The New York Times Book Review editor Sadie Stein reviewed Dirty Kitchen, calling it “unblinking…fierce…This is not an easy memoir, nor should it be…And, as she says of some of her recipes, it will serve many.”

For the June 2025 issue of British Vogue, I examine my life of migration, my search for freedom, and the true nature of belonging.

For NPR’s show 1A, I spoke with host Jenn White about my experience of being undocumented, the personal choice of self-deporting, and why it’s not the right choice for everyone or the solution for America’s broken immigration system.

For Harper’s Bazaar, I wrote about the psychological toll of hiding and isolation, and, as experienced by my family and shown by studies, how common mental health issues are for undocumented immigrants.

In this essay for Condé Nast Traveler, I wrote about discovering myself and the world through travel after two decades of being undocumented.

In a People essay, I wrote about my mother, her complexity as a white collar undocumented woman, Filipino food, my relationship with her, and how, in my forties, I am only beginning to understand her.

In my opinion piece for The New York Times, I look back on my time as an undocumented immigrant in the US, my decision to self-deport, and what becoming a British citizen taught me about myself.

For Al Jazeera’s “Now You Know” podcast, I spoke with host Samantha Johnson about the struggles undocumented people face, my family’s personal journey, and how I started over again in the UK.

Literary Hub published an excerpt from the first chapter of Dirty Kitchen. In it, I explore my trip from the Philippines to the United States in August 1992, the sense of leaving home and my Filipino self behind, and the splitting apart of my family.

With The Bittman Project, I had the pleasure of chatting with Mark and Kate Bittman on their podcast, as well as sharing an excerpt from Dirty Kitchen’s second chapter, “Sisig na Baboy”, and the recipe from that chapter.

For The Nation, I dissected Duterte’s rise to power, what gave him the impunity to extrajudicially kill, and how it all links back—and to—the United States.

For Electric Lit, I had the pleasure of interviewing Qian Julie Wang, bestselling author of Beautiful Country, on her years growing up as an undocumented immigrant in New York City.

This is where my memoir began: as a pair of essays. For The Margins, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s literary magazine, I wrote about two Filipino recipes, the memories and histories they evoke, and my family.