Sisig

Knocking back a few pints of beer while chowing down on copious amounts of salty,
greasy food is a time-honored tradition all over the world. The Spaniards came up
with tapas or pinchos, the Koreans snack on anju, and we Filipinos have pulutan. A
popular favorite in our country is sisig, which is comprised of a pig’s face that’s been
chopped up and fried to perfection. Crispy, tangy, and meaty, it’s a perfect complement
for beer’s natural earthy flavors. While its high fat and sodium content can make you
dizzy and bloated, none of that matters once you’re three bottles in to drowning your
frustrations with your douche ex in between mouthfuls of sizzling sisig. The distinct,
savory aroma wafting from that sizzling plate of sisig might make mouths water, but the
recipe behind it could turn the stomach of the more squeamish among us. The first step
involves taking a pig’s head (a real pig’s, not your ex’s) and boiling it until it’s tender.
The hairs are then removed, with the fleshy portions chopped and then grilled or broiled.
Finally, the whole lot is seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar or calamansi juice before
being fried with chopped onions, various types of sili, and chicken livers.
Traditionally, sisig is topped with a raw
egg which is gently cooked by the sizzling
plate’s residual heat. Some eateries
occasionally add ox brains, crushed pork
cracklings, and even mayonnaise for
added richness. The credit for the
modern sisig that we enjoy today belongs to a little old lady who used to live by the
railroad tracks. Lucia Cunanan, or “Aling Lucing” as she preferred to be called, retained
the elements of the traditional Kapampangan dish (chopped meat cooked with a souring
agent), but kicked things up a notch by grilling the boiled meat, chopping it up, frying it
with pig brains and chicken livers, then serving it on a sizzling plate. The sourness from
which the dish took its name no longer took center stage. In its place, the crunchiness of
the pig ear cartilage with the creaminess of the liver and brains came to define a well-
prepared plate of sisig. Aling Lucing’s creation catapulted the humble dish from a
regional delicacy to a national sensation.
Aling Lucing’s sisig also revolutionized the Kapampangan dining culture. Kapampangan
society used to shun humid, open-air canteens and preferred only fancy, air-conditioned
restaurants, but the renown of her sizzling sisig piqued the curiosity of the wealthy.
Celebrities, government officials, and heiresses all found themselves risking their lives
(and their expensive cars) by trekking to “Crossing,” Aling Lucing’s food stall in the
slums by the railroad. Now that customers focused on the food rather than on the
ambience, other entrepreneurial cooks with very limited capital started converting
garages and backyards into eating areas to showcase their specialty dishes. Popular
Kapampangan eateries like Jojo’s and Razon’s were among those that flourished from
that trend.
Sadly, Aling Lucing’s story does not have a happy ending. On April 16, 2008, the 80
year-old was found bludgeoned to death in her Angeles City home. The primary suspect
was her own husband, then-85 year-old Victor Cunanan, but the investigation was
inconclusive and the case remains unresolved to this day. While Aling Lucing may be
gone, her biggest culinary contribution seems to have taken on a life of its own. Angeles
City is now known as the country’s Sisig Capital, a title that was solidified further back in
2003, when the city held its first Sadsaran Qng Angeles (Sisig Festival). The celebration
featured a giant sizzling plate on which HRM students cooked up tons of sisig for the
thousands of revelers, which included representatives from the Guinness Book of World
Records.
Sisig is enjoying significant international acclaim. It’s included in CNNGo’s list of 50
delicious Filipino foods, a sentiment echoed by Anthony Bourdain himself after he
sampled the fare at Aling Lucing’s. Tom Parker-Bowles, the food writer for Esquire UK
(and the stepson of Prince Charles himself), also raved about sisig in an article he wrote
for the said magazine, and even traveled all the way to Angeles City (a mere two days
before his famous stepbrother’s wedding!) just to sample an authentic version of this
Kapampangan specialty.

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Knocking back a few pints of beer while chowing down on copious amounts of salty,

with tapas or pinchos, the Koreans snack on anju, and we Filipinos have pulutan. A

frustrations with your douche ex in between mouthfuls of sizzling sisig. The distinct,

Traditionally, sisig is topped with a raw

egg which is gently cooked by the sizzling

plate’s residual heat. Some eateries

occasionally add ox brains, crushed pork

cracklings, and even mayonnaise for

added richness. The credit for the

regional delicacy to a national sensation.

Sisig is enjoying significant international acclaim. It’s included in CNNGo’s list of 50

delicious Filipino foods, a sentiment echoed by Anthony Bourdain himself after he

before his famous stepbrother’s wedding!) just to sample an authentic version of this

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