Sisig

The earliest known record of the word sisig can be traced back to 1732, and was recorded by Augustinian friar Diego Bergaño in his Vocabulary of the Kapampangan Language in Spanish and Dictionary of the Spanish Language in Kapampangan.{{Cite book|title=Vocabulary of the Kapampangan Language in Spanish and Dictionary of the Spanish Language in Kapampangan|last=Bergaño|first=Diego|publisher=Holy Angel University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-9719367215|location=Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines}}{{Cite book|title=Bocabulario de pampango en romance, y diccionario de romance en pampango|last=Bergaño|first=Diego|publisher=Impresso en El Convento de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles|year=1732|location=Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines}} Bergaño defines sisig as a "salad, including green papaya, or green guava eaten with a dressing of salt, pepper, garlic, and vinegar." The term manisig as in manisig manga, a phrase still used today, refers to eating green mangoes dipped in vinegar.

The term also came to be used to a method of preparing fish and meat, especially pork, which is marinated in a sour liquid such as lemon juice or vinegar, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices.{{cite web|title=The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans|url=http://karen.mychronicles.net/?p=135|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221012343/http://karen.mychronicles.net/?p=135|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2006|access-date=July 10, 2007}}

File:Mushroom sisig.jpg uses mushroom as the main ingredient, served with fried rice and egg.]]

The use of the pig's head in the dish is commonly attributed to using the excess meat from the commissaries of Clark Air Base in Angeles City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pepper.ph/the-history-of-sisig/|title=Sisig: The Tragic History Behind Our Favorite Pulutan|last=Estrella|first=Serna|date=August 6, 2013|website=Pepper.ph|access-date=September 21, 2016}} Pig heads were purchased cheap (or free), since they were not used in preparing meals for the U.S. Air Force personnel stationed there during the American occupation of Luzon and Visayas.{{cite web |url=http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090326-196363|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714130824/http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090326-196363|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2012|title=Filipino cuisine on US television|author=Carlo Osi|date=March 26, 2009|work=Mind Feeds|publisher=Inquirer Company|access-date=June 18, 2011}} Aling Lucing became popular when she grilled the pig's ears and added the cheeks to accommodate the bigger demand, a recipe she learned from the next-door stall owner in Crossing, Ricardo "Bapang Kadok" Dinio. The evolution of sisig moved forward when Benedict Pamintuan of Sugay's, a restaurant also in Angeles, thought of using a sizzling plate as a serving vessel so that the pork fat would not go cold and turn into lard when it was served.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sinupan.org/2019/01/19/sisig-a-cultural-heritage-of-pampanga/|title = Sisig: A Cultural Heritage of Pampanga| work=Sínupan Singsing |date = January 19, 2019}} Sisig still has many variations with recipes varying from city to city, and sometimes family to family, in the Kapampangan province.

File:Aling_Lucing_Fred%27s_Cafe_1.jpg ]]

{{main|Lucia Cunanan}}

Lucia Cunanan of Angeles, also known as "Aling Lucing", has been credited with reinventing sisig by grilling the pig's ears, and using the cheeks, as well.{{cite news|title=RP's sisig queen found dead in Pampanga home|url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89628/RPs-sisig-queen-found-dead-in-Pampanga-home|publisher=GMANews.TV|date=April 16, 2008|access-date=April 16, 2008}} The Philippine Department of Tourism has acknowledged that her "Aling Lucing's" restaurant had established Angeles as the "Sisig Capital of the Philippines" in 1974.{{cite web|title=Festivals and Events: Pampanga|url=http://www.visitmyphilippines.com/index.php?title=Pampanga&func=all&pid=4530&tbl=0|publisher=Department of Tourism|work=The Ultimate Philippines Ultimate Travel Guide For Tourists|access-date=April 16, 2008}} Cunanan's trademark sisig was developed in mid-1974 when she served a concoction of grilled and chopped pig ears and cheeks seasoned with vinegar, calamansi juice, chopped onions and chicken liver and served in hot plates. Today, varieties include sisig ala pizzailo, pork combination, green mussels or tahong, mixed seafood, ostrich sisig, crocodile sisig, spicy python, frog sisig, and tokwa't baboy, among others.

According to Cunanan's recipe, preparing sisig comes in three phases: boiling, broiling, and finally grilling.{{cite book|last=Nora|first=Villanueva Daza|author2=Michaela Fenix |title=A Culinary Life: Personal Recipe Collection|publisher=Anvil Publishing|date=1992|isbn=971-27-0212-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzovAAAAMAAJ&q=sisig|page=14}} A pig's head is first boiled to remove hairs and to tenderize it. Portions of it are then chopped and grilled or broiled. Finally, coarsely chopped onions are added and served on a sizzling plate.

Variations of sisig may include pork or chicken liver and/or any of: eggs, ox brains, chicharon (pork cracklings), and mayonnaise; although these additions are common nowadays, they are frowned upon by the traditionalist chefs of Pampanga as it deviates far from the identity of the original sisig. Recently, local chefs have experimented with ingredients other than pork such as chicken, squid, tuna, and tofu.{{cite web|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/food/651699/sisig-with-egg-and-mayo-thanks-but-kapampangans-aren-t-having-any-of-that/story/|title=Sisig with egg and mayo? Thanks, but Kapampangans aren't having any of that|last=Banal|first=Ruston|date=April 30, 2018|website=GMA News Online|publisher=GMA Network|location=Philippines|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730022748/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/food/651699/sisig-with-egg-and-mayo-thanks-but-kapampangans-aren-t-having-any-of-that/story/|archive-date=July 30, 2019|access-date=July 30, 2019}}

Sisig has also been improved into different dishes making it into salad, taco fillings, chicken stuffing, carbonara meat, and others. {{cite web | url=https://www.yummy.ph/lessons/cooking/sisig-recipes-filipino-sisig-a00261-20181026-lfrm | title=All the Sisig Recipes You Will Ever Need }}

The annual "Sisig Festival" (Sadsaran Qng Angeles) is held every year during December in Angeles, Pampanga, celebrating the Kapampangan dish. It started in 2003 and was made an annual festival by Mayor Carmelo Lazatin in December 2004 to promote the city's culinary prowess.{{cite news|url=http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2004/12/13/news/sisig.fest.eyed.as.annual.tourism.event.html|title=Sisig Fest eyed as annual tourism event|last=Fabian|first=Dante M.|publisher=Sun.Star Pampanga|date=December 13, 2004|access-date=April 12, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622082401/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2004/12/13/news/sisig.fest.eyed.as.annual.tourism.event.html|archive-date=June 22, 2009}} The festival also features a contest where chefs compete in making dishes, primarily sisig. Congo Grille, a restaurant chain in the country, was the winner in 2006.{{cite web|url= http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/12/09/feat/kapampangans.show.cooking.skills.at.sisig.festival..html|title=Kapampangans show cooking skills at Sisig festival|date=December 9, 2006|access-date=February 22, 2009|author=Reynaldo G. Navales|publisher=Sun.Star Pampanga}}{{cite news|url=https://recipenijuan.com/sisig-recipe/|title=Sizzling Pork Sisig Recipe by Recipe ni Juan}}{{cite news|url=http://philippineslifestyle.com/blog/2016/12/01/the-food-of-the-philippines-sizzling-pork-sisig/|title=Food of the Philippines: Sizzling Pork Sisig|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218143451/http://philippineslifestyle.com/blog/2016/12/01/the-food-of-the-philippines-sizzling-pork-sisig/|archive-date=December 18, 2016}}

In 2008, the festival was put on hiatus following Aling Lucing's death. In 2014, Ayala Malls's Marquee Mall incorporated the festival by including it within their annual Big Bite! Northern Food Festival, held every October or November.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The Angeles City Tourism Office organized a festival on April 29, 2017. The revival of the festival was in line with the Philippine Department of Tourism's Flavors of the Philippines campaign. Now called "Sisig Fiesta", the festivities were held at Valdes Street, Angeles (also known as "Crossing" since it was a former railroad track), where Aling Lucing reinvented the dish. The newly revived Sisig Fiesta was a one-day event that featured a line up of sisig sampler banquet, sisig and BBQ stalls, cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs, and a showcase of Angeleño culinary talent through competitions.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

• Dinakdakan - a similar dish from the Ilocos Region of the Philippines
• Livermush – a Southern United States pork food product prepared using pig liver, parts of pig heads, cornmeal and spices

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{{Philippine cuisine}}

Category:Philippine pork dishes

Category:Offal

Category:Culture of Pampanga