A Recipe for Spicy Filipino BBQ Skewers

Oh, and I'm doing an art pop-up in Chicago this weekend ... come and hang?? 🤙

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The recipe box is a collection of recipes and techniques from my favorite cookbooks—everything from up-and-coming titles to tried-and-true favorites from my collection. (Though you may see some original recipes here from time to time, too 😉)You can check out TOD’s archive of past recipes here if you’re looking for some meal inspiration.

Hi all,

First off, I really appreciate everyone’s understanding of my sudden two-week disappearance. I’ve been heads down preparing for an event this weekend hosted by Chicago’s AAPI Events on Asian-American food storytelling and nostalgia. For the past couple weeks, I’ve spent my weeknights and weekends scribbling away on my iPad like a madwoman, going back and forth with vendors to perfect designs, struggling to fall asleep at night as crippling thoughts of wait, are people ACTUALLY gonna want to buy this? race through my head. The reason for all this madness? This will be my first time selling art in-person—kind of a formative, deeply vulnerable milestone for any artist, I’d like to think. I’ve got no idea what to expect, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that the best antidote to the debilitating fear of what others will think of your work is rolling up your sleeves, showing up, and doing the damn thing anyway.

All that to say, if you’re in Chicago and need something to do on Sunday the 29th (or if you need a little pick-me-up boba during the annual pride parade), I’ll be joining eight other artists at Uni Uni’s Uptown location from 12-5pm selling fine art prints with my original designs. Come stop by and say hi—and hey, if you’re one of my subscribers, I might have a gift for you. ❤

And now, onto today’s recipe. The Fourth of July weekend is coming up for our Stateside friends, so I thought I’d share this recipe from Tony Ramirez’s debut cookbook, “Backyard BBQ with Fire and Spice.” Tony’s one of those people that just gets barbecue; you might know him as @tfti.bbq if you’ve ever stumbled onto the BBQ side of Instagram or TikTok. His cooking style is a tribute to his late Cajun-Filipino mother, an eclectic mash-up of Cajun spice blends, Filipino ingredients, and a mix of traditional smoking, grilling, and open-pit techniques. Tony grew up in a tight-knit community in Hayward, California, and hosting big gatherings for friends and family comes as naturally to him as serving them something smoked, pulled, or grilled.

“The smell of BBQ still means family, fun, and love to me,” Tony says in his book. “The truth is, BBQ has never been just about the food. It’s an event, a community, and the straw that stirs the drink. BBQ takes time. That’s hanging out time, with music playing and people laughing. More than anything, BBQ—at least the way I do it—is a reason to connect with your tribe and spend quality time with the people who mean the most to you.” 20 years of cooking and honing his skills in the Bay Area has resulted in a book, with each chapter capturing every delicious facet of his heritage, from tocino pulled pork sandwiches and smoked chicken arroz caldo to cajun shrimp lumpia and sticky adobo wings.

These chicken skewers are one of Tony’s classics, and what sends these over the edge is the addition of spicy banana ketchup—sometimes labeled “spicy banana sauce”—to the marinade and basting sauce. “It’s kind of amazing how a simple unique condiment like this can really round out the flavors,” Tony says. “I experiment all the time with ingredients like that, especially when cooking chicken because it’s such a flavor sponge.” You can find spicy banana ketchup at your local Asian grocery store or online on Amazon.

Serves 2-4

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For both the marinade and the basting sauce:

• 1½ cups soy sauce

• 1 cup lemon juice

• 1½ cups spicy banana ketchup

• ½ cup packed light brown sugar

• ¼ cup garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ cup salt

• 1½ cups lemon or lime soda

1. Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks. In a large bowl, combine all the marinade and basting sauce ingredients except for the soda and mix well. Divide into two equal portions and set aside half the mixture for basting. Stir the soda into the marinade portion.

2. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight if possible, but for at least 3 hours.

3. Prepare your grill with applewood, removing the rack so that the coals are exposed. Spear the chicken on metal skewers (wood skewers can burn or even catch fire) and lay the skewers across the bowl of the grill, 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) above the flame. You can also use a rotisserie rack if you have one, but only if you can get the skewers close enough to the coals.

4. Grill for a total of 3-5 minutes per side. Turn the skewers regularly, basting with the basting sauce after each turn. Keep on this; the chicken can burn if left on one side too long. Grill the skewers until a nice char develops and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

5. Remove the skewers from the heat and let rest until cool enough to touch, 3-5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from “Backyard BBQ with Fire and Spice: Filipino- and Cajun-Inspired Recipes for the Smoker and Grill” by Tony Ramirez. Copyright © 2025. Used with permission of Harvard Common Press. All rights reserved.