Through the invitation of Micamyx, fellow travel blogger who hails from Dagupan, a bunch of us bloggers went to the northwestern province of Pangasinan to enjoy and discover what this beautiful place has to offer.
Pigar-pigar is a delicacy in Dagupan and, probably, a fairly newcomer in Dagupan’s smorgasbord of culinary dishes that has become popular. Just visit Galvan Street at night and you will be amazed at seeing the many occupied tables invading this stretch of street that is closed to traffic.
The dish is basically a simple fare with the major and basic ingredients: strips of cabbage, lots of onions and lean beef (or its darker cousin, carabeef). Liver is sometimes added or takes the place of bee and depending on the available vegetables, cauliflower can also be requested. These are then sauteed in a generous amount of oil.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that the strips of meat are fresh with even a butcher cutting pieces right off a slab hung at his stall beside where the pigar-pigar is prepared. A hot serving is accompanied with condiments consisting of soy or fish sauce with squeezed calamansi and sili (pepper).
A good dish of pigar-pigar means the beef is tender and just rightly cooked with limp but still crunchy vegetables. The sweetness and crunch of the onions combine with the beefy taste plus the kick added by the soy sauce + calamansi + pepper combo can be memorable.
However, that’s not always the case. Probably depending also on the part of the animal where the meat was cut, or the expertise of the cook preparing the pigar-pigar, it can be a makunat (rubbery) and or oily experience. But then, with the cool evening open air setting, friends and tongues softened with beer can result in a clean plate.