MANILA, Philippines ? What happens when you get six of the country?s best culinary experts together to discuss Filipino food?

You get much heated debate.

To begin with, what is Filipino food? It being a melting pot of global cuisines, does Filipino food even have an identity? If Filipino food, to be defined by example, is lechon, isn?t the cochinillo Spanish and isn?t the giant spit-roasted pig Mexican? If Filipino food is adobo, when you take out soy sauce out of the recipe to make adobo sa puti, is this not Filipino anymore?

In the book ?Kulinarya,? the Inquirer?s own Micky Fenix dares to ask (?Dare to Ask, Be an Inquirer?) and answer this question. After a summary on the documentation, history and possible origins of Filipino food, her conclusion is: ?Filipino cuisine is a sum of Filipino history, from the indigenous food of the prehispanic era, to the influences of Southeast Asian cooking brought by trade, and the colonial influences brought by conquest.? In other words, Filipino food is an amalgamation of cooking influences from all over the world. It is the ultimate mestiza. It?s a next-generation cuisine that blends flavors already established in other countries: the sourness of Southeast Asian cooking; the richness of Spanish flavors; Mexican spices; Chinese noodles ... all put together and made our own.

If Filipino food were a person, it would be a blend of all these races. Inevitably, the child would ask, ?Who am I?? And the answer is, ?I am a coming together of different nationalities.? Some children, neither black, white, nor Asian or Latino, would be embarrassed by this lack of one distinct nationality. But our food should make like Barack Obama and just be proud of its diverse racial background. Because ultimately, this is what makes it special.

The ?Kulinarya? book is a lovely tribute to Filipino food. It?s a post-it for global foodies to remember that in Southeast Asia, there is that one more country whose food flavors must be explored. It?s a coming out party spelling out who we are so that the wonderful specialties of this former Spanish colony are a secret no longer.

Really, it?s just a cookbook. The sections are divided into Appetizers, Soups, Vegetables and Salads, Main Dishes, Snacks and Desserts. (With additional sections on Vinegar-Based Dishes and Noodles.) But, having been written by chefs (or should I say living legends?) Glenda Barretto, Conrad Calalang, Margarita Fores, Myrna Segismundo, Jessie Sincioco and Claude Tayag, it is not just another cookbook because it does not present a dish to the reader as only one person would know it. It authoritatively instructs the reader on how each famed national dish is done and ultimately tells foreigners that this is how the selected Filipino dish should taste.

Which is also why this book has generated much debate. How is adobo supposed to taste anyway? You ask this question of any Filipino and he or she would say, ?Like how my mom cooks it.? (Claude Tayag, at the book launch, generously dedicated the book to all Filipino mothers and grandmothers without whom we would not have such delicious home cooking.) We are loyal devotees of our provinces, condescendingly measuring anyone?s dinuguan or sinigang against our grandmother?s, who makes it just the way it has been done since time immemorial in one?s own province.

So what the book does is set a standard* on how a dish should be done. Just the basics. The basic monggo, the basic humba, the basic kaldereta, the basic kare-kare. But this is a task that is harder than it seems; in fact, it is a tremendous challenge. Imagine the debate between Claude Tayag, the Pampangueño, and Margarita Fores, the Ilongga, on the basics of Filipino food preparation. Or between Conrad Calalang, the Bulakeño, and Myrna Segismundo, the Batangueña, on how a dish should taste. So the chefs worked and debated for over three years, kept on their toes by a dedicated Doris Magsaysay Ho of Asia Society and under the guidance of Glenda Barretto?to come up with a precise recipe that all Filipinos would embrace as their own. (And later, if you want to make it taste exactly like your momma?s dish, well then by all means, experiment on your own. Anyway, we don?t all have the same mother!)

I believe it was a successful attempt. Tasting the recipes at the book launch?they served the lechon, tinola, adobo, pinais na bangus and sapin-sapin using recipes from the book?these indeed tasted like your basic Filipino food and I dare say, it almost tasted just like how my mother would do it! (Of course my mother, like yours, cooks better than anyone!) The difference is that the presentation was far more civilized. The lechon strips were used for an appetizer (I dont? know of any Filipino family that actually does that); the tinola was served in a green papaya bowl; and the sapin-sapin came in an individual piece on beautiful china?as opposed to the bilao that we are used to in the provinces.

Also, in desiring to present Filipino food to the world and in an attempt to meet global standards, the kamayan culture was dispensed with in this book. As foreigners might complain that Filipino food is unhealthy, the authors offer healthier options. I did not find a recipe for dinuguan (blood stew), which some foreigners might shudder at. So the compromise extended to what the authors believe is acceptable to a worldwide audience, making the shout to eat proudly a few decibels softer.

However, regional preferences and Filipino cooking habits were also taken note of, which was a beautiful touch. For the chicken inasal, tribute was given to the provinces where these hail from: ?The traditional preferred cuts in Iloilo and Negros are breast (pecho) and legs (pa-a).? Advice is given on what to do with leftover humba: ?... leftovers may be frozen for later use.? And there is a note on the kare-kare page for the easier purchase of ingredients: ?The traditional kare-kare uses ox tail, which can be substituted with other cuts of beef such as short ribs or brisket.?

All in all, ?Kulinarya? is that cookbook which every Filipino should own and use as a first step to mastering Filipino cuisine. It?s simple but it?s precise so it works. Who knows, with this guide, you just might learn to cook better than your grandmother! ?

*Chef Myrna Segismundo, at the launch, vehemently opposed the use of the word ?standard,? preferring the word ?guide.? But to set a standard for Filipino cuisine was the declared objective of the Asia Society. And I would argue that for all intents and purpose, this book achieved just that.