PHNOM PENH—Filipino cuisine took center stage at the Academy of Culinary Arts of Cambodia (ACAC) with a live cooking demonstration on preparing beef adobo in coconut milk, chicken binakol soup and palitaw.
Led by Filipino culinary expert Ana Limjap-Park and Fairmont-Raffles Hotel’s Chef Miguel Paulo Roxas, ACAC students were taught to cook popular Filipino food with coconut as main ingredient.
“Coconut is a product that is widely popular and available both in the Philippines and Cambodia, and we wanted to impart a cooking lesson that will resonate with the palate of ordinary Cambodians so that they will be encouraged to repeat the dishes [in their homes],” Limjap-Park said.
On the other hand, ACAC’s dean Chef Markus Kalberer observed that while most of the ingredients seemed familiar, the distinction between Khmer and Philippine cuisine lies in the preparation of the ingredients and the cooking process. The cooking demo was well received by ACAC students not only because of its lively and entertaining presentation, as it also exposed them to Philippine flavors and textures for the first time.
The live cooking demonstration was covered live by Cambodia’s leading news network CTN and the Khmer Times newspaper.
As an offshoot of the cooking demo, Cambodia’s celebrity chef Chef Luu Meng and ACAC Founder Pierre Tami expressed interest in pursuing a joint project with Limjap-Park, which will feature Philippine cuisine in Cambodia.
Ambassador of the Philippines to Cambodia Christopher B. Montero expressed his optimism that the cooking demo would pave the way for Filipino cuisine to take root in the mainstream culinary scene of Cambodia.
Done in partnership with ACAC and with the support of Cebu Pacific Air, the live cooking demonstration was one of the commemorative activities of the Philippine embassy for the 120th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Image credits: Phnom Penh Pe