Toyo Eatery's Jordy Navarra spotlights pork barbecue, kinilaw and more in Netflix's 'Chefs Uncut'

Chef Jordy Navarra, the genius behind the critically acclaimed restaurant Toyo Eatery, highlighted some of the Philippines' well-loved Filipino dishes in the Netflix series, "Chefs Uncut."

In episode five of the newly released food series, Navarra spotlighted how Filipinos take pride in their "salo-salo" culture, the act of eating together and sharing food.

"It's a super Filipino thing where if you have a guest coming to your home, you put out all the stops," he said.

"There's always this side to eating where the act of sharing what you have in front of you signifies like happy times," he added. "It's a very celebratory thing [in the Philippines]."

Among the dishes Navarra featured in the series include pork barbecue, his favorite food during his childhood.

"So, the barbecue dish is three types of barbecue that sort of represents what I like to eat in happy times," he said.

"We used three cuts of pork that we layer on top of each other and then put them on a stick as one bite of barbecue," he added.

Aside from pork barbecue, Navarra also spotlighted kinilaw in three different fishes: mackerel, yellowfin tuna, and round scad.

He also shared Toyo Eatery's process of creating its homemade banana catsup, a staple condiment in every Filipino household.

Last year, Toyo Eatery was named among Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, while the prestigious London-based awards body named it "The One to Watch" back in 2018.

In November last year, his Toyo Eatery partnered with Shake Shack to produce a limited-edition menu featuring a chicken and cheek BBQ burger, inasal fries, a lambanong lemonade, and a kakanin dessert.  

"Chefs Uncut," an original Netflix series, features six culinary maestros who have left a significant mark on the Asian food scene.

Joining Navarra are Thailand's Pichaya Soontornyanakij and Thitid Tassanakajohn, Singapore's Bjorn Shen, Singapore's Janice Wong and LG Han. —JCB, GMA Integrated News