It was my first time in Sagada, Mountain Province and there were so many exciting things I was anticipating to happen during our stay here. In order to know the place, you've got to know the people, their traditions, and their food.When pinikpikan was served during lunch time, I got curious about it. I heard about this dish before and even if I am not that adventurous when it comes to food, I still tried it. Since it is chicken and the way I looked at the dish was similar to tinolang manok, I heartily gave it a try.
Pinikpikan is a popular dish in the Cordillera region. The manner of preparing the food is referred to as "killing me softly" because a live chicken or duck is literally beaten to death by a stick. The beating would bring the blood to the surface of the chicken's meat and the natives say that it improves the flavor of the dish.
Anyway, with a modest serving of pinikpikan, I was quite excited to taste it. One good and well-known dish should be tried and that time was my opportunity to savor it. As I looked around, I saw my colleagues enjoying their take and I followed likewise. The moment I tasted its broth, much to my dismay, it has a slimy (malansa) taste. Although it looked like delightful, its taste was awful (pardon my judgment). Maybe, my taste is too discriminating with this kind of dish.
I do had similar encounters with slimy chicken dishes and one apparent reason could be, the chicken was not caged for a long time. Way back in my hometown, if we are going to prepare a chicken dish, we make sure that the chicken will be caged for at least a week in order to get rid of its slimy taste. Once dressed, the chicken meat will be rubbed by salt. In this manner, we get rid of its slimy taste.
I was not able to finish sipping the broth and I didn't touch the rest of it. I really don't have a stomach for slimy food. I hope one time, I'll be able to fully experience a delightful pinikpikan dish.
No comments:
Post a Comment