co-owner of Abaca.

DIAN ANG:
Take a little bit of everything.

Like, the pickled onions...
PADMA: Mm-hm.

...and the chicharrón.

Mm.

The flavor is really deep.

It's savory and salty and umami,
but not too salty.

And I think the rice has absorbed
all of that silky pork fat,

so it's not like just
eating the sisig, right?

It's a little bit lighter than that.

And then, texture from the chicharrón.

PADMA: Mm-hm.

It's really good.

And how did you start cooking
Filipino food, you know, professionally?

So, back in 2013,

me and Dian went to visit
her family in the province Samar.

That's when a massive typhoon hit.

♪ solemn music playing ♪

There was a surge of water
that flooded the towns, the mountains.

The whole town is gone.

- All of the houses were just, like--
- Washed away.

FRANCIS: Yeah.

Right then and there, we knew that
we wanted to come back here--

To raise money.
DIAN: Mm-hm.

And we know that we're
gonna raise a lot more money here

than, than in the Philippines,

so we did like a,
like a full-on Filipino dinner.

PADMA:
This is bayanihan in its purest form,

a community coming together
to help for the greater good,

all while spreading
awareness of this cuisine.

FRANCIS:
Everybody was so proud.

We got to showcase our cuisine, you know,

the culture and the food
that we grew up with.

People like, "Oh, what's Filipino food?
What's Philippines?" Right?

- Really?
- Yeah. There's a lot.

- [Francis chuckles]
- How much did the community,

or, sort of, the sense of... bayanihan

- come into play?
- Oh, look at that.

[Dian chuckles]
That's awesome.

I've been studying all week.

You know, if you're a pop-up,
you don't have full-time employees,

so you have a lot of people who just like,

"Hey, I wanna come out," you know,
"I wanna support, I wanna help."

So, what do you think
the future holds for Filipino food

in mainstream American fine dining?

You know, the idea is to open the door
to younger Filipino chefs saying,

"Hey," you know, like, "Filipino food
is here and is here to stay, and--"

PADMA:
You want it to be in that pantheon...

- FRANCIS: Exactly.
- ...of things that people
think about right away.

Pizza? No. Filipino food.
You know, like that.

PADMA:
Here in Daly City,

I've met an exciting
new generation of Filipino Americans.

They're no longer afraid
to be who they really are.

And they've taught me a lot,
especially about bayanihan,

a philosophy that I hope
we can all assimilate.

Because wouldn't it be great
if all Americans had a sense of bayanihan?

♪ Happening Sa Kamuning
by Ted Reyes playing ♪

♪

Delicious.