2025 GLOW Multicultural Cooking Class - Filipino Cuisine

Filipino Chicken Pochero

Bob and Rica Bolanos moved to New Zealand 18 years ago with their 3 children. They are community volunteers working with the Waimakariri Distrct Council on migrant affairs, and founding members of GLOW. They enjoy sharing their culture and cuisine with other people.

Filipino Pochero or Putsero, which means "stew pot," is a great dish inherited from the Spanish. It's made with a combination of meat, tomatoes, onions, garlic, fish sauce, peppercorns, chickpeas, leeks, plantains, potatoes, cabbage, green beans, and bok choy. It was originally considered 'peasant stew' because the meat usually used was cheap cuts of pork, beef or chicken and with vegetables that were in season.

The Filipino Pochero is slightly different as it has tomato sauce and it is what sets it apart from other tomato-based stew. It has ripe plantain banana or 'saba' which gives it a rather interesting flavour adding a natural sweetness and a uniquely Filipino identity. It’s a testament to how they’ve made something foreign their own, much like many other Filipino dishes.

Bob and Rica serve this dish to their own family now and can’t help but feel a connection to those who came before them, passing down not just recipes but also the love and care that make them truly special.

Filipino Ube Biko

To know what this Filipino delicacy is, let's first define Biko and Ube Halaya separately. Biko is a sweet Filipino sticky rice cake made of glutinous rice, coconut milk and condensed milk or sugar. While Ube Halaya is a rich purple yam jam made of mashed or pounded Ube mixed with coconut milk and sugar. The fusion of the two gives rise to a delightful purple sweet sticky rice cake called Ube Biko.

 Join Bob and Rica and enjoy learning how to cook this delicious Filipino food....and eating it afterwards of course.