The lechon, from the Spanish word meaning suckling pig, is the most popular specialty food among Filipinos, especially during town fiestas, Christmas celebrations (Pasko), family reunions and custom shot glasses gatherings. Lechon was declared by Time magazine as the Best Pig on its Best of Asia 2009 list. It is considered the national dish of the Philippines with Cebu being acknowledged by American chef, Anthony Bourdain as having the best pig, The lechon is prepared by price of gold stuffing herbs and spices inside the pigs body after it has been cleaned and skewered. The pig is then placed in position and link building slowly be hand roasted above the heated charcoal. It will be rotated slowly until its skin turns reddish brown and its flesh becomes tender. After several hours, the lechon will then placed loan modification on top of a Compost Bin table and will be chopped into pieces. In some areas, proposal software, an apple or orange is placed into the pigs mouth to make it more appealable. It is often served with thick mountain jacket liver sauce cooked with vinegar, sugar and herbs, popularly called the sarsa. Traditionally, the head of the lechon is given to the host or organizers of the celebration, the tail goes to those who always stutter when they talk, while the remaining parts of the lechon are given to the guests for consumption. The lechon is usually served with a liver-based sauce. But in some cases, it may be served Chinese style with steamed buns and a sweet plum sauce. In addition, the left-overs from lechón is easily recycled into another delicious dish called “litson paksiw”. It involves cooking the left-over lechón by boiling it in vinegar to make the meat moist and the skin very soft. Some of the provinces in the Philippines have their own way of cooking and preparing their own version of the lechon. One of these versions is the Lechon Cebu from the province of Cebu. The popularity of Lechon Cebu has made it one of the best tasting versions of lechon in the Philippines. The uniqueness of the lechon from Cebu comes from the stuffing for the lechon and the sauce dip used for it. The Lechon Cebu is stuffed with lemongrass, a local variety of banana known as “saba,” or taro plant, green onions, sliced onions, whole cloves of garlic, cracked black pepper, lots of salt, and some other condiments. That stuffing gives the Cebuano lechon its unique crispy and sweet taste that is loved by people from Filipinos and even foreigners. The sauce used as a dip for the lechon usually consists of ketchup, or a fish paste known as “bagoong,” that is served together with kalamansi. The two most popular lechon suppliers in Cebu City are CnT Lechon House and Alejo’s Lechon, but there are also some suppliers from nearby Carcar and Talisay that offer equally delicious and tasty lechon.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:49:10 +0000