DINAKDAKAN: Yummy or Yucky?

By: Pauline Saballo

Are you tired of eating the usual sisig? Are you still looking for something spicy that’s perfect for every meal? Well, here’s the solution to your problems… dinakdakan! This dish originated from Ilocos. And from the view of an Ilocano, this is one of the things that they can be proud of. But really, what’s dinakdakan? Even I do not have any idea about this dish, at first.

Well, dinakdakan is basically a pork dish. But there’s something really interesting about this, and that’s because of its main ingredients which is common to all dinakdakan dishes. These ingredients are actually grilled pig parts which include the ears, liver and the face. Aside from that, you can also include stomach and intestines in this signature Ilocano food. But there’s more! The authentic dinakdakan recipe even includes the pig brain! Now I don’t know if this food sounds delicious or disgusting.

Hearing all the ingredients actually makes me think if I really wanted to try this. I did try eating intestines or pig ears (on sisig) but I never thought that I would eat all of them at the same time. Even if I’m a Filipino, this sounds strange to me. If I ask you, would you even eat a dish that’s made a pig parts which you do not usually eat? Would you try eating intestines, ears, brain and the pig’s face all at the same time? I personally don’t think that many would try this dish, honestly.

But nevertheless, I still tried this dinakdakan. And I did not regret it. It tastes real good! It gives you the feeling that you will never regret eating this dish. Instead, you will try it over and over again. I do guarantee you with that. So if you happen to be in Ilocos, have time to try this authentic Ilocano dish.

A lot of people say that dinakdakan is similar to sisig. I think I can agree with that because of how it looks like at first. But it really tastes different from sisig once you have tasted it.  In my opinion, it’s because of the pig parts added to this dish (which are not usual ingredients for sisig). And also because of its original Ilocano flavor. I really salute these Ilocano people for inventing this bizarre but appetizing dish.

Dinakdakan is something that Ilocanos is truly proud of. Non-Ilocanos, like me, would even think that this dish is really weird but these Ilocano people are really certain in telling us that it’s really good. And they never failed us. This dinakdakan dish is only one of the many proofs that Ilocanos are really great in the kitchen.