WHO hasn’t heard of sisig, or hasn’t eaten one such dish?
Sisig, says Wikipedia, is a Kapampangan dish made from parts of pig head and chicken liver, usually seasoned with calamansi, onion and chili pepper.
The dish originated in Pampanga but has now spread all over the country due to its sheer good taste and often inexpensive price.
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Sisig was first mentioned in a Kapampangan dictionary in the 17th Century. It meant “to snack on something sour” and “salad.”
Sisig then referred to fruits, often unripe or half-ripe, sometimes dipped in salt and vinegar.
It also referred to a method of preparing fish and meat, marinated in a sour liquid such as lemon juice or vinegar, then seasoned with salt, pepper and other spices.
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Sisig is considered part of Pampanga’s culinary tradition.
Angeles City, through City Ordinance No. 405, Series of 2017, issued an ordinance declaring Sizzling Sisig Babi as an intangible cultural heritage of the city.
A sisig festival is held every year in May in Angeles. Students and restaurant owners would cook tons of sisig.
The festival started on May 17, 2003.
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The late Lucia “Aling Lucing” Cunanan of Angeles City is considered the innovator of sisig.
She reinvented sisig by broiling or grilling the pig parts after boiling them. She then served the dish on a sizzling plate.
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TRIVIA PA MORE (Various Sources): San Guillermo Parish Church was one of several places in Pampanga ravaged by lahar flow from Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991.
Almost 3/4 of the church was buried.
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Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
