Starter Sisters

"Ordering Korean food every time I had a craving wasn’t the most economically sound decision. So I started asking my sister for more kimchi. It was familiar and I could eat it with many Filipino dishes. If I didn’t have time to prepare a salad or cook a vegetable dish after 6 consecutive Google meetings, I could easily serve a heaping of kimchi on the side. I could also turn it into kimchi pancakes or even put it in sandwiches." - Mabel

Want to start making your own ? We're sharing our tried and tested vegan recipe of this popular and ubiquitous Korean ferment this Sept 22 at . Secure a seat now: https://bit.ly/kimchithiskimchithat

See you at Through Habit Cafe on September 22!

If you’re a fan of the typical savory Pinoy breakfast, it should not be challenging to incorporate fermented foods into your daily almusal.

Tip 3: Embrace it in sinangag.

Make a meal out of that fried rice by tossing in a hearty serving of chopped fermented vegetables. Think kimchi fried rice or Mabi’s favorite - burong mustasa fried rice.

Read more on 👇:
https://startersisters.com/how-to-add-ferments-to-pinoy-breakfasts/

Amp your almusal!

Tip 1: Use fermented vegetables as atchara or sawsawan substitute.

Read more on👇
https://startersisters.com/how-to-add-ferments-to-pinoy-breakfasts/.

Have you tried the Sweet Potato Tops Soda yet? 😊 Use our pandan ginger starter to make this fermented soda out of talbos ng kamote tea. It's fun to make! Find recipe in bio.

The name Kombuco started as a joke but it just stuck. 😆 With our pandan bug starter, we thought of creating a fizzy fermented drink with its go-to food pairing, buko (young coconut). Yes, it is inspired by the famous buko pandan. While the original recipe uses balicucha, you can use any sweetener you like. One of the five fizzy drink to make: https://startersisters.com/five-fizzy-drinks-to-make/

Day trips always mean bringing with me a jar (or two) of ferment, in this case cabbage and green tea kraut. This assures me of nutrient-dense food wherever I go. 😋

- Mabi

With half of the year gone, how are we all going? 🤔

If you wanted to remove soft drinks from your diet this year, you'd be glad to know that these fermented drinks will give you some of that fizzy feels without the massive sugar hit.

https://startersisters.com/five-fizzy-drinks-to-make/

Be the first to hear about our next schedules and product releases. https://bit.ly/SS_FermentationWorskshops

Thanks to everyone who joined our Eating Ferments workshop with at !

Sorry to those we had to turn away because of late registration. We would have loved to accommodate you, but we want to make sure there will be enough materials and ingredients for everyone so that all participants are able to fully experience the learning. Please watch out for our next workshop in either late July or early August!

Why make your own fermented banana ketchup? 🤔It is one of the easiest condiments to make, and you will be sparing yourself the refined sugar or corn syrups and preservatives usually found in commercial ketchups.

Link to recipe👇
https://startersisters.com/.../30/fermented-banana-ketchup/

When is a ferment done? 🤔
It depends on a few factors. Got a fermentation question? Ask us below.

📢 Easy ferment to try! Binurong Sibuyas (Fermented Onions): https://startersisters.com/2023/04/23/binurong-pulang-sibuyas-fermented-red-onions/

If you like our content, we appreciate a share/follow.

The first time the three of us were together was in Boracay, vacationing with respective circles of family and friends. The last time we were all together was in Quezon City for a kitchen takeover at . In between these years, we've worked together on various projects in various capacities - to name a couple.

Two years ago, we and launched Starter Sisters a few days after a proverbial storm. We hoped fermentation would teach us the healing capacity of focusing on what we can do amidst any chaos, the power of cooperative networks, and the saving knowledge that there are things that can never be suppressed.

In two years, we've religiously shared content, organized a handful of workshops, collaborated with fermentation enthusiasts, sold ready-made products, and through these have connected with many wonderful people like you. Thank you for being here! ❤️

- Mabi, Mabel and Marsia

This delightful Japanese dish is crafted by combining steamed rice with a pinch of salt and your desired filling, in this case, or your choice of ferment. Once prepared, it can be molded into a triangular shape or formed into a compact ball. To add an extra touch of flavor, a sheet of savory nori is often used to wrap around the onigiri. It’s great eaten cold!

Find more easy recipes for hot days on www.startersisters.com!

Easy recipes with beneficial ferments for those scorching days when turning on the stove feels unbearable 🥵 Link in bio.

Cool down with our Cold Tofu and Ampalaya. It is best enjoyed as a cold appetizer, side dish, or a light lunch. 🥰 Recipe on our site.

An easy dish to make with your own kimchi: bibim guksu-inspired dish! Find kimchi and noodle recipes on www.startersisters.com

Fizzy drinks for summer? Make fermented soda using pandan leaves and luyang dilaw and some elbow grease. 🙌

Instructions on www.startersisters.com.

Our fermentation is shaped by our experience in the tropics.

While there are many online resources, most of them focus on fermentation in temperate climates using ingredients that are sometimes harder to source in muggy Metro Manila (let's face it, muggy Philippines). Through Starter Sisters, we also want to highlight local ingredients, homegrown flavors and practices, and tools and techniques typical in a Pinoy kitchen! And while we drool over fancy fermentation crocks and weights, we also believe in using what is on hand or easily available.
,
,
Fermentation curious? Take this journey with us and tag someone you'd love to come along

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Fermentation and Our Health hands-on workshop. We were able to talk about the basics and the whys of fermenting our food (do you know it unlocks flavors, can minimise food waste, and so much more). Our biggest why is that it can help support our overall gut health and microbiome diversity. We're happy everyone got to try their hands on making their own ferments--curried kraut and our immune-support ferment! Our fellow fermenting enthusiasts also got to try other ferments we made like curtido and burong mustasa with dishes from Pipino resto. As one participant said, it was a Saturday well spent!

Tina Langit-Bagro, MD, specializes in integrative health and nutrition. She will give a lecture on how fermented products affect and support our different body systems, especially our digestive and immune systems. As a mom of three kids and a holistic medicine practitioner, she is passionate about making homes healthier through food, movement, plants, meaningful relationships and experiences.

Catch her this weekend at the Fermentation and Our Health Workshop. Book via link in bio!

Why learn fermentation? 🤔

Exploring the potential of to support health goals is one of its aspects that Mabi of Starter Sisters is passionate about. A vegan and trained plant-based cook, she is the advocacy lead of Good Food Community. A cancer survivor, she is a testament to the power of food to heal disease. 🥬

📣Fermentation and Our Health registration closing tomorrow at 5 pm! You do not want to miss it! Register here: https://bit.ly/startersistersxmrsdomesticated

📷 Char Tan and Ryan Martinez

Mabi David, one of the founders of , a group that promotes fermentation in the Philippines, will give a hands-on fermentation-making workshop where you’ll get to make your own curried kraut and fermented fire tonic (to support your immune system). A vegan, cancer survivor, and trained in plant-based cuisine, Mabi believes in the power of food to support health goals and heal disease.

Registration for Fermentation and Our Health Workshop closing soon. Book here: https://bit.ly/startersistersxmrsdomesticated

📣We still have slots for Fermentation and Our Health Workshop.

What will we be making during the hands-on activity?
✔️Curried Kraut
✔️Fermented Fire Tonic (Immune support)

We will also prepare our own hearty merienda with fermentation tasting using select Pipino plantbased dishes:
🍙Burong Mustasa and Bagoong Rice Onigiri
🥙Tofu Sisig and Curried Kraut Banh Mi
🌮Mushroom Salpicao Taco with Sauerkraut/Curtido
🤘🏼Spring rolls and taro chips with kimchi mayo

Book here: https://bit.ly/startersistersxmrsdomesticated

📣 FERMENTATION AND OUR HEALTH (A hands-on workshop announcement): if you have any dietary restrictions, we will try our best to accommodate it.

What will we be making during the hands-on activity?
✔️Curried Kraut
✔️Fermented Fire Tonic (Immune support)

We will also prepare our own hearty merienda with fermentation tasting using select Pipino plantbased dishes:
🍙Burong Mustasa and Bagoong Rice Onigiri
🥙Tofu Sisig and Curried Kraut Banh Mi
🌮Mushroom Salpicao Taco with Sauerkraut/Curtido
🤘🏼Spring rolls and taro chips with kimchi mayo

Book here: https://bit.ly/startersistersxmrsdomesticated