Alvin Cailan - Amboy

Copyright 2020 by Alvin Cailan

Photography copyright 2020 by Wyatt Conlon

Illustrations of by Anthony Aguinaldo and Mike Macasero

Illustrations of by Hector Reynoso and Mike Macasero

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cailan, Alvin, author. | Cuerdo, Alexandra, author.

Title: Amboy : recipes from the Filipino-American dream / Alvin Cailan with Alexandra Cuerdo and Susan Choung ; photography by Wyatt Conlon.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019045713 (print) | LCCN 2019045714 (ebook) | ISBN 9781328931733 (hardback) | ISBN 9781328931740 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Philippine. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX724.5.P5 C35 2020 (print) | LCC TX724.5.P5 (ebook) | DDC 641.59599dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045713

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045714

Cover design by Allison Chi

Cover photography by Wyatt Conlon Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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Tatay Peps,

You always knew I was going to do something great, even though everyone else told you I was trouble. You taught me how to love unconditionally and to follow my dreams. You left this world before I could make something of myself, and every time I accomplished something major in my career, I was alone, but I know you were there with me.

More like SHOUT-OUTS. This crazy life, the machine of failures and victories, could not have been bearable without my incredible support system made up of family, friends, and colleagues. Youll learn about most of them in this book. This is really tough for me because Im a pretty private dude. My social media and my show only display my professional side, so heres my chance to shout out to everyone who helped make this all happen.

First, Id like to thank Angela. Youre my rock, and without you Id be nothing.

Shout-out to Justin Schwartz, Allie Cuerdo, Susan Choung, Wyatt Conlon, and Danielle Svetcov, the incredible team that put this book together.

Shout-out to my family! Mom, Dad, Brother, Auntie Cita, Nanay Grace, Kuya KC, Ate Nyrie, Ate Careen, Ate Lorie, and JR. Thank you!

Shout-out to my brothers from another mother, Arjun and Nakul Mahendro. I love yall and thank you for being there for me when no one else was.

Shout-out to Christian Natividad, Dave Kocab, Johanna Merida, Ted Montoya, Lung Ly, Justin Carleton, Bryan Sudjati, Jeremy Mitra, Christian Cruz, Xavier Fermin, and Javier Flores. These are the people Ive shared the trenches with, my Band of Brothers and Sisters.

Shout-out to David Shein and Antonio Reyes for helping me build my business and for working with me day in and day out to keep this dream alive.

Shout-out to Mark Tagnipez, Cyrus Mirabueno, Michael Prieto, Gail Vales, Max Nocete, Norman Mirabueno, Vivian Mirabueno, Leo Mirabueno, Andrew Osorio, Hoogie Osorio, and Oliver Osorio, my homies from day one. I grew up with these guys and, ultimately, theyre the reason why Ive got tough skin. Theyve seen me at my worst and pushed me to be the best.

Shout-out to Ken Concepcion, Michelle Mungcal, Chad Valencia, Chase Valencia, Nico de Leon, Stephanie Valencia, Charles Olalia, Ria Barbosa, Maynard Llera, Johneric Concordia, Christine Concordia, Andre Guerrero, Amy Besa, Romy Dorotan, and Christian Alquiza, my Pinoy brothers and sisters, the Filipino chefs who shape the Filipino cuisine in America. They all inspire me and through the years have become like family.

Shout-out to George Yu, Michael Sudjati, and Colin Stafford. I consider you gentlemen my mentors. Ive learned so much from you, and I thank you for molding me into the professional that I am today.

Shout-out to EVERYONE at the Oregon Culinary Institute, the best culinary school in the world!

Shout-out to all my fans, young cooks, and haters! Yall keep my blood pumping.

EGGSLUT CHEF WRITES FIRST COOKBOOK! If youre looking for one hundred food-porny egg sandwich recipes, then youre going to be extremely disappointed in this book. Im the creator of Eggslut. I created the recipes that millions of people from all over the world have taken pictures of. I worked my ass off for two and half years, sacrificing friendships and leveraging all my credit cards for the brand to become what it is today.

But this is not a story about a shiny, subway-tiled egg restaurant and its campaign to be Americas next major food chain. This is a story about a brown kid, from a brown family, whose roots are in Southeast Asia. More specifically, the Philippines. That makes me American-born Filipino, or, as my grandma used to call us: Amboy.

Amboy describes my cuisine, my lifestyle. Its how I cook. Its how I talk. This cookbook is the story of Amboy. Its the story of not being Filipino enough to be Filipino, and not being American enough to be American. Its about a Filipino-American kid trying to make it work in a world where everyone says no. About making it happen and being true to who I am. About just owning it.

My family migrated to America to escape a government that literally had no idea how to govern. In the 1980s, we landed in Los Angeles. Back then, we were just a shadow in a bright and shiny world. My mom was a bookkeeper, and my dad was a locksmith. We lived in a suburb five minutes from downtown LA called Pico Rivera. It was an unassuming place where unassuming people lived, where everyone was God-fearing and blue-collared, no one left for greener pastures, and everyone kept to themselves.

Except for me, baby! I got the hell out of there. It took me 24 years to leave, but I did, and I didnt look back. I focused on me. I was selfish. And then I birthed Eggslut. It started as a food truck in 2011 and opened as my first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Los Angeles, at Grand Central Market, in 2013. MSNBC declared it the Most Instagrammed Restaurant in the World, and Bon Apptit named it one of the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the United States. A year later, I won a StarChefs Rising Stars Award, opened a controversial ramen restaurant, Ramen Champ, and created the 2016 Los Angeles magazine Restaurant of the Year, Unit 120.

Amboy is the story behind the headlines, my struggle, the greatest highs and the lowest of lows. Its about achieving successand, every day, dealing with the threat that it can be taken away in a heartbeat.

I started out thinking my lifes purpose was to make money. Then I decided it was to make delicious food. Later, I realized I represented so much more. This book is that