ISLAS is my first major collaboration with author Von Diaz, who wrote Coconuts & Collards. We met through Nicole Taylor the night we were quietly celebrating the release of The Last OG Cookbook at her home. This time, my role was more involved than just testing the recipes. I developed and consulted on half of them, focusing on Southeast Asia and the Pacific. I also had the opportunity to contribute a multi-page guide to rice, it is a staple very close to my heart because I grew up eating it every day.

Von organized her recipes by cooking method, not by meal or country. She discovered many parallels in her research and travels across islands that are hundreds of miles apart. Despite limited access to ingredients and tools, islanders possess a unique resilience when it comes to cooking with these methods:

• Marinating

• Pickling + Fermentation

• Braising + Stewing

• Frying

• Grilling, Roasting, + Smoking

• Streaming + In-Ground Cooking

Our book team was bigger than most (and I hope others follow suit). I worked in tandem with Bridgid Washington, another recipe developer. After we developed the recipes, tested them, and reviewed the headnotes before they went off to the presses. A few years later, we’re proud to see ISLAS on bookstore shelves and named one of Food & Wine Magazines Best Cookbooks of 2024. If you do not have a copy of ISLAS, you can purchase one here.

What are my best 5 recipes in ISLAS?

Of the Recipes I worked on…

• Chicken Jook - Hawaiian rice porridge may look and sound like Filipino arroz caldo (page 155), but its construction and flavor profile are different. Instead of using leftover rice as with arroz caldo, the raw grains are cooked with chicken broth and finished with scallions.

• Lemon Lasary - Malagasy lemon zest and chile pickle require some patience! It is best cured for 4 weeks and can last up to a year. I loved it so much that I put it on the hot dog menu at Wonderville and called it the Lemon of Zelda with brie cream and poppy seeds.

• Gato Pima - These fritters with chile are a lot like falafel except they are made with lentils and not chickpeas. I especially loved that it was easy to make and flash freeze for easy meals.

• Beef Tapa - A classic Filipino breakfast protein. In most recipes it is tenderloin, but I opted for sirloin or skirt steak for its availability. The beef is sliced thinly, marinated with calamansi, and oven-dried a little. It is then fried and served over rice.

• Sinigang Sa Mangga - I grew up eating Filipino sinigang na isda, a sour tamarind soup with fish and tomato. This version adapted from Yasmin Newman’s 7000 Islands leans on green mangoes as a souring agent.

As a Meat Eater…

• Griot - Haitian fried braised boneless pork shoulder. This celebratory dish is often eaten with Pikliz (page 99).

• Churrasco - Puerto Rican grilled steak marinated with garlic, oregano, and vinegar. It’s then finished with a tart wasakaka, a Dominican herb sauce with lots of lime.

• Poulet Boucané- Martinique sugarcane smoked chicken! It is also known as “buccaneer chicken.” The chicken is marinated in lots of allium, lime, rum, allspice, and thyme before it is grilled with sugarcane pieces.

• Lechon Kawali - A Flipino classic! Crispy deep-fried pork belly. Best enjoyed with bottled mang tomas and/or Sinamak (page 48).

• Soup Joumou - Haitian “freedom soup” to commemorate Haiti’s independence from France in 1804. Its base is pureed pumpkin and cooked with beef or goat with vegetables and scotch bonnet peppers.

As a Pescatarian…

• Vindaye Poisson

• Kinilaw Na Isda

• Mas Riha

• Cari de Poisson Et Potiron

• Bouyon Bred

As a Vegetarian…

• Asar

• Keshi Yena - Replace the beef with plant-based ground “meat”

• Mofongo Con Guiso - Pork rinds are optional!

• Ensaladanf Talong - Omit the shrimp paste.

• Curried Green Jackfruit

For Building a Cool Pantry…

• Asinan

• Ginger Beer

• Jerk Pork Tenderloin

• Seychellois Massalé

• Tamarind Chili Salt Salad

If I were Throwing a Massive Party…

• Kālua Pua’a

• Chamorro BBQ Chicken

• Red Rice

• Shoyu Ahi Poke

• Pickled Green Papaya

I would love to hear if you cooked any recipes and posted them on social media. Make sure to tag me or send them along via email to randwiches at gmail dot com.