Philippines’ Lechon

The Lechon is one of the many dishes in which Philippines is popular with. Lechon, in litson in Tagalog and Inasal in Cebuano, is a Spanish word meaning suckling pig. Although this particular dish is also popular in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and many other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Philippines is the only country that promotes this special dish.
In fact, there is a special event held in one of Philippines’ provinces that highlights the dish. In the town of Balayan, in Batangas, holds a special festivity they liked to call as the “Parada ng Lechon” or the Parade of Lechon. Visit an In Lechon Philippine site to learn more about this dish.
The “Parada ng Lechon” is a festivity held annually on June 24, and the feast day of San Juan (Saint John the Baptist). This festivity is unique from other festivities in the Philippines because it doesn’t only parade the popular Lechon, but also decorates it with clothes and accessories.
After the mass held in the church of Immaculate Conception, the Lechons are then paraded all over the streets of Balayan until the time the festivities ends where the lechons will be brough back to their respective barangays.
The Lechon has been in the Philippines’ long history since the Spanish Era. The typical Filipino way of making Lechon involves the whole pig/piglet, chicken, or cattle/calf (lechon also involves chicken and cattle other than pig) being slowly roasted over charcoal. Check out how to buy and then send a lechon in the Philippines by visiting an In Lechon Philippine site.
Lechons are often cooked during national festivities (such as that in Balayan, Batangas), the holiday season, and other special occasions such as weddings, graduations, birthdays and baptisms, or family get-togethers.
This is because the Lechon is usually the highlight and the most popular dish of these events.
Another great thing about this dish is that leftover Lechon are easily recycled into another delectable dish. One of which is the Lechon Paksiw in which the leftover lechon are cooked by boiling it in vinegar or liver-based gravy making the meat moist and the skin very soft.
In Metro Manila, a popular place to purchase Lechon is La Loma, an area within the boundary area between Manila and Quezon City. Many restaurants selling Lechon year round can be found there. If you want to buy and then send some lechons back to the Philippines, then visit an In Lechon Philippine site to learn how.