Imbued with their desire to promote a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos, six expert vegetarian cooks who are volunteers of Tzu Chi Foundation, Philippines paid a visit to Tabaco City, Albay last July 23 to personally teach residents how to cook tasty yet affordable vegetarian dishes that will please even the most discriminate palate.

The cooking demonstration, which was conducted at Liberty Commercial Center (LCC)’s “The Concourse” restaurant, was attended by around 60 persons, composed mostly of local Tzu Chi volunteers in Tabaco and members of the academe of the above-mentioned city.

The group of culinary Tzu Chi volunteers cooked a series of savory vegetarian dishes using products available in Tabaco City.

Among the many dishes prepared include vegetarian curry, vegetable eel (a dish made using string beans), “kiampong”, vegetarian pita bread, stewed cabbage, and sautéed “amplaya” and tomatoes.

Aside from telling residents of Tabaco that they need not spend much to shift to a vegetarian diet, adding that Albay produces enough vegetables for its own consumption, Judy Lao, who led the team of culinary volunteers in conducting the class in the area, also pointed out that the use of cooking oil and salt is minimized in the preparation of vegetarian dishes, thus, reducing the intake of fat and cholesterol, and making their food healthier.

When interviewed, Lao also stressed her willingness to go around the province and instruct residents on how to make superb and tasty vegetarian dishes, adding that Tabaco residents are very warm in accepting their cooking philosophy.

“The people here (Tabaco) are very warm and receptive to our (Tzu Chi) principles especially on vegetarian cooking. I do not feel the slightest fatigue in teaching these people the road to a proper diet,” Lao pointed out.

“And when preparing these dishes, we don’t have to kill a single creature to satisfy our hunger,” she emphasized.

As this develops, Viola Abache, LCC area manager and one of the participants of the class, said that the cooking techniques exhibited by the culinary Tzu Chi volunteers were very impressive as it gave them new ideas on how to present vegetables as dishes.

“With the tips given to us, we see no difficulty in integrating vegetarian dishes in our menu,” she added in Filipino.

Abache also expressed hope that the cooking tips given by the Tzu Chi volunteers will allow her to pursue a vegetarian form of diet before the year is out.

While Kathy Dy, a newly recruited Tzu Chi volunteer, said that the cooking demonstration was very “educational and informative” adding that she is more than willing to cook such dishes on her own.

She also stressed that her family is already starting to pursue a vegetarian diet, adding that they are gradually reducing their intake of meat and its associated products.

Dy also expressed her willingness to disseminate to her friends the cooking tips expounded by the Tzu Chi volunteers as the dishes are tasty and healthy.

Her views were also shared by Agnes Gurimbao, a Home Economics teacher assigned at Tabaco National High School.

“The vegetarian (cooking) techniques presented here can be easily replicated in our school’s kitchen,” she stated.

Gurimbao also pointed out that vegetable dishes are her primary focus when teaching her students as these are healthy alternatives to meat.