This Is Sisig, The Food Anthony Bourdain Says Will Be The Next Big Trend

“Sisig is perfectly positioned to win the hearts and minds of the world,” Anthony Bourdain boldly stated in an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday.

He went on to say, “I think it’s the most likely to convince people abroad who have had no exposure to Filipino food to maybe look further and investigate further beyond sisig. I think that’s the one that’s gonna hook them.”

But, what on earth is sisig? Well, it’s this:

It’s an umami bomb of a dish made up of pork, rice and egg, and it’s a beloved type of bar food in the Philippines.

“Sisig is a pork hash made with pork face, ears, cheeks and snout,” Philippe Garcesto, manager of the Filipino restaurant Maharlika in NYC, told HuffPost. “You dice it up, boil it, grill it, fry it and serve it sizzling hot with raw egg on top. It’s traditionally served with a side of garlic rice, and is a bar snack you eat while you’re drinking.” 

Since fighting the astronomical amount of food waste in this country has become a big part of mainstream consciousness, we think Bourdain might be right in proclaiming sisig as the next big food trend ― or at least it’s one that we need. On average, Americans throw out nearly half of all of our perfectly edible food. Sisig dish was created with that very reason in mind, using a whole hog approach to cooking.

“Historically it first started in the Philippines when American GIs came in and were throwing out the cuts of pork they didn’t want. Filipinos would not let that go to waste, so they used every part of the pig,” explains Garcesto. That includes the face ― and of course, the snout. 

Sisig also happens to be very Instagrammable, Garcesto points out, which only makes us more certain that it can reach unicorn food status.

H/T Refinery 29