PAMPANGA is touted as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. I’m sure Mom, a Kampangan, would love that accolade.
The Kapampangan cuisine is legendary. If a Filipino food trip is what is on your mind, as my US-based Fil-Am friend said, it will surely be helpful to determine what food cuisine is in his agenda when he and his wife would come for a visit to the old country.
It has been said that the Kapampangans spend three fourths of their time during the day on the kitchen.
Try morcon, the Kapampangan embotido combines ground pork and ground beef. The pork-based chorizo de bilbao, and perhaps the addition of pimiento, is what makes morcon pungently tasty.
Bulanglang Kapampangan makes use of native guava, has ulang (freshwater prawns), pork, or milkfish belly as its main ingredient.
Unfortunately for the Kapampangan cooks, your pork dishes are unwelcome in the Visayas. Here, in Negros Occidental, Negrenses have very loud messages in different port of entries.
At the Bacolod-Silay International, we have this tarp poster with this shoutout: DON’T BRING PORK and Processed Products Like Sausages, Ham, Etc To The Philippines. It Will Be Confiscated At The AIRPORT To Prevent The Spread of AFRICAN SWINE FEVER.
Even the Bacolod city government has enforced a 90-day temporary ban on pork products and byproducts originating from or processed in Luzon, following the confirmed swine deaths in Rizal and Bulacan due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.
According to the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), ASF is a highly contagious viral disease that infects pigs, warthogs, and boars.
It causes pigs to have high fever and lose their appetite. It also causes hemorrhages in the skin and internal organs. Death is certain. Pigs die in a span of 2 to 10 days upon affliction. There is no known vaccine against ASF yet.
The NMIS said ASF is not considered as a human health threat. However, humans can become carriers of the virus once tainted pork is ingested or if people get close to the infected meat. The virus can also survive even if the meat has been processed or canned.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, ASF has severely affected China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, some areas in South Korea, Laos, and Myanmar.
ASF outbreaks have been detected in 32 provinces in China. Almost 1.2 million pigs there have been culled in an effort to halt the further spread of the disease.
Heck, even Chow King is in alarm mode. It displays this message: NOT AVAILABLE: asado siopao, bola-bola siopao, wonton mami, pork siomao, pork dumplings, Shanghai rolls, salt and pepper sweet n’ sour pork, and pork chao Fan.
Probably, though, ASF might be a good thing for those who enjoy a food trip based on the Negrense hog industry. Luzon consumers and Negros-based Kapampangan restaurants are assured of food safety.