P
Filipino
Sisig
Sisig is Pampanga's most famous export — a sizzling preparation of pigs' face (cheeks, snout, ears) and chicken liver that is first boiled, then grilled over charcoal, then finely chopped and sautéed with onion, chilli, calamansi (Philippine lime), and soy sauce, served on a sizzling metal plate with a raw egg on top that cooks on contact. The Kapampangan origin is undisputed: 'sisig' originally referred to a sour salad preparation, and the modern pork sizzling version was developed by Lucia Cunanan ('Aling Lucing') in Angeles City in the 1970s. The layering of textures — gelatinous ear cartilage, crisp grilled skin, tender cheek, creamy liver — is the dish's structural genius. The calamansi provides sharp citrus acid that cuts through the pork fat.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1 kg
pig's face (ears, cheeks, snout, jowl — in proportion)
whole pieces, skin on
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
chicken liver
trimmed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3 medium
white onion
finely chopped
Your own market
4–6
red or green chillies
finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
calamansi juice
freshly squeezed, from approximately 12 calamansi
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
soy sauce
4
eggs
raw, one per portion, for service
Your own market
30 g
pork lard
or unsalted butter
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the pig's face pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until the skin and cartilage yield to a skewer but the ear retains a perceptible resistance — the cheek should be tender throughout.
2
Drain and cool the pieces. Grill over direct charcoal heat, turning once, until the skin is charred and blistered and a sharp Maillard aroma rises from the grate. The surface must be genuinely charred, not merely browned.
3
Grill the chicken livers over the same charcoal until cooked through but still faintly pink at the centre. Set aside.
4
Finely chop — not slice — all the grilled pig's face and the livers together on a board until the mixture is evenly textured: no piece should be large enough to deliver a single texture in isolation. This step is where the dish lives or dies: under-chopping collapses the structural balance of cartilage, skin, meat, and liver that defines sisig.
5
Sauté the chopped mixture in a hot pan with the onion and chilli. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat evenly. Taste: the mixture should carry salt, heat, and a faint savoury depth without yet having the citrus note, which is added at service.
6
Heat individual cast-iron sizzling plates over high heat until smoking. Add a portion of pork lard or butter to each plate; when it foams and begins to colour, spoon the sisig mixture onto the plate. The fat should sizzle and smoke audibly on contact.
7
Crack one raw egg onto the centre of each sizzling portion and bring immediately to the table. Squeeze fresh calamansi juice over the dish at service. The egg will set at the edges and remain creamy at the yolk from the residual heat of the plate.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Heritage breed pig's face (Berkshire or native Philippine black pig) from a single farm; calamansi picked and squeezed to order; free-range chicken livers; charcoal from hardwood, not briquettes.
02
Estate — Butcher-sourced pig's face with a full set of parts — ear, snout, cheek, jowl — in correct proportion; fresh calamansi from a Filipino or Asian grocer; good-quality soy sauce.
03
Market — Pig's ears and cheeks sourced separately from a conventional butcher; fresh calamansi where available, otherwise freshly squeezed Philippine lime as the closest acceptable substitute.
04
House — Pork cheek and ear only (snout and jowl unavailable); regular lime juice in place of calamansi; chicken liver retained as a minimum requirement — its omission reduces the dish to plain pork salad.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A skewer passes through the boiled pig's ear with resistance but does not slide freely — the cartilage holds its structure.
◇Smell. A sharp, charred aroma rises from the grill the moment the skin blisters — the Maillard development that boiling alone cannot produce.
◇Sight. The chopped mixture shows no identifiable piece of any single component larger than a small dice — all textures are distributed throughout.
◇Sound. An immediate, sustained sizzle is audible when the mixture meets the fat on the smoking plate — silence at this moment means the plate is not hot enough.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the chopping: every component must be reduced to a fine, uniform mince so that each forkful delivers cartilage, charred skin, tender cheek, and liver in equal measure — coarse cutting destroys the structural logic of the dish.
Pillar V
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The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Bushmills Malt 10 Year Old
Old Bushmills Distillery · County Antrim — Bushmills Distillery
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year