The more I dig deeper into what it is that keeps the spirit of the Filipino gastronome alive, the deeper my foot gets into my mouth for the silly ignorance I have been harbouring all this while about the heritage of their flavours. These god fearing folks have been allied to and living under the colonial rule and influence of so many cultures around the world that by now, it is very hard to pinpoint just where their iconic local dishes came from. For one, their Chinese makan has a heavy Hokkien influence and just about everything else points to the Spaniards and comes with modified American accents. Yet there is a familiarity of all things Japanese and they speak English. Blur.

I am not about to enter into a discourse on this very debatable (hence sleepy) topic here because it’ll get me nowhere. Working on a project with some chefs here in Manlia accords me some opportunities (to kaypoh about the food they eat). So I asked and they whipped up two of their faves which I can so easily relate to – it is a couple of those eat-first-ask-later dishes that I sin for which can also help shorten my life expectancy. One in particular, Sisig, has a very colourful and peasant background to it and the other, Tokwat Baboy, is just, well, nice, especially with beer in front of the telly.

In The Running: A hawker in Manila touting what may be a top contender for their national dish, Sisig.

Sisig is basically boiled then deep fried bits of pigs head tossed in chillies, spices and lime topped with a raw egg. It hails from Pampanga and was created by poorer folks who had to eat what the butcheries serving the US Clarke Air Base threw out – pigs head. Mdm Lucita Cunanan whipped up an extremely popular version in her humble eatery in Angeles City in 1974. So popular it was that they actually have a Sisig festival in Pampanga in December. Their tourism authority recognized and lionized her for making Pampanga the Sisig capital of Philippines. She is like a local hero, but she was found stabbed earlier this year and her husband was charged with her murder. She was 80 years old. So drama. Come to think of it, we should have a chicken rice festival or curry fish head day. It’ll be quite a cool people bonding exercise.

Fiery: The zing and sting of the vinegar chilli soy sauce is what makes this pork and tofu Tokwat Baboy dish so wonderful.

Tokwat Baboy has Hokkien Pinoy roots. It’s boiled then broiled or fried pork with deep fried taukua squares (just reading it shortens my life by 5 seconds) tossed in vinegar soy with chillies and onions that reeks of some Thai accents. I don’t know if you can get chefs to whip them up at the little friendly Pinoy cafes Lucky Plaza, but I’ll sock you with the recipes.

Sisig (for 5)

Ingredients:
Pigs Ear, liver, skin, and tongue(optional)…1.2 kg
Ginger….200gms
Leeks…..100gms
Salt……...3tbsp
3 whole onions
Black pepper corns….1 tbsp
About 5 litres of water for boiling
Calamansi lime….2
Cut chillies for garnish….2
I egg
Spring onions for garnish

Method:
Boil all the pork parts in water with ginger, leeks, onions and salt till soft. Set aside to drip dry and air for 30 minutes. Then deep fry all the parts till crispy outside and set aside. Chop the crispy parts up into 0.5cm bits (they should taste a little salty). Now finely chop some extra onions(1.5 bulbs) and the chillies and roughly crush the black peppercorns and ready it for final frying. Toss all the chopped meat parts and ingredients onto a wok and fry over mid fire for about 2 minutes with some oil. Add salt and soy sauce for taste (ensure it is not wet). Serve topped with a raw egg and garnish.

Tokwat Baboy (for 5)

Ingredients
Three layered pork (with skin and fat on)……………..250gms
Taukua (firm tofu) chopped into 2cm square…………180gm
White vinegar…………………………..3 tbsp
Soy sauce………………………………2 tbsp
Ginger strips……………………………20 3cm strips
Sugar ……………………………………1 tbsp
Lemongrass……………………………..one stalk finely chopped
Bird eye chillies finely cut…………………………3 pcs
Calamansi lime ……………………………………2 pcs

Method:
Boil the pork till soft, let it drip dry and air for 30 minutes. Then deep fry the pork and cut into bite sized bits and set aside. Deep fry the taukua cubes till crispy outside and leave on platter. Now create sauce with the vinegar, soy sauce, chillies, lemongrass and sugar by tossing them together. (alter sauce propotions to suit your taste). Now place pork and mix with taukua cubes on platter. Pour sauce over and toss. Garnish with chopped onions or chopped coriander. Add lime of extra zing. Note: the lemongrass is an extra ingredient added for fragrance and not found in traditional recipes.