Pork Sisig

If you could only try one dish in the Philippines, one dish to represent Filipino cuisine, Toplist will probably recommend pork sisig. It's a popular bar chow dish made of chopped hog face, ears, and chicken liver served on a sizzling cast iron pan.

Sisig originated in Pampanga province, which is the (unofficial) gastronomic capital of the Philippines, but it has spread throughout the country. It was invented in the mid-1970s by Aling Lucing's restaurant in Angeles City, when a glut of waste pig's heads from a former US air base inspired her to create the meal.

The pig's head is boiled, roasted, and grilled before being sliced and seasoned with vinegar and calamansi juice. It's served on a sizzling cast iron dish with chopped onions and chicken liver to protect the fat from freezing cold and turning into grease. Sisig is usually prepared with pork, however you can now get variants made with various proteins such as tuna, squid, mussel, or oyster. There are more exotic variations made with crocodile or ostrich, but pork sisig is still the greatest and should be tried.

Recipes vary by region, thus it's not uncommon to encounter sisig cooked with mayonnaise, raw egg, ox brain, and chicharon chunks. It's typically served as a shared appetizer or bar chow meal.

Pampanga is known as the sisig capital of the Philippines, thus it's still the finest place to try it. The original Aling Lucing's restaurant is still open, although great sisig can be found throughout the Philippines. If you're in Manila, Toplist recommends trying it at the Trellis restaurant. It is owned by a well-known Kapampangan culinary family that is credited with popularizing sisig in Manila.