Since ditching pork last year, there’s only one dish that has the ability to break my streak and send me straight back to pork hell—sisig. And I know there are non-pork variations of this worldly ulam but there’s simply nothing quite like it (especially if it’s sizzling and you’re accompanied by a bottle of cold beer).
While we’re still working on making sisig a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Twitter user Pete Sengson posted a thread earlier this week that enlightened us on the true origins of the Kapampangan fare.
“The real #sisig is not served on sizzling plates, has no mayo, no egg, no hot sauce, [and] no soy sauce,” he said. “The secret comes not from the condiments but the method of cooking—parboiled then roasted to crisp perfection and chopped. I’m speaking as a Kapampangan.”
Apparently, sisig was called as such because of the word manisig which means “to eat something sour.” And the OG ingredients? Calamansi, fresh red onions, salt and pepper, and leftover pig parts (cheeks, ears, etc.). Nothing more, nothing less.
Now I’m not Kapampangan, but I do know about the ‘no mayo’ part. The original sisig recipe uses pig brain instead to make it creamy. Sengson went on to add that Lucia Cunanan or Aling Lucing, owner of a famous sisig place in Angeles, Pampanga, did not invent the dish. She simply reinvented it by adding soy sauce and serving it on sizzling plates.
How about you? Do you dig the original sisig? Let us know in the comments!
Header courtesy of Visit Pampanga
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Will UNESCO add sisig to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list?
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