A Food of our Own: the Philippine Lechon

In every festivity happening on all parts of the Philippines, what do you usually notice when you look up on the dining table? The scrumptious collection of traditional Filipino foods of course, but what’s the first thing, among those delectable Filipino dishes, that always caught your eyes? Well the first thing when I get invited on a festivity, or any other major occasions happening within my family or with my friends, a Philippine Lechon always catches my eyes.

The Philippine Lechon, much like the Filipino dish “Adobo”, is a unique Filipino dish found only in the Philippines. We’ve seen and eaten some Philippine Lechon for almost our entire lives, especially when we get invited on major gatherings, events, and festivities. But have you ever wondered how and when did the Philippine Lechon became to be the Philippine’s national food?

The term Lechon is a Spanish word meaning suckling pig. A suckling pig is a piglet that is killed between the ages of two to six weeks and traditionally roasted. And like the Philippine Lechon, it is also usually reserved for special occasions. But unlike a suckling pig, a Philippine Lechon is usually a whole roasted pig.

Though a Philippine Lechon commonly pertains to a whole roasted pig, Lechon also involves chicken or cattle aside from pig.

The process taken to roast a Philippine Lechon involves the whole pig/piglet, chicken, or cattle/calf being slowly roasted over charcoal. A Philippine Lechon is usually cooked or bought during national festivities or fiestas for Filipinos, the holiday season, and other special occasions such as weddings, graduations, birthdays and baptisms, or family get-togethers.

In festivities or celebrations, the Philippine Lechon is usually the main highlight and the most popular dish in the event. A Philippine Lechon is commonly served with liver-based gravy or sometimes served Chinese style with steamed buns and a sweet plum sauce.

Other versions of a Philippine Lechon include the Philippine Lechon kawali which is cooked in a large frying pan. Leftover Philippine Lechon can be easily recycled into another delectable dish, called Philippine Lechon paksiw. Philippine Lechon paksiw involves cooking the left-over Philippine Lechon by boiling it in vinegar or gravy making the meat moist and the skin very soft.

So whenever you had the chance to get invited on any festivity, don’t forget to try some of those Philippine Lechon because this thing doesn’t come cheap.

But you ever wanted to buy or to send some Philippine Lechon to your loved ones back home, then the best place for that would be the Express Regalo. If your want some information about it, then visit www.expressregalo.com.