OM EVENTS
Chef Sau Del Rosario’s Palabok with Potato Fries Cooking Demo with US School Spuds
Even for non-cooks, bringing quite a new dish to existence is always a sight to behold, let alone an experience. This is what Chef Sau Del Rosario of the U.S. School of Spuds proved at Enderun Coworking when he shared his recipe for Palabok with U.S. Potato Fries. No, the fries weren’t a side, but rather the pasta!
This article will take you on a mini journey through the experience of attending one of Chef Sau’s exclusive classes and what makes it different in unison with US potatoes and the US School of Spuds. Combining all three—the affirmed quality of the potatoes, the school’s knowledge dissemination, and the demo chef’s expertise—the class was truly an insightful masterpiece.
To the public eye, all potatoes are the same—starchy, earthy, or something slightly different if cooked a certain way. But what influences a potato’s taste isn’t only the cooking process, but the resulting quality of its growing methods and farming conditions.
This is what Potatoes USA is highly proud of—having such high-quality produce that surpasses the average standard for potato growing and consumption. To spread this goodness and make it known to the right people, the U.S. School of Spuds has made it a monthly project to hold an open-to-all, free training program in the Philippines that teaches them about using U.S. potatoes.
The training program is hosted by Potatoes USA at Enderun Coworking in Pasig City and offers lessons on everything from sourcing to cooking techniques to menu development.
The structure of the program begins with a lesson, held every Monday for the first three weeks of the month, with an option to pick your preferred date. It concludes with a hands-on cooking demonstration in the fourth week. The lessons, though happening face-to-face, are conducted online with provided laptops and virtual modules—containing both text and video lessons. This format and setting allow students to learn at their own pace without pressure, while still encouraging interaction among others present, as it is technically physical and quite loose on restrictions.
For the demonstrations, the US School of Spuds proudly presents its culinary powerhouse, consisting of five brilliant chefs across the country: Chef Kalel Chan, Corporate Chef of the Raintree Group of Restaurants, Chef Sonny Mariano, a multi-award-winning culinary professional, Chef Christian Valdes, Executive Chocolatier of CMV Txokolat and a modern-day cacao alchemist, Chef Ivory Yat Vaksman, a comfort food specialist and third-placer on MasterChef Philippines, and Chef Sau Del Rosario, a pioneering figure in Philippine gastronomy and an establisher of several acclaimed local establishments, including 25 Seeds, Café Fleur, Joop Joop, and Sawsaw.
In September, Our Market was able to join the exclusive class of Chef Sau Del Rosario and witness his brilliant skills firsthand as he turned around the concept of the classic Filipino palabok recipe into something new—using deep-fried US potatoes as pasta.
Joining the demo was a front-row ticket to witnessing how a professional chef works in a real kitchen setting. Chef Sau brilliantly exhibited expert practices, even those that may seem small and trivial to an average cook and consumer, that make him a real pro—starting from ingredients to the final output.
Not only did he begin by ensuring that all ingredients were ready, he also kept things organized by lining them up in order for easier grabbing while cooking. This method doesn’t only make things more convenient, but it also serves as a way to double-check that all needed ingredients are present before getting on to the cooking, reducing the risk of running to get things last-minute when the fire is on and the process is already ongoing. Let’s be real: to chefs, time is crucial in the cooking process.
In just the first few processes of getting the ingredients ready for the main pot, there were already valuable little tips shared by the demo chef. Extracting the annatto/achuete from the seeds, for example, is best done by simmering it in hot oil — contrary to the common practice of soaking it in hot water for 30 minutes to an hour, or even overnight.
Boiling the quail eggs, as another example, is best done by boiling the water first and then gently placing the quail eggs inside using a spoon, waiting for 2-3 minutes of boiling time before cracking them a little and submerging them in a tub of ice water. Why does this work? When the cold water seeps through the little cracks, it makes them easier to peel!
While slicing calamansi in half is arguably a “no-brainer” to many, Chef Sau taught that it must be sliced horizontally to avoid cutting through the seeds and risk releasing bitter compounds. And do you want to know how a pro chef makes shrimp stock? While most people get away with slightly frying shrimp shells in oil and then boiling them in water, the latter is simply the first step to Chef Sau. To get the most out of shrimp shells’ flavor and take all the seafood goodness out, put the boiled shells and water in a blender and blend until it reaches the consistency of a smoothie. Once achieved, drain and there you have your rich, fresh shrimp stock!
These are just tiny bits of tips that can make a world of difference if done right. Chef Sau showed how starting right can make the following processes more seamless and result in an undeniably good dish. Once all the elements were nicely integrated and the pot of aromatic palabok sauce was done, it was time for the star of the show, the curly US potato fries—frozen and deep-fried to achieve that kind of crispy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside texture, serving as the perfectly unique pasta for the dish. Drenched in the thick palabok sauce, it was then topped with quail eggs, shrimps, and chives. In just a few moments, we were presented with a beautiful plate of Palabok with U.S. Frozen Potato Curly Fries.
After tasting the finished product, the online lessons about US potatoes all made sense. Their claim of having unmatched quality and meeting strict US processed potato standards spoke for itself with one bite taken. Real potato eaters would know, the same way real water drinkers taste the subtle differences in every drop of water they drink.
It isn’t simply business that the U.S. School of Spuds complies with this effort of offering hands-on learning every single month. Their mission to engage restaurant operators and inspire them to add versatile, high-quality potato products to their menus is rooted in pure knowledge and appreciation of what U.S. potatoes are actually capable of—elevating dishes, innovating recipes, and promoting quality in the food industry.
For food entrepreneurs, it is a privilege getting to attend hands-on learning classes like this for free. They are basically free opportunities to upgrade your business by being exposed to good products and interacting with expert culinary teachers and other professional cooks who can help you gain skills, knowledge, and resources for the betterment of your business.
Since they are running every single month all year long, there is no excuse to skip! Visit the official website of the U.S. School of Spuds to learn more.
For more updates on nearby workshops like this, subscribe to Our Market.
