Chef Rob Pengson cooks at the Filipino Southeast Asian Mash-up at the Global Academy

On the last stretch of this year’s Flavours of the Philippines festival, the Department of Tourism together with The Global Culinary & Hospitality Academy presented a capsule cooking class entitled, Filipino-South East Asian Mash Up, led by the celebrity chef Rob Pengson.

The chef introduced the three-course meal, which included a light and zesty appetiser; a rich and scrumptious entrée; and a guilt-free dessert as “something simple, something you can easily do at home, delicious, and the ingredients used are readily available even in small supermarkets.”

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Thai pomelo salad with crispy dulong

For the appetiser, Pengson demonstrated how to make a Thai pomelo salad, which he infused with Filipino ingredients such as crispy dulong and coconut milk. Making the salad was as easy as tossing all the fresh greens in a mixing bowl, followed by the supple pieces of pomelo, and then drizzling it with a special vinaigrette made of vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, onions, cilantro, and lime, and finally, adding the coconut milk coulis. Guests were also taught how to plate the salad to make it social-media worthy.

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Sticky pork belly with coffee and bagoong

Moving on to the main course, Pengson pre-cooked slices of pork (deep-fried until golden brown and simmered for one and a half hours until tender), which he eventually turned into a sinful dish called sticky pork ribs with coffee (he used the barako variety) and bagoong. (shrimp paste).

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Capping the meal was a healthy dessert made of Japanese silken tofu topped with mango puree, white beans, and a dash of pink peppercorns for an added kick. “Mangoes and beans are abundant in the Philippines,” said Pengson. The dessert is almost similar to chilled taho or the Italian panna cotta.

 Vegetables from the Mindanao region

“Our ingredients here in the Philippines are great, especially if you get them direct from our coastlines or the mountains,” concluded Pengson.

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