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<\/p>\nWhen Chef Myke \u201cTatung\u201d Sarthou started his career, \u201cmolecular gastronomy\u201d was on the rise. It\u2019s a culinary movement in which science is placed at the core of preparing, transforming, and presenting food, led by Spain\u2019s iconic restaurant El Bulli. With this progressive approach in mind, he experimented with various cuisines, particularly from the West, but, at the end of the day, he realized that the cuisine most deserving of his innovation and mastery was that of his home country.<\/p>\n
Chef Tatung likened this realization to Filipinos craving Adobo, Sinigang, Afritada, or any Pinoy favorite when they get home, famished from their jobs or errands. \u201cI realized that no matter how fancy or how ambitious or how highbrow you try to create stuff, you always go back to what soothes your soul. You always go back to what truly makes you happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
We tend to gravitate toward familiar things for the comfort and stability they provide. Naturally, Filipinos return to dishes that have always been their home and part of their identity. An Adobo recipe passed down through each generation is susceptible to change, but no matter what transformation it might go through, it will always remain the Adobo we know. And the same goes for other beloved Pinoy dishes\u2014they are the same dishes we\u2019ve always loved and the ones we\u2019ll always return to.<\/p>\n
At the heart of it all, a nation\u2019s cuisine has a deep, interlocked connection to culture, and for Chef Tatung, simplicity is the lens through which we behold and preserve this \u201ctaste of home\u201d that has been laid down before us. <\/p>\n
When asked about the concept of authenticity in Filipino cuisine, Chef Tatung answered it with a challenging question. \u201cWhen you talk of authenticity, it\u2019s a very polarizing term right now [because it\u2019s like asking] what is truly authentic, right? That when one adopts a more progressive, more economical, or more practical way of doing things, would it be acceptable?\u201d <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve tasted and seen many Filipino dishes that are \u201creimagined\u201d by chefs and homemakers, and most of the time, it\u2019s simply a mere experiment. But for those who choose to replicate or embrace these versions, the term \u201cauthentic\u201d begins to lose its meaning or become unclear. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the best example would be the kare-kare. Do you still consider it authentic if one substitutes peanut butter from using the original crushed peanuts?” Chef Tatung said.<\/p>\n
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By cooking according to his \u201csimpol\u201d philosophy\u2014which is preparing Filipino food that is simple, replicable, and made in households\u2014Chef Tatung acknowledges that authenticity might sometimes be compromised but, \u201cas long as the end product resembles the original and the intention is there,\u201d the dish becomes authentic.<\/p>\n
Cuisines will continue to evolve gradually, but we should embrace these slight gastronomical changes because, after all, they are not only part of the food\u2019s identity but also of who we are\u2014our values, beliefs, adopted norms, and customs\u2014as time goes by. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think simplicity allows cultures to continue to perpetuate. It allows cultures to continue to be part of our daily lives. Or else it will render itself obsolete. So, for me, simplicity is like a movement for keeping Filipino culture and cuisine relevant through the ages.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Chef Tatung, the key to recreating a traditional recipe in modern Filipino households is being able to eat \u201cin a manner that is accessible and simple enough for them to do on a daily basis.\u201d <\/p>\n
At the core of Chef Tatung\u2019s \u201csimpol\u201d is the Filipino people. He was greatly influenced by the mothers in his family, and now he\u2019s doing the same thing in this generation: inspiring and influencing Filipinos to nurture their love for cooking and make things simple, from preparing the ingredients to eating with their loved ones. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy approach in doing Filipino recipes is really to think of the Filipino household,\u201d Chef Tatung said, \u201cI think what people love about [Simpol.ph is] when I share recipes, [you probably have the ingredients at home, right?] It’s cooking with what is readily available. So, when you cook my recipes, you don’t usually have to go to a specialty store. You don’t have to go out to the grocery.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Reminiscing about his childhood, Chef Tatung recalled the abundance of coconuts in their home in Visayas, where the practice of using locally sourced and readily available ingredients shaped the person he is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, simplicity is also food and ingredients that are accessible to everyone. [Whether you go to a wet market, bazaar, or supermarket, these ingredients are available]. If people try to make do with what they have and what is accessible to them, they do not deserve to be belittled or insulted,\u201d Chef Tatung said, teaching us that a good, healthy meal is not defined by fancy ingredients or expensive equipment but by the simple desire of our hearts.<\/p>\n
Even before he began his career, Chef Tatung\u2019s \u201csimpol\u201d philosophy has always championed the Filipino experience. It\u2019s a celebration of love, familiarity, and one\u2019s culture and identity. \u201cIt’s really about food security. It’s really about making sure that my fellow Filipinos eat well at home, eat well within their own communities, in their own lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a heart for Filipino food, Chef Tatung teaches us that simplicity in cooking preserves the soul of our beloved dishes, making them relevant for generations. #LetsAllWelcome #LetsAllWelcome_ChefMykeTatungSarthou<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":257108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19603],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lets-all-welcome"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/257108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=257107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=257107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}