The term ‘sisig' refers to the spicy and fatty - but oh-so popular - meat dish all over the Philippines. It is considered a specialty food because the long and arduous preparation of ‘sisig' is really a ‘labor of love.' But after hours of cooking, the aroma alone can make anyone hungry.

‘Sisig' is best served with a mug of ice-cold beer. It is currently the unofficial national dish for the Filipino beer-drinkers because ‘sisig' has a unique blend of spiciness of chili peppers, sour taste of vinegar and calamansi juice, and the saltiness of salt and soy sauce. Other herbs like garlic, red onion, white onion, ginger, black pepper, green bell pepper, celery, green onion leaves, kinchai, and kuchai have added to the rich bouquet of aromatic flavor of ‘sisig.'

‘Sisig' is also considered as a special viand these days and often served with steamy rice for lunch or dinner at home. Well-known Filipino restaurants have concocted different cooking methods for the popular 'sisig' and yet the dish always end up spicy, sizzling, and delicious.

Spicy pork 'sisig' has also become popular toppings on pizza. Hot sauce lovers will surely love the 'sizzling sisig' pizzas!

The common -- and original -- ingredients for ‘sisig' are parts of pig's head (snout, cheeks, and ears of pig), chicken liver and heart, and pork skin crisp. The dish is typically served on a sizzling plate, thus the term ‘sizzling sisig,' a whole raw egg is placed on top as the main garnishing.

Today, the ultra-versatile 'sisig' has adapted different varieties of main ingredients that include: beef head, chicken, tuna, bangus (milkfish), pork with tofu, pork with mussels, mixed seafoods, ostrich meat, python, frog meat, and many more.

In mid-1974, Lucia Cunanan, a lady restaurateur in Angeles, has invented the original pork ‘sisig' dish. The pig ears and cheeks were boiled until tender; and chopped them into small cubes. The meat was generously seasoned with vinegar and calamansi juice; then served with chopped onions, chopped grilled chicken liver -- on sizzling plates.

Aling Lucing, Ms. Cunanan's nickname, has been acknowledged by the Philippine Department of Tourism as the ‘Sisig' Queen when her restaurant had established the City of Angeles in Pampanga as the ‘Sisig Capital of the Philippines.'

The term ‘sisig' is a word that originated from Pampanga (a province in the island of Luzon, Philippines), which means ‘to snack on something sour.' ‘Something sour' usually refers to unripe or semi-ripe fruits that are sour to taste (such as mango) and eaten with salt and vinegar dip.

The word ‘sisig' is also used to describe a method of food preparation that marinates fish and meat (particularly pork) in sour concoction - lemon juice or vinegar - and seasoned with pepper, salt, and other desired spices (such as garlic or green onion leaves).

These days, the only 'sisig' that Filipinos (from other parts of the Philippines) know, is the unforgettable 'sizzling sisig.'

Before ‘sisig' was invented and popularized, pig's heads were cheaply priced because they were not often used in preparing meals for the family. People who usually bought pig's heads simply boil the ears and jowl until tender; then chopped them and marinate with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and ground black pepper.

Whole beef heads were priced higher because they are used in another popular Filipino dish - 'Gotong Batangas.' This is a hot soup that contains chunks of assorted beef internal organs and deboned beef head, boiled until cooked in ginger and different spices. Recently, beef heads are also prepared as beef ‘sisig.'

The 3 Stages of ‘Sisig' Preparation The popular ‘sisig' dish is characterized by the small bits of all ingredients included. Everything seemed chopped - meat, garlic, onions, chili pepper, chicken liver, and any additional spices; except the raw egg and the calamansi, of course.

As if chopping everything is not enough work, the preliminary preparation of ‘sisig' requires 3 types of cooking: boiling, grilling (or broiling), and frying of the pig's head (deboned with only the snout, cheeks, and ears included).

1. Boil - to tenderize the pig's head so that deboning and cutting into smaller parts will be easy
2. Grill/Broil/Barbecue - to remove the hair from the pig's head and to give the authentic smoky taste
3. Fry/Sauté - to crisp the meat and to sauté with garlic, onions, and other desired spices

‘Sisig' has always been served in sizzling hot plates but many variations had been introduced by adding any of the following:

• Raw egg
• Chicharon (pork or chicken crisp/cracklings, or beef rind)
• Liver (pork or chicken)
• Mayonnaise
• Brain (pork or ox)

Since not all people like to eat fatty and oily dishes, local chefs have concocted different versions of ‘sisig,' using other ingredients such as: chicken, tuna, bangus, squid, and tofu.

Tuna ‘sisig' is also very easy to prepare. Buy a large piece of fresh tuna steak. Wash and drain. Drizzle with vinegar or calamansi juice and grill over hot coals until cooked. With a fork, flake the tuna flesh and set aside.

In a non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté one whole garlic head (peeled and minced) until golden. Add chopped 1 big red onion, 1 long green pepper, 1 red chili pepper, and 1 tablespoon of ginger juice. Stir in flaked tuna and blend well over low-medium heat. Add one whole egg, if desired.

Serve hot on sizzling plate. Provide calamansi, soy sauce, and chili pepper in a separate dip dish.

Note: Canned tuna chunks can also be used. Choose the variant in vegetable oil. Use the oil from the can in sautéing.

Bangus, or milkfish, is a little tricky to prepare because the fish has more than a hundred tiny and needle-thin ‘bones' to remove. Use a pair of tweezers to ‘pluck' out the fish bones.

• Clean, wash, and cut a large-sized whole milkfish into 4 parts. Boil in salted water for 15 minutes and drain. Remove the head and tail. Using a fork and knife, flake the flesh and carefully separate all fish bones. You may include the fish skin (without scale), if desired. Marinate in vinegar and soy sauce for 10 minutes.
• Heat a small amount of oil in a non-stick pan. Over medium heat, sauté 5 cloves of minced garlic, 1 chopped green bell pepper, and 1 tablespoon minced ginger. Add ‘bangus' flakes and cook while stirring occasionally. Add 1 large chopped white onion and remove from heat.
• Serve hot on sizzling plate. Garnish with sliced calamansi fruit and red chili pepper.

Squid ‘sisig' is somewhat chewy because the stringy flesh is not finely chopped. Squid rings are used as garnishing.

• Clean 2 pounds of fresh large squids. Remove the round bulge inside the squid's mouth, the transparent backbone, and the innards. Wash thoroughly and drain. Marinate in calamansi juice and salt for 15 minutes; then boil for 5 minutes. Remove the skin and drain very well.
• Chop the heads and tails. Cut the body into rings but use only small-sized ones as garnishing; so chop the bigger rings into bits. Set aside to drain.
• Mince 1 large garlic head and a thumb-sized ginger. Chop 1 large onion, 3 long green peppers, 2 red chili peppers, and 1 large red bell pepper.
• In a small amount of hot oil, sauté garlic, onion, ginger, and all peppers. Add the chopped squids. Stir to avoid sticking. Sprinkle salt and ground black pepper. Drizzle a half cup of vinegar and leave to boil without stirring. Add a dash of soy sauce - just enough to add color. Let simmer for 15 minutes over very low heat. Prolong cooking time to remove excess sauce. Serve hot.

Tofu ‘sisig' is a bit oily because the tofu cubes have to be fried first. Use vegetable oil or olive oil in frying. Brown the tofu cubes to have slightly chewy tofu ‘sisig'.

• Wash and drain 1 large block of firm tofu. Cut into cubes and deep-fry in very hot oil. Place on strainer to remove excess oil.
• Sauté a half cup of chopped red onions and one-fourth cup of sliced long green peppers in small amount of hot oil. Stir in fried tofu cubes.
• Add 3 tablespoon vinegar and let boil. Add salt and ground black pepper to season. Sprinkle brown sugar to sweeten the taste. Serve hot.