When I was back in college, our professor told us that “you haven’t been to Ortigas if you haven’t tasted Aysee’s Sisig”. I was only a freshman back then, and it was my first time to be in an area that was so “uptown-ish” compared to my suburban abode. Wanting to experience Ortigas in full, me and my friends decided to give Aysee’s a try.
Our professor told us that it’s the best Sisig Ortigas can offer, and with that we thought we couldn’t afford it. However, we were surprised that Aysee’s (commonly misspelled “Aycee’s”) was just a humble, hole-in-the-wall eatery around Ultra Sports Complex. In fact, we were even more surprised that a lot of business people were having lunch there. And so, we were led to believe that this little eatery had something to be proud of.
And with that, what our professor said held true. Aysee’s really got the best Sisig in town. For such a small price (90 pesos), you’d get more than what you expect. I mean, I must admit, you’d be thinking for a price that low, a Sisig could only be as bland and un-sisiglike—but hell no—they’ve got that recipe down to home-cooked goodness.
Their Sisig is served popping hot on a sizzling plate, with a dollop of fresh egg, and all the rice you want for only 10 pesos a cup. Unlike the kapampangan version of the Sisig, Aysee’s use only pork meat and skin.[1] You might be thinking that their Sisig might only be good for one, but in fact, a plate of this dish could already satisfy two hungry office workers—who are definitely not on a diet.
And oh, they’ve got pulutan dishes that are really good too with rice. For example, they’ve got Tokwa’t Baboy where the size of both ingredients are quite huge, and what’s more, the pork is fried to a crisp – so it’s more like Tokwa’t Bagnet. And they also got Papaitan that’s served on a bowl that’s being continually heated with a burner—so you could have all that hot pulutan goodness right at your table for a fraction of the price.
Yes, that’s one thing I’m proud I’ve learned from my professor. Haha. So if you’re really hungry and are on a budget, you and you’re friends could just head on out at Aysee’s. It’s along Ultra Sports Complex, there’s a big sign along the road that says Aysee’s Sisig. You wouldn’t have to bring lots of cash, ‘coz this one’s very affordable. Definitely try it out sometime!
PS: If you aren’t convinced, click here.
[1] since the kapampangan recipe calls for more expensive ingredients
Oh, man. Thanks for sending me out looking for definitions and for making me hungry first thing in the morning. Why don’t we have someplace I could try this stuff here in Berkeley?
I know I’d love the Tokwa’t Baboy — I dig me some pig face.
The Sisig I’d have to try — I’ve had liver that I haven’t liked but I’m trying to be more open to organ meats.
And the bile is the only thing in the Papaitan that I’m dubious about, but I do like a touch of bitter so the odds are good that I’d enjoy it.
I hate not being able to buy things like ears and jowls and feet. All the butchers around here get their meat pre-sectioned in big plastic bags and if you ask them if they have any tendon or calf skin they just get sad and nostalgic…
Americans are sissies when it comes to the interesting and tasty corners of an animal.
Well, according to my research, you can just drive down to Daly City. There’s some popular Filipino restaurants there. Seeing that I haven’t been to the US before, I don’t think I can help you with the directions.
Anyway, tokwa’t baboy’s pork part comes from the meat that’s actually used for bacon. Though in this dish, they’re cut into very thick cubes and then deep fried till they have this pork rind-like texture.
The Papaitan, however, is also an acquired taste here in the Philippines. But still, it’s something you’d love once you get used to it (like cigarettes, for a bad example).
But don’t you guys have cajun cooking? I mean you’ve got–what you call em?–chitlins?
Anyway, you can make your own sisig at home. This dish really (and I mean it) goes well with beer. So here’s a very simple recipe:
You’ll need:
- a pound of pork belly
- 2 small onions (red, white, whatever’s available), minced
- 2 pieces of red pepper, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- minced chili peppers (depends on how hot you want it)
- 2 tablespoons of chopped scallions (onion springs)
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- a tablespoon of liquid seasoning (or soy sauce)
- a teaspoon of sugar
- salt and pepper
what you’ll do:
- Season that pork belly with salt and pepper.
- Grill it till it’s almost-done to well-done
- After grilling it, dice the pork belly (some mince it, but this’ll do)
- In a pan, heat that oil then saute the garlic, red pepper and half of the onions.
- When the garlic’s golden in color, it’s time for you to add the diced pork belly.
- Now add in the sugar, liquid seasoning, and chili peppers in the pan.
- Now heat up the pan and saute the damn thing till you smell heaven (5 minutes tops).
- Once it’s done, sprinkle the scallions and the rest of the onions. You may also squeeze in some lemon juice too (we use Philippine lemon, so hey, use your own).
Note: You can add a whole egg to the sisig immediately after you turn off the stove. that way the egg’ll cook without burning. Just remember to saute.
And oh, you can substitute chicken (preferably leftover roasted chicken) or even tuna with the pork meat. And should you want to, you can also swap the oil with butter instead.
Enjoy!
hi rein! thanks for your inquiry regarding jimmy’s bar and grill! our place is about 500 meters from GMA building along Timog Ave. It is right across a shell station and beside amihan. for inquiries email me at jimmys_grill@yahoo.com and our landline is (02) 926-7505 thanks!
Thanks for the recipe. Oh, man. That looks so good. This settles it — I need to get myself a pork belly connection.
Rein’s sisig recipe is fine, but its a little to toned down for my taste. I know of another recipe that would blow our friend’s mind.
Swap the pound of pork belly for a pound of pig ears. Boil it in water until its soft, then season with some salt, let it sit for thirty minutes, grill over a hot plate with liberal amounts of oil.
Then, do to the ears as what you’d do to the belly, chop it. then get yourself some pig brain, 250 grams might do the trick (if you could get some over there), subject it to some heat, while at the same time mashing it, until you get a consistency similar to say mayonnaise. If you have qualms about using pigs brain, you can use mayonnaise.
Then mix these along with the other ingredients mentioned by rein. Add some crushed pork rinds and chopped chilis, the red skinny ones you could get at Asian markets (Cock sauce could be an alternative). The Philippine “Lemon” is actually a small lime. It might be available at Asian markets.
We should send you a video of how we eat sisig over here. I’ll tell Rein.