Around Metro Manila, food stalls selling Sisig have began to sprout like mushrooms from time to time. Served on a sizzling plate, Sisig never fails to capture the senses of those eating it. As renowned chef Anthony Bourdain would describe it-"a divine mosaic of pig parts, chopped and served sizzling and crisp on one side on a screaming hot platter". The mere sight of this dish alone would make tongues wag and eyes sweat. The sound emitted from the extremely hot plate is the beat that the meat is danding to on an open fire. The burnt smell of charred meat drenched in vinegar and lime juice is like an aphrodisiac, leading you towards a juicy reward. Finally, the taste of it, crispy yet juicy just overwhelming, it gives one a feeling that they taste something exotic yet it's found anywhere else in the world.
Sisig is derived from a Kapampangan term, which means to "consume something sour". This term pertains to fruits, both ripe and not, marinated in either salt or vinegar. Moreover, it may also pertain to meat or seafood that is marinated with sour liquid or seasoning like those said earlier. In relation to this, the earliest record of Sisig was in an 18th century dictionary compiled by Diego Bergao, an Augustinian friar based in Mexico, Pampanga, Sisig was seen as a vegetarian salad, in the Spanish occupation, tossed along with unripe fruits such as papaya and guava topped with a sauce made from salt, vinegar and pepper. On the other hand, our Sisig is the result of Filipino ingenuity and resourcefulness but has also undergone a lot of changes through time. Sisig Babi is predecessor of what we know of Sisig today. It consists of boiled pig's ears and jowl, that is chopped and minced, and mixed with pig liver and brain, which gives it a mayonnaise like consistency, and topped with chilies, onions and peppers.
The sizzling Sisig was pioneered by Aling Lucing ,a Pampanga native who owned a food stall near the railroad tracks. Aling Lucing added two more innovations to the original Sisig Babi, she broiled and grilled the meat after it was boiled then served it on a hot sizzling plate. In memory of the Sisig Queen, an annual Sisig festival is held every December to showcase the culinary prowess of Chefs around the country and to give homage to the person, who made it a world-wide sensation, Aling Lucing.
