Last month, my boyfriend and I trekked up to Oakland to check out the Vegan Soul Wellness Fest and had the great privilege of watching a demo by Astig Vegan on making Filipino food vegan-style. Until then, I’d been under the impression FIlipino food was synonymous with “contains pork,” so it was eye-opening to hear her discuss the flavors, ingredients, and techniques that are 100% plant-based. Also, the food she made and shared was crazy-delicious.

So what better time to actually give her recipes a try than today’s challenge to cook something you haven’t tried before?

The menu included tempeh adobo with spinach (I couldn’t get to the Asian market to get water spinach), squash and beans in coconut milk (which she demo’d), and garlic fried (brown) rice. The preparation is very simple and requires only a handful of ingredients. I often avoid coconut milk-based dishes because they’re so heavy, but it works as a nice, creamy side to contrast the sharp, tangy tempeh adobo. I also used *so much* garlic. I should have counted how many cloves, but it was enough to justify using the food processor to expedite the mincing and end up with about ⅔ cup of yum.

I’d definitely make Filipino food again, and recommend checking out Astig Vegan if you haven’t already!