Filipino food is more than just the next so-called “ethnic” food fad. From the country’s unique takes on everything from spaghetti to adobo, it’s the ultimate fusion cuisine. Or, as Filipino-American chef AC Boral -- who after six years of pop-up brunches as Rice & Shine Eats is finally opening his first brick and mortar in Long Beach -- would say, “it’s history on a plate.”
In this episode, Sarah and Brian sat down with Boral and his sous chef, Westside Long Beach native Janice Dig Cabeysa, inside what will soon be Long Beach’s first modern Filipino restaurant for a discussion of all things Filipino food, from the often-dark history that created some of the cuisine’s most famous dishes to the importance of family to the Filipino dining experience. We also talked about why Filipinos love Wu-Tang clan so much (whyy?!) and how a search for identity led both Amerian-born chefs right back to their roots.