WRITTEN BY FRANCESA JANA SANTIAGO

Does it make you any less of a Filipino if you’re unable to speak Tagalog? Or have no complete knowledge about your motherland’s history? For many Filipino-Americans growing up, their connection to their culture seems to get lost along the way and this has been a constant struggle for them. Fortunately, one effective way to look back on their roots is through what they eat at home.

Food is prominent in one’s culture and if you’re an immigrant or mixed child, you get to live the best of both worlds! In America, Filipino cuisine is gradually entering the mainstream from Ube-flavored ice cream to Chicken Adobo. However these are only Tagalog-centered dishes rather than regional ones, which is a shame because the Philippines hosts a total of 182 ethnic groups: each with diverse heritages and delicious foods to offer!

To explore further into this, One Down (an American media company centered on Philippine culture) and FEATR (a Philippine-based media company centured on Philippine cuisine and travel) teamed up on this latest episode of Tongue Twistr, featuring One Down’s very own Creative Director Leo Albea, who attempted to make Laing while his mom Pinky instructs him in Bicolano! But here’s the catch— Leo has no idea how to cook the recipe nor how to speak and understand the dialect. Through the process, we get to learn how Laing was discovered in the first place and how poisonous Taro leaves are when they’re raw!

Check out the full video below to see the chaos unravel:

From food encounters to travel to deliciously humorous content check out FEATR, a new channel produced by The Fat Kid Inside Studios!