Seductive Sisig

/

Green Mango and Foie Gras Sisig

When I was a young boy, one of my favorite dishes was sisig. The smell of chopped pork mixed with vinegar, usually served on a cast-iron sizzling plate, always made my mouth water. For the Kulinarya Showdown 2012, I decided to examine the etymology of the word sisig to look for inspiration. It turns out that the word comes from Pampanga, and it essentially means "to snack on something sour." That led me to thinking about another dish I loved when I was young–green mangos soaked in cane sugar vinegar (sukang iloko) and sea salt. I decided to merge those two recipes to create this dish, which won the Amateur Division prize.

The addition of foie gras to the dish was inspired by the fact that two key ingredients in the sisig I had growing up was butter and pate; foie gras seemed like a logical way to dress the dish up and give it a more refined taste. The result was a mixture of deep-fried pork belly, foie gras and green mangos, which created a blend of sour and salty while still preserving the original spirit of the sisig I enjoyed growing up.

Green Mango and Foie Gras Sisig

Ingredients:

Green Mango Pickles

  • 1 green mango
  • 1 birdseye chili
  • 2 cups sukang illoko
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt

Foie Gras Sisig

  • 1 pound pork bagnet or lechon kawali
  • 1-2 birdseye chili
  • 2 pieces foie gras
  • 1-2 sprigs fresh Thai or African basil
  • 1 small red onion
  • 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 1-2 tablespoons kalamansi juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons sukang iloko

Directions:

Green Mango pickles

  1. Dice the green mango into small cubes.
  2. Slice the birdseye chili in half.
  3. Place the sukang iloko, chili, green mango and sea salt in a container and marinate at least 12 hours.

Foie Gras Sisig

  1. Sear the foie gras with a little brown sugar in a pan. Set aside and cut into small chunks.
  2. Cut the lechon kawali/bagnet into small chunks.
  3. Cut the red onion into small chunks.
  4. Heat a wok to high, add the foie gras and lechon kawali, then the onion.
  5. Add brown sugar, sukang iloko, kalamansi juice and dark soy sauce.
  6. Mix until all the ingredients are cooked thoroughly. Taste and add more sukang iloko or kalamansi juice to reach the desired level of sour.
  7. Top with basil leaves and stir.
  8. Serve with the green mango pickles (mixed together). Garnish with basil leaves and/or basil blossoms.
 
G. Justin Hulog

G. Justin Hulog

G. Justin Hulog was the winner for the Amateur Division of Kulinarya 2012, the annual cooking competition sponsored by the Department of Tourism San Francisco. He writes stories about ruined Gods, forgotten spaces, and new worlds. Born in Baguio City in the Philippines, he grew up in California before leaving home to study Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He has written for Hyphen, Remodelista, Karma Magazine, and is the Editor of a Food and Bulul Blog called The Palay (www.thepalay.com). Justin is currently completing his MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.

/ /
, , , ,

G. Justin Hulog