Angeles City sizzles with first sisig festival

It was a dream that turned into a nightmare. Ian Wright was a no-show. The swashbuckling, lovable (okay, you either love him or hate him) funny man of Discovery Channel’s Lonely Planet, who had no qualms about eating sheep’s eye in the wilderness of Mongolia, apparently got scared of SARS and decided he was better off eating exotic dishes in some far-flung SARS-free country. Well, so much for that dream interview. Sayang, I would’ve wanted so much to see this guy’s expression when he takes that spoonful of chopped pig’s ears and cheeks. Pity, he wasn’t there – no thanks to the World Health Organization’s travel warnings. It would’ve been a heart-stopping event, figuratively and literally (yes, this dish could give you a heart attack if you eat it nonstop) speaking.

Well, with or without Ian, the first ever Sisig Festival held at The Strip along Balibago in Angeles City proceeded as planned. Like all other first-time ventures, the affair suffered not a few hitches, but you’ve got to give the organizers an A for effort and for putting up a good show nonetheless. The highlight of the affair, after all, was not something you could easily ignore – a giant sizzling sisig cooking spree for one and all.

The brainchild of the Trade and Investment Promotions Office (TIPO), in cooperation with the local government, led by Mayor Carmelo "Tarzan" Lazatin, and the business sector, the huge and hot event attracted a good-size crowd craning their necks and ogling the 16 x 32 feet plate made of 16 pieces of 4 x 8 feet iron sheets shaped to look like an oversized sizzling plate. The heat from several gas stoves placed under the metal sheets was maintained at no less than 100°C. (The better to cook the sisig with, my dear) Quite a mean feat for the owners of Patrick Machine Shop which, until now, only repairs engines, air-con units and other machines.

Mouths watering from the whiff of seared banana leaves placed atop the heated plate, the hungry crowd patiently watched the program preceding the actual sisig cooking. They gleefully listened to the pamomolosa (an impromptu singing of historical facts with only strips of paper bearing pertinent names and dates) of Holy Angel University Center for Kapampangan Studies’ Renie Salor. They applauded heartily the sisig awardees, namely Lucia Cunanan (Aling Lucing, the original sisig queen whose place along the riles, or Crossing, is a most popular haunt for sisig fanatics), Jimmy Dizon (Frank & Jim) and Alex Sugay (Sisig Benedict) – for their culinary contributions in making the best-tasting sisig dishes. They sat transfixed as the Sinukwan Center for Culture and the Arts dancers gyrated and swayed in honor of Mariang Sinukwan (the diwata who supposedly lives in Mt. Arayat) and made an offering of sisig ingredients. The viewers watched silently still as another ritual dance portraying Tala blessing the offerings unfolded before them.

Naturally, they couldn’t help but cheer when the 20-plus Holy Angel University Hospitality Management Department students positioned themselves around the plate and got hold of big, paddle-like equipment to stir the ingredients with. At a signal, the students dumped the pre-boiled and pre-grilled chopped meat into the hot dish, sizzlin’ and smokin’ that humid night – all of 600 kilos of sisig consisting of 240 kilos of pork cheeks and ears, 120 kilos each of onions, chicken liver and pork pigue, plus 40 liters of soy sauce, 4,000 pieces of calamansi, 400 pieces of chilis and 20 kilos of onions for the sauce.

No, the whole of Angeles didn’t run out of pork cheeks and ears and seasoning. Everything was provided for by Monterey Foods Corp., Silver Swan and Magnolia. The initial recipe, according to HAU Hospitality Management Department head Rhoda Austria, originally called for only 180 kilos of sisig to fit a 12 x 24 feet sizzling plate.

"But when the organizers decided to have a full-blown festival, everything got bigger," says Austria who, with her sisig team, spent many a night brainstorming, experimenting and taste-testing various sisig recipes that ranged from sisig with liver spread to one with pork brain. But it was the original Kapampangan recipe that got the nod of committee members.

Sisig Festival committee co-chairperson Carmen McTavish says they have been thinking of having an event like this for the longest time.

"We didn’t have any event happening in Angeles during the summer season. And since the city is well-known for its sisig, we decided to focus on that. At the same time, we also thought of attracting more crowds to The Strip where people can have their gimmicks," she says.

Well, having a giant sizzling sisig happening at a narrow strip of The Strip as a gimmick is quite an understatement. How often do you get to witness 25 or so people looking like Lilliputians from afar, sweating like they were inside a dry sauna? It was certainly no joke having to constantly stir minced meat for a good 15 minutes. Why, it was like having a workout that we couldn’t help but wonder how many pounds were shed by the students that night.

"We had to make sure it was safe for consumption," says Austria referring to the length of time the sisig was cooked.

But it was no cause for worry because prior to the festival, the meat was already boiled (using six kawa, like the ones used during fiestas in the provinces) and grilled the day before. The chopping and seasoned parts were already taken care of as well in the HAU laboratory kitchen. It was all a matter of pouring everything into the plate and stirring until done.

Some people were expecting the sisig to cover the whole plate but due to some miscalculation, they were left with lots of room for more. But no matter, they were able to deliver.

It was over when everyone least expected it. For P50 each, the by then hungry spectators could line up and get their cup of sisig. The rice and the beer, by the way, they had to buy from nearby restaurants.

A band started to play up a stage on one side of The Strip while a steady stream of bargain hunters started trooping to the other side where booths selling all sorts of items were put up (prices went as low as P35-P50 for blouses and shirts for instance). Famished families and food-trippers could be seen slumped on monobloc chairs and tables provided by restaurants along The Strip, enjoying their dinner and drinks.

The sisig, as expected, was done the authentic Angeles City way – saucy and crunchy (not crispy like the Manila version, points out Austria). It would have tasted so well with rice but there wasn’t any in sight. As expected, a few spoonfuls of the rich dish were enough to make us feel full (not to mention the possibility of having clogged arteries if we didn’t control ourselves). Come to think of it, the whole affair was truly a vegetarian’s nightmare. Health buffs’ too.

In defense of their beloved delicacy, sisig lovers point out that the dish is rich in iron (due to the liver, says Austria) and is definitely healthier than fried food.

"It’s boiled and grilled. And you don’t put any oil since the sisig is sautéed in its own fat," says Austria, adding that a good sisig also doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste (from the liver).

The distribution began a bit past 8 p.m. and lasted well into the night. Coming back for a peep around 10 p.m., there was still a short queue remaining. Organizers estimated that about a thousand people were fed by the festival.

For something that began as a simple snack of fresh green fruits like guava, mangoes and papayas dipped in either salt or vinegar as preferred by pregnant women, the sisig as we know it now is one heck of a dish. It’s quite versatile and perfect as ulam with rice, or as pulutan with beer, or even just simply papak material. And to taste it first-hand in the country’s sisig capital was definitely something worth experiencing – sigh – Ian or no Ian Wright in sight.