Aired (September 22, 2024): With our guest author and restaurateur–Claude Tayag, we will uncover the story behind why sour is the most dominant flavor and most accessible in Filipino cuisine.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00It's our Hour of Food Explorers!
00:05Because the ingredients that really bring sourness to Filipino food are the star of this week.
00:11Let's start our journey in Pampanga.
00:14Because the author and restaurateur is at Cloud Thaian,
00:17we will discover together why sourness is a hit for us Filipinos.
00:24Vinegar and sour fruits, the acidity,
00:29is the most dominant flavor in Philippine cuisine in general.
00:34Because, number one, vinegar is the most, you can say, accessible ingredient
00:41that is used, well, as a cooking ingredient.
00:47At the same time, as a sauce.
00:49And it can come, the vinegar can come from, like, any fruit,
00:53whatever is the predominant in one area,
00:56especially Quezon, all the way to Bicol, it's the coconut tree.
01:00Here in Pampanga, up to Ilocos, it's the so-called tubo, the Visayas.
01:07It could be from coconut, it could be also from nipa palm, sasa,
01:12ganun din sa bulakan.
01:14Well, it's a given that anything cooked in vinegar will prolong the shelf life,
01:20gives it a new dimension.
01:23Tinagtad, inihaw o kinisa, nilagay sa sisig plate, tapos hinaluan ng itlog.
01:31Ito ang sisig na kilala ng karamihan sa atin dito sa Metro Manila.
01:35Pero, alam nyo ba na sa Pampanga, ang sisig ay may maasim na pinagmulan?
01:41Way back, like, in the 1700s, there's this Kapampangan Spanish dictionary
01:50written by a Spanish friar, Fraile Bergano.
01:54The word sisig is already mentioned there,
01:58and it is defined as a salad served with a vinaigrette.
02:02It's usually given to a pregnant woman craving for something sour.
02:08Pero yung sisig nung araw, it's actually a snack.
02:11Talagang pinapapak mo yun in between meals,
02:14or naka-crave ka lang, or just to satisfy your hunger.
02:19One Friday, I was invited to play hooky by my classmate na taga Apalit.
02:26Pagpasok namin sa bahay nila, sumalubong yung tatay,
02:29pulutang ka muna.
02:30Yung sisig, basically, for the menfolk,
02:34something fatty to line the stomach before drinking.
02:38For 300 years, the sisig babi,
02:42synonymous with the sisig matua, is the same,
02:45remained the same, meaning boiled and then soaked in vinegar.
02:50Pagkalipas ng dalawang siglo,
02:52isang madiskating tinderan ng barbecue
02:55ang nagbigay ng bagong anyo sa kinasanayan nilang sisig.
02:58At kalaunan, siya ang kinaronahang sisig queen ng mga Kapampangan.
03:04Aling Lusing, Kunanan,
03:06is supposed to be credited for having invented the sizzling sisig.
03:11So one time daw, according to Aling Lusing,
03:14may nag-order ng isang tenga, gano'n.
03:17Eh, sa dami ng order, nasunog, nakalimutan niya.
03:20Imbis natatapon, magbabarbecue ng panibago,
03:24aba, pinagpag niyong abon.
03:27Tinatad niyang gano'n, binagyan ng sibuyas,
03:30binuhusan ng suka.
03:32Try mo yung bago kong sisig,
03:34sabi dun sa customer.
03:36Paano gustuhan?
03:37At that point, nakita nung ibang customer, gumaya.
03:41So, yun lang nag-umpisan nung Aling Lusing Sisig.
03:45Boiled, grilled.
03:48Sa bandang Kamainilaan,
03:50isa ring sisig revolution ang naganap.
03:54Kanya-kanyang version na,
03:55linagyan na ng mayonnaise, linagyan na ng itlog.
03:58So hindi na yung pulutan.
04:00Naging ulam na ngayon.