We celebrated a friend’s recent birthday with a pulutan set of almost exclusively maskara or pork face. It was not lost on us that at our age we should not have been indulging in such high-calorie stuff, but waddaheck.
If you guessed sisig, you are close. That is actually dinakdakan, an Ilocano delicacy consisting of chopped grilled liver and pre-boiled maskara mixed with onions and chilies, then bathed in a vinaigrette — like kilawin — in this case a creamy mixture of vinegar, kalamansi juice, salt, sugar, and mashed pig brain. As far as authenticity goes, I guess it is pretty close — I had only been recently introduced to this dish, and this was the first time that I had it with brain, instead of mayonnaise like they do at Mr. Wok (if you plan to order there, tell them to ease off on the sugar — it’s too sweet).
I like both versions. The dish is in turns crispy and chewy, tangy and spicy. If you like sisig, you will definitely dig dinakdakan. But, no — I did not make this one. My friend James did. All I had to do was pass him the occasional shot of Tanduay; that is why my recollection of the recipe is rather vague, heh. Needless to say, it goes well with your favorite libation. Bottoms up!
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