Angeles City barangays battle it out with twisted sisig dishes

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— This city’s 33 barangays will be able to showcase their own versions of the famed Angeles City Sizzling Sisig with the Barangay Sisig Fiesta which is part of the citywide celebration of the Sisig Fiesta 2018.

Co-presented by corporate sponsor Fresh Options and the Angeles City Tourism Office, the barangaybased contest kicked-off last April 7 in Barangay Pulung Bulu and cooking showdowns in Barangay Malabanias last April 14 and in Barangay Pandan on April 21.

Organizers said that a total of six finalists will be selected and will proceed to the next round of cooking showdowns on April 28 for the grand prize of P10,000 cash and meat products.

Fresh Options Strategic and Operations Manager Joy Literato said that the event aims to popularize the sisig cooking process as well as give opportunity to the various versions that have sprung up from the famed sisig dish.

The 17th Sangguniang Panlungsod chaired by Vice-Mayor Bryan Matthew Nepomuceno unanimously approved Ordinance No. 405, Series of 2017, stating “Sisig Babi as an Intangible Heritage of Angel es.”

The ordinance authored by Councilor Amos Rivera contains programs and policies that will safeguard the original recipe and preparation of the pork dish.

A historical account detailed in the ordinance indicates that the word “sisig” was already part of Kapampangan vocabulary as early as 1732, based on Fray Diego Bergano’s Vocabulario de la Lengua Pampanga. It is widely believed that it was in Angeles City where Sisig was first served as “pulutan” (beer match), and that it has become an enduring and ever-growing industry in the city.