Vegans of Color
RG Enriquez’s Quest to Veganize Filipino Food More Authentically
The recipe developer and blogger recently returned home to the Philippines to learn from local culinary experts
“I would eat Filipino food as a way to cure my homesickness,” says RG Enriquez, reflecting on her teenage years that followed her family’s move from the Philippines to the San Francisco Bay Area. Years later, after a college nutrition course prompted her to experiment with eliminating animal products from her diet, Enriquez came to Filipino food with a new goal: to veganize the recipes that reminded her of home. She started her blog, Astig Vegan, to document her experiences and share recipes.
But Enriquez’s curiosity about Filipino food grew beyond recreating her childhood favorites — this past year, she returned to live in Manila and research traditional Filipino cuisine. “[The Philippines] has more than seven thousand islands,” she explains, “I’ve found dishes that I’d never heard of, and that’s very humbling.” In an interview with Tenderly, Enriquez discusses her relationship to food and family, her experience returning to the Philippines, and how she’s barely “scratching the surface” after nearly a year of living in Manila.
