A dish I call home
At times, food is a refuge. For people living far away from their home, food becomes a gastronomic gateway to transport themselves back to wonderful memories, sharing a table with loved ones while talking about whatever comes into mind.
It feels melancholic. It could also feel sad—not knowing when will such times happen again. At least, with food, you get to relive these moments, even for a short while.
For me, the dish I call home is sinigang na baboy. It’s a delicious Filipino sour pork soup dish that warms your heart as it puckers your mouth with that tart/tangy goodness. It fills your belly as you eat that pork belly, and hugs your soul like how your mother hugs you during your saddest of days.
The ingredients often include pork as the main star of the dish and tamarind as the souring agent that makes this dish like no other. It also has tomatoes, string beans, sili espada (long green chili peppers), gabi (taro), and fish sauce. Rice is an essential pairing for this dish.
The defining factor that makes any dish important for anyone—whether it’s a simple salad with a coworker, a heartbreak over coffee with the wrong one, or a feast with friends, is the memories associated with the dish along with the emotions attached to it.
I’m reminded by the humidity in our house. My back was sweating after playing patintero with our neighbors. Our mother would call us to eat dinner on our plastic round table, with our Lola’s bed next to it. She was already bedridden at that time, and my mom was the only one who could take care of her.
She then would bring a huge transparent bowl filled with sinigang goodness and place it in the middle. I would try to fish out the pork belly as fast as I could with my spoon, but my mother would yell at me, “Use the serving spoon!” I’d put ladleful of the tart soup over my piping hot rice and mix it in. I’d then get a spoonful of rice, some tomatoes, and few pieces of string beans before topping that with the pork belly. When I put it in my mouth, all I could do is pucker up, and then smile as I continue to chew, while waiting for my next bite.
To learn more about this dish, check out this video from Panlasang Pinoy.
