Sisig: From Clark Air Base to National Treasure -- How a Pampanga Dish Became Filipino Icon

The word 'sisig' predates the dish we know today. The earliest recorded definition comes from Diego Bergaño's 1732 Vocabulary of the Kapampangan Language, where sisig is defined as 'a salad, including green papaya, or green guava eaten with a dressing of salt, pepper, garlic, and vinegar.' This original sisig was a raw or slightly cooked vegetable dish--acidic, simple, eaten as an accompaniment to meat or as a light meal.

For centuries, sisig remained this vegetable preparation. It wasn't a main dish; it was a condiment, a side, a way to use garden produce with minimal cooking. This original sisig still exists in some Kapampangan households, but it's been almost entirely eclipsed by the modern version.

The transformation happened in the 20th century, in the shadow of an American military base.

After World War II, Clark Air Base became a major American military installation in Pampanga. American soldiers were stationed there, and they had to eat. The base's commissary supplied the Air Force with American cuts of meat--steaks, roasts, hamburger. Pig heads, ears, and other offal were considered waste products. They weren't used in the commissary kitchens; they were disposed of.

For Kapampangan cooks near the base, this was an opportunity. Cheap or free pig parts were available if you knew where to look. The question became: what do you do with pig ears, cheeks, and head? You can't make adobo; the texture is wrong. You can't stew them into soup; the flavor is too intense. But you can cook them down, char them, and turn them into something new.

Aling Lucing (a respectful Filipino address for an older woman) became famous as the cook who developed modern sisig. While she may not have been the absolute first to cook pig parts this way, she's the one whose name is most associated with the dish's standardization and popularization. She set up a stall in Crossing, Angeles City (the town adjacent to Clark Air Base), and she developed a technique for cooking pig ears and cheeks that became iconic.

Her technique: grill the pig parts over charcoal until they're charred and crispy on the outside but still tender inside. Then mince them finely. Mix with onions, liver (pig liver, which has an intense, savory quality), calamansi juice, salt, and the natural fat released from the meat. Serve it hot, usually on a sizzling plate so the fats continue to cook and the flavors stay intense.

The sizzling plate innovation came later, from another Angeles entrepreneur named Benedict Pamintuan of Sugay's restaurant. He realized that sisig needed to stay hot, that the dish lost something when it cooled. By serving it on a sizzling plate, he solved that problem and created the theatrical presentation that makes sisig iconic.

True traditional sisig is fairly specific. The protein is pork jowl and ears (maskara) cooked until charred and tender, mixed with pork liver. These ingredients are crucial because they create the specific texture and flavor profile--fatty but not greasy, intense but not overwhelming.

The preparation involves grilling or charring the meat to cook it and create flavor complexity, mincing it finely so each bite has multiple ingredients, mixing with raw onions (which add sharp, fresh contrast), and seasoning with calamansi (for acid and brightness), salt, and pepper. Some versions add mayonnaise or egg yolk to create creaminess.

The serving is on a sizzling plate, where the residual heat keeps everything warm and the fats continue to interact with the proteins, creating new flavors throughout eating.

The eating experience involves wrapping small amounts in lettuce leaves (lechon lettuce is traditional) or eating it directly. There's no rice; sisig is its own complete thing.

The version from Angeles City and Pampanga province. This is the standard, the reference point. If you eat sisig in Manila and it's excellent, it usually comes from a Pampanga cook or follows Pampanga technique closely.

Restaurants throughout Metro Manila serve sisig, but it's often simplified or modified. Some add too much mayonnaise, trying to make it 'creamy' instead of letting the pork fat provide richness. Some add vegetables. These versions aren't necessarily bad, but they're not traditional Pampanga sisig; they're adaptations.

Made with minced chicken instead of pork. Leaner, less intense, but still flavorful. This version is popular because chicken is cheaper than pork jowls. Traditionalists consider it a dilution of the dish, but it introduced sisig to people who don't eat pork.

Using minced squid creates a completely different texture and flavor. It's cooked the same way as pork sisig but tastes seafood-forward. Popular in coastal areas and gaining acceptance in Manila restaurants.

Modern innovation using flaked fish. Some argue this stretches the definition of sisig, since the whole identity of the dish comes from pork fat creating richness. But innovation is part of food culture.

Vegetarian adaptation. Crumbled tofu seasoned and cooked with onions and sisig flavors. It captures the spirit of sisig without the protein source. Whether it's 'real' sisig is debated among enthusiasts.

Among Kapampangan cooks and sisig enthusiasts, there's tension between those who insist on traditional preparation (pork jowls, minimal additions) and those who see sisig as a technique that can accommodate variations. The traditionalists argue that additions like mayonnaise and eggs are modern corruptions that change the dish into something unrecognizable. The innovators argue that sisig has always evolved, that food is living culture, and that accessibility matters more than purity.

Both perspectives have validity. The best sisig you'll eat in Manila probably comes from someone trained by Kapampangan tradition. But experimentation has also led to improved techniques and made sisig accessible to more people. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle: respect the tradition, but don't prevent evolution.

In 2004, the city government of Angeles, Pampanga officially declared sizzling pork sisig a tangible heritage of Angeles City. In 2004, they made the annual 'Sisig Festival' (Sadsaran ng Angeles) an official celebration, held every December. This government recognition reflects what was already true culturally: sisig represents Kapampangan culinary identity and Filipino ingenuity.

What's remarkable about sisig's cultural status is that it began as food for poor people working near a military base. A colonial power's waste became the basis for a national treasure. This mirrors the whole Filipino experience of colonization and adaptation--taking what's given to you and transforming it into something distinctly your own.

Sisig restaurants throughout Manila claim authenticity. The best indicators of quality:

Ownership or head cook from Pampanga or Kapampangan background

Use of traditional pork cuts (jowl, ears) rather than cheaper substitutes

Charring visible on the meat

Hot sizzling plates (important--the temperature matters)

Minimal additions (if it's loaded with mayo, it's probably not traditional)

Seasoned with calamansi and salt, not heavy sauces

Angeeles City, Pampanga itself has the most authentic sisig, but Manila has several places worth seeking out. Many are small, hole-in-the-wall establishments rather than fancy restaurants. This is correct--sisig wasn't born as fine dining, and the best versions often remain humble.

As Filipino cuisine gains international attention, sisig has started appearing in fine dining contexts. Chefs are experimenting with deconstruction, smoking, and other modern techniques. These experiments are interesting from a culinary perspective, but they also raise questions: does sisig's identity depend on its simplicity, its democratic accessibility? Or can it evolve while remaining sisig?

What seems clear is that sisig will continue changing while remaining rooted in Kapampangan tradition. As long as it's cooked with respect for its origins and with serious technique, sisig survives in that new form. After all, that's what the first cook near Clark Air Base did when she took military refuse and made something magnificent.

Sisig has evolved from poor people's food using leftover meat into sought-after delicacy commanding premium prices at restaurants.