Fat RICE is a passion project of Rocheller Batuigas, a way to explore his Filipino history and identity in the lens of growing up in Canada and the path he took as a chef in the city. Come join him on his journey through Filipino and Asian food as they try to (sometimes confusingly and hilariously) cowboy and finagle my way on what it means to be Canadian.

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pasimula // beginning

Fat Kid Salad

Rocket, with crunchy adobo corn nuts, panutsa peanut brittle, sweet mango, sour pomelo, shaved red onions, and a sharp good local Gouda. Served with brown butter and calamansi vinaigrette.

An homage to the fat kid in all of us. A salad incorporating stories of my time in Canada working with great local ingredients and also (still) discovering my identity as a Filipino in Canada. Inspired by Chef Brad Long and my time at Evergreen Brickworks, I incorporate greens, grains, nuts, fruits, and cheese with brown butter vinaigrette with calamansi, creating a rich and unctuous dressing that binds everything together.

Breaking Blood Dinuguan

Pork Blood Stew – pork blood, vinegar, ginger, garlic, chillies. Dip with puto rice cakes.

Dinuguan is a traditional Filipino stew made from pig’s blood with offals in a vinegar-based rich gravy with aromatics of ginger and garlic. Often served with sweet and spongy puto to dip into dark and rich gravy. Break “bread” with fluffy puto strewn in with gouda cheese and dip it in slightly spicy, porky, sour, and rich dinuguan.

sa gitna // in the middle

Crispy & Crunchy Kare Kare

Crispy pork belly, garlic fried rice, thick peanut sauce, shrimp paste, roasted eggplant, long beans, bok choy, crushed peanuts and crispy garlic.

A variation of a Filipino centuries-old recipe of braised meats (oxtails, shank, tripe, pork hock, etc.). My version is to make a bold and unctuous peanut sauce laced with the umami rich bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) with carefully cooked eggplant, long beans, and bok choy. Atop the sauce and vegetables, we lay down crispy roasted pork belly to contrast the varying textures. A must is a side of more bagoong to add salt, adjust the seasoning, and bring additional complexity to the dish.

Chicken Inasal

Marinated and grilled chicken, garlic atchara pickles, black pepper cucumber pickle, chicken fat, spicy vinegar

Chicken marinated in lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chilies, vinegar, and brown sugar. Charred and served with garlic atchara pickles, which are made from green papaya, carrots, and garlic, as well as my mom’s simple black pepper cucumber pickle. Side of flavoured chicken fat with annatto and spicy vinegar.

Garlic Fried Rice

Garlic, garlic, and garlic

Shrimp Sinigang Brodo

Shrimp and Sour Tamarind Broth

A clean broth made of tamarind and infused with shrimp. This version of sinigang is focused on the sabaw (broth), which is mouth puckeringly sour to cleanse your palate in between bites.

tapus na // it’s over

Sticky Butter Toast with Saging Latik

Butter and coconut sugar toast served with saba bananas, brown sugar, coconut milk, and rum sauce. Served with queso “dirty” ice cream and smoked Maldon salt.

Sticky buttered and sugared toast served atop saging latik saba bananas cooked in coconut milk, sugar, and rum. Finished with queso “dirty” ice cream, which street vendors peddle handmade ice cream with varying flavours like ube, mango, and queso (cheese) in the Philippines.

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Rocheller Batuigas has worked as a chef for nearly 15 years working under Brad Long at Evergreen Brickworks at Cafe Belong and as well as the current Executive Chef at York University Student Centre. Currently traveling around the city on his days off with his friends and partner as FAT RICE, a hilarious group of people who love food and sharing those experiences at your next market or pop-up. @fatrice.to

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Every weekend The Depanneur invites an amateur or professional guest chef to host a fun, informal dinner party. @thedepanneur