Bagnet: Love made in Ilocos

Ilocano Bagnet, or simply known as Bagnet, is a boiled, air-dried, then deep-fried slabs
of pork belly (liempo). It is a famous native food in the province of Ilocos, Philippines. It is
similar to Lechon Kawali of the Tagalogs but the difference, I guess, is the process of
preparation, cooking, and of course, the place of origin. It is said that Bagnet  has its origins in
the town of Narvacan, Ilocos Norte where the “Bagnet Festival” is annually held and celebrated.
I do not know the exact origin of the said dish but I think it is a handed-down tradition of deep-
frying the meat as means of food preservation, in order to lengthen the meat’s shelf-
life. Bagnet is locally known as Chicharon. You can find and buy Bagnet in any towns of Ilocos.
Bagnet preparation is a long process. Some rub and season the meat first with salt and the
pork’s skin is pricked with fork or a bundle of sticks for it to pop during deep-frying, while some
put the meat directly into a boiling water seasoned with salt. In Ilocos, since they are making
large batches of Bagnet, they place the meat in a large pot called Sinublan to boil. After boiling,
the meat is air-dried for few hours before deep-frying. After air-drying the meat, it is now
submerged in a hot boiling oil for approximately 20 minutes, or until the pork’s skin pops. The
process of deep-frying is repeated twice or thrice until the pork’s skin pops further. The secret
to Bagnet is its crispy and crunchy skin, moist and tender meat.
Bagnet can be eaten as it is, usually with rice, and partnered with condiments
like Bagoong (shrimp paste), Bagoong-Isda  (fermented fish), Sarsa (a sweet and tangy Filipino
pork liver sauce), and Toyo-Kalamansi-Sili (soy sauce with calamansi and chili pepper). You can
also incorporate Bagnet into several Filipino pork dishes, such as Sinigang (a sour and savory
Filipino soup), Kare-Kare (a Filipino stew with thick peanut sauce), Pinakbet (a Filipino
vegetable stew in shrimp paste or fermented fish), Lechon Paksiw (a Filipino pork stew in pork
liver sauce), and many other Filipino dishes.
 Now, you can find Bagnet anywhere in the Philippines as some food establishments offer
it in their menus. But, if you are up for an authentic Bagnet experience, it is best to visit the
province of Ilocos, Philippines.

1994 Justin Hall

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 Tinagtag: From banquet to market
by Russtum G. Pelima
June 28, 2007
MALAPATAN, Sarangani- For hundreds of years, the Filipino Muslim has presented
tinagtag as a special food for all occasions. In time it became part of an old
tradition that literally spoke of the Islam Religion.
The town folk know for sure the taste and all about this unique delicacy who most
closely connect it to the Maguindanaos.
Making the tinagtag is a festivity itself. The women do the cooking cheerfully
accompanied by a rhythmic sound from the balabad, wooden sticks used to hit
the dabakan (an animal skin-covered cask).

This festive beat is an invitation for others to come and meet, thus reviving the
spirit of old friendship and close family ties.

“Mula noon, ibinibigay naming pagkain sa mga bisita ang tinagtag na talagang
pagkain ng mga Muslim,” said Fatima, a Maguindanaon woman.

“We say Bismillah before we start cooking the tinagtag,” discloses Maisora
Balimbingan, Fatima’s sister.

“It means We praise Allah. Like everything we do, we say this prayer as a
dedication of our effort to Allah so that it will be blessed,” she elaborated.

She said the presence of a person with a bad character when cooking causes a
bad serving, easily spoiled and a distasteful tinagtag, and they can testify to it.
The crisp rice roll tinagtag can be in good taste and can last for months with sugar
as its natural preservative.

Mothers teach their children at young age how to make tinagtag and other
Muslim food like the panyalam, tamakunsi, nilabwan, and panganan.

This has passed on their unique delicacies through generations and became part
of their history.

The Sangil tribe in Balut Island belonging to Sarangani’s adjacent province, Davao
del Sur, recounts their historical significance.

When the tribe fled from the economic conquest of the Vandas in the Northern
part of Sulawesi, Indonesia, during the 16th century, it was the Panyalam, Muslim
sweetened dough that saved them from the Spanish soldiers who came to
Sarangani Bay and the Celebes.

“Our forefathers told us that when the Spanish soldiers came, they knew they
were hungry, but they wanted to have battle with us and the natives who had
settled in this island long before they came,” recounts Takeda Colano in Sangil.

“So as a sign of peace instead of the battle, they threw them some panyalam
which the Spaniards ate, but later our forefathers gave them more of it with
potion so that they would get weary, tired and fall asleep.”

A Jesuit historian named Jose Luego has recorded in his book The Christianization
of Bohol the coming of the Spanish expedition in the beaches of Sarangani Bay in
search for the spice island during the 16th century.

Tinagtag is made of finely ground rice mix with sugar. The rice is soaked into clean
water for few minutes.

When the mixture becomes sticky, it is placed in pangulayan, a coconut bowl with
small holes. The holes serve as a screen where the gluey mixture strips down to a
kala or pan of boiling oil, traditionally a virgin coconut oil, where it is cooked.
The cook makes a circling motion of the pangulayan to form the flowing strips
into a round-like lean pizza pan. Then a wooden ladle called gagawi is used to get
the brownish pasta crisp and put it in a talam or tray ready for styling with a
twangan. The whole cooking process is accompanied by the rhythmic sound from
balabad and dabakan.

The town festival this year features tinagtag as Malapatan’s one town one
product (Otop). President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has tapped local chief
executives for the Otop nationwide program.

Last month, ABS-CBN featured tinagtag in its “Trip na Trip” daily morning show
which caters to local promotion initiatives and tourist destinations.

“Para mabuhay, lumago at mabigyan ng kabuhayan ang mga tao dito ang s’yang
layunin ng Otop,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Southwestern
Mindanao Director Ibrahim Guiamadel, said.

“We are promoting Sarangani Province as an eco-tourism destination at dahil sa

produkto na ito, pinupuntahan na tayo ng iba’t ibang mga advertisers,” DTI
provincial director Nenita Barroso announced at the opening of Pakaradyan 2007
Friday, June 15, at the municipal ground.

Rural Improvement Clubs in Malapatan are engaged in tinagtag production at 100

packs daily for P25 per pack as pasalubong items, but DTI said it is expanding the
production and increase marketing through quality packaging.

With the support of the local government and private sectors for tinagtag as
Malapatan’s Otop, its productivity, marketability, industrial performance, social
and environmental impact, the poor tinagtag can lead a timid town to progress.

JUSTIN HALL
1994
HOMEPAGE

1997 JOHN BARGER

WEB BLOG
1999
WEB BLOG- BLOG
BLOG
PETER MERHOLZ
Programmer