In Pampanga, for example, we are known for sisig, a sizzling plate of parts of a pigs head and liver.
The very first time I tried sisig I actually didn't know what it was. Someone put some on a plate for me and I gobbled it up. Admittedly, after they told me what it actually was, I felt a little grossed out. But that doesn't stop me from eating it whenever I can. Just because it's made from things we typically don't eat in the U.S. doesn't mean that it's bad.
To start, you have to boil the pig's head until the meat is tender. Then you grill the meat, which usually comes from the cheek and ear, and cut it into little pieces. You sauté some garlic and onions, then you add the meat and season it with salt and pepper. You eat sisig with calamansi (Filipino lime) and rice. Some places crack an egg on top or add mayonnaise before they serve this dish, but I prefer to eat it without those extras.
Sisig was created by a Kapangpangan woman in the 1970s. It was probably a way for her to make use of the parts of the pig that traditionally aren't prepared. In this sense, the dish is connected to the environment and the culture: nothing here goes to waste. Filipinos eat just about every part of most animals and vegetables. By creating this dish, Filipinos enabled themselves to use these other parts of the pig they might not otherwise know how to use.
