PAMPANGA AND ITS FOOD

Kapampángan Cuisine is deeply rooted to Spanish Cuisine but has many similarities with Malay and even Mexican Cuisine. Kapampangan added a twist by using the available and abundant ingredients in their area which is also the birth of exotic food. The diverse and rich flavors of the food is evident in every kapampangan dishes as they put the best ingredients to produce quality and palatable food that is widely known in the country tagging Pampanga as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines.

1. Betute

People in Pampanga also call this “Tugak” which literally means frog. Its taste is almost similar to that of chicken, and it’s actually very good. A lot of farmers in Pampanga used to be contingent on rain water to irrigate their farmlands. Youngsters would then catch the frogs, which came out during the wet season, while their elders cultivated the soil or planted rice. Outsmarting the frogs has been a customary “family bonding” habit for some folks. The word Betute is derived from a play of words on Butete, which translates to “Tadpole” in the local vernacular. Betute is the intact frog bloated with pounded pork, so it looks like an absolutely fat frog.

2. Sisig

The dish’s name comes from “sisigan,” an old Tagalog word which means “to make it sour.” Its existence was first recorded in a Kapampangan dictionary back in 1732 by Diego Bergaño, a Spanish missionary who served as the parish priest for Mexico, Pampanga at the time. The Augustinian friar defined sisig as “a salad including green papaya or green guava eaten with a dressing of salt, pepper, garlic, and vinegar.” The dish’s inherent sourness was thought to suppress the urge to vomit, and was thus frequently administered to those suffering from dizziness (or from a night of overindulgence).

3. Bringhe

Bringhe, which is said to have originated from the northern province of Pampanga, is the Filipino’s indigenization of the Spanish paella. While the later is made of bomba or arborio rice flavored with saffron, our local version is glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and turmeric powder which give it its distinct flavor and color.

4. Ebun Barag

The Capampangans would boil the bayawak’s (monitor lizard’s) egg as malasado (half-cooked) and eat the cooked egg by puncturing a hole on the top side of shell then squeeze the pliant shell. The egg’s content is often spread on hot, freshly cooked rice. The pliant shell of spent egg would just deflate like a busted pingpong ball. Unlike the shell of chicken egg, the shell of ebun a barag would not crack or brittle Its tastes similar to the balut penoy egg that is masabaw (moist and juicy).

5. Kamaru

Kamaru, or mole crickets, which are plentiful in Pampanga, are considered a Kapampangan delicacy. It is often made into adobo, but can also be served deep fried. Several restaurants in Pampanga serve this dish, including Everybody’s Café in San Fernando.

Created by Group 2:

Rene Laxamana
Keith Bryon Lacap
Nicolo Sarmiento
Shane Vitug
Jose Paulo Mendoza
Genevieve Sacdalan
Queenie Canlas

Main Dish: Cowie Rieza

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