A homecoming for Filipino-American baker Abi Balingit is rare. Her last trip to the Philippines was in 2019, and she’d spent most of that in Pampanga, where her family is from. “We’ve been doing that same thing since I was five,” she told Rolling Stone Philippines.
“The last trip before this one was an inspiration for me to start writing my blog, The Dusky Kitchen, just because I was so excited to be in the Philippines and kind of relearn my roots and be with my family,” said Balingit.
She also called Filipino food and her return to the Philippines as drivers of inspiration for her work as a baker, recipe developer, and writer. “[Filipino food] really helped me feel. I need to invest creative energy into this because it really is a big deal, to come back to the Philippines and still feel connections to the motherland.”
Her recent trip to the Philippines is also her first since the successful release of her cookbook Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed in 2023. In 2024, Balingit won the coveted James Beard Emerging Voice Award, a prestigious accolade that is seen as the “Food Oscars” of the culinary world.
On February 26, she made her way to San Juan City’s Lobby 385 to introduce two of her recipes to the Filipino palate: the tsokolate pandesal pudding, and the ube macapuno molten lava cake. But the rest of the week — a too short trip, she called it — will be spent once again with family in Pampanga.
On Comfort Food
Balingit is a self-taught cook and baker, for the most part. “My mom definitely has specialties of her own, like her cassava cake and maja blanca. But I never — I didn’t want to step on her toes in the kitchen, so I know a lot of things [on my own],” she said. “I started making very Western desserts first, like cupcakes, cookies, brownies, very American desserts and stuff. I think it wasn’t really until 2020 when I tapped back into Filipino flavors and my palate had changed completely since I was a kid.”
“When I was a kid, I was definitely more hesitant to try new things, but now, we all mature and I think our palettes mature with us,” she added.
Asked what her go-to Filipino dish is, Balingit said, “I always make sinigang. Like it’s my one thing. I’ve always used the packet because it’s so sour and I feel like making it from scratch just takes a lot of work, to get to that level of acidity that I like without straight up adding lemon.”
Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookies and Culture Clashes
In 2023, Balingit’s adobo chocolate chip cookies went viral after the New York Times Cooking published the recipe on its site and social media. While some audiences welcomed the inventiveness of the recipe, others were up in arms.
“When the New York Times posted my recipe and tagged me in it, it kind of decontextualizes the recipe,” she said. “People really thought it was a white American making this and I was like, ‘No, this is my recipe. I’m here, I’m Filipino.’”
“Especially in the diaspora, I know there’s a lot of tension from Filipinos in the Philippines and Filipinos abroad. I felt that a lot then. It wasn’t always love for me from my own people,” Balingit added. “Not to say that I wanted [a particular] reaction, but it’s like, if you’re not making food that has a statement, why are you making food at all? I don’t want to make something polarizing, but I’d rather have a conversation about it than having some plain chocolate chip cookies on the table.”
Life After the James Beard Award
Talking about how her life has changed after winning the James Beard Award immediately makes the baker a little bashful. “Oh, none of it is normal,” said Balingit. “I’m not famous at all. But now, well, sometimes Filipino or Asian American girls stop me in the street to say hi — but that’s not normal.”
“As a regular person, it’s crazy,” continued Balingit. “I’m self-taught, and in the New York Times, there’s already so much food media, and not just my own. With the James Beard Award, it really changed things for me.”
“But even before the James Beard Award, I was already visiting different states to tour my book. That was the part I liked best: visiting these places and giving talks, especially at universities. I felt like that was such a big deal, because I got to go back to my roots and visit places like [my alma mater] UC Berkeley, where there are so many student organizations.”
The Search for Filipino Ingredients
“I usually stock up whenever I go to the Johnny Air Mart in the East Village,” said Balingit. “I get all these soup packets and throw them into my big tote bag.”
“I think when I moved to New York, it was kind of a harsh reality. I was like, ‘Oh, there are a lot of Filipino stores, but they’re far from where I live and I have to get on the train to get ingredients.’ I mostly rely on online deliveries now, but it’s limited.”
“I will say it’s easier in California. If you have a car, you can drive to [supermarkets like] Seafood City and Island Pacific. I feel like even the small karinderyas and the mom-and-pop places will sell you good Filipino ingredients, and they’ll at least have some small aisles for that.”
Filipino-American Food
“There’s so much regionality both in the Philippines and America. Even Midwest specialties and Western specialties are so different. All this food, and they all have very different flavor profiles.”
“Like I have this suman moron recipe in my book. As a kid, I don’t know if you did this, but I remember microwaving milk and Oreos and then just making this kind of chocolate porridge or mud pie. With this recipe, I thought it was so much fun to mess with adding Oreos and turning them into cooking and cream with the suman.”
“There’s something really special about being able to combine these [specialties]. I feel like there’s a history and legacy of good cooks making good food, and also knowing how to look to other areas with amazing food.”
