Sweet and Spicy Banana-Ketchup Roasted Carrots excerpted from In the Kusina: My Seasonal Filipino Cooking by Woldy Reyes is available. Photography by Fujio Emura.
A brightly flavourful, artfully presented celebration of chef and tastemaker Woldy Reyes’ heritage, featuring more than 100 recipes for classic Filipino dishes updated to be lighter, fresher, and vegetable-forward.
Growing up in Southern California as a first-generation Filipino American, Woldy Reyes felt like an outsider, always straddling two worlds. At home, his family ate adobo with rice, gathered in the kitchen to roll lumpia, and roasted a whole goat in the backyard to make kalderetang kambing (celebratory goat stew). At school, all he wanted was Lunchables and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It wasn’t until he discovered the power of food as a means of connection―to strangers and friends, to his heritage, and even to himself―that he began cooking in earnest and sharing his story through the dishes he made. His signature style, now beloved by his catering clients in New York City and beyond, highlights classic Filipino food but with a focus on local, seasonal produce and artful presentation.
In the Kusina is Woldy’s story told through a collection of vibrant, vegetable-forward recipes and his distinct lens as a queer Filipino American. These aren’t your lola’s traditional dishes; here, Filipino tastes and techniques are reimagined for a new generation of home cooks, resulting in a trove of elegant and boldly flavourful recipes organised by season, including:
- Garlic Furikake Rice with Fried Egg
- Purple Daikon, Coconut Labneh, and Peanut Salsa Toast
- Oyster Mushroom Skewers with Mushroom BBQ Sauce
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Miso Tahini and Pomegranate Seeds
- Decadent hot and cold drinks, luscious desserts, and much more
