“A special sauce? Don’t we just have patis with pesa?” my cousin Beng asked.

Patis if it’s served in a hurry but if not, it needs to have the tiltilan that goes with a proper pesa was the answer she got from the members of our clan’s Kitchen Cabinet.

To be honest it is only recently that I have rediscovered the paniltilan but yes, I distinctly remember my grandmother served pesa with a red sauce on the side. This sauce was so fragrant and tasty, it could very well have been the only thing served.

But with all things tasty, let’s start from the top. What is pesa? Perhaps to Capampangans along and near the coastlines, pesa can only be fish, be it bulig, bangus, lapu-lapu or whatever. To others, it has further evolved to include other meats, chicken most especially. This is by no means a nuance in dialects but as a matter of fact, historical.
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Easter Sunday or Pascung Pangasubling Mebie to Capampangans is traditionally celebrated like Christmas in homes. Food on the table approximates the Christmas feast but what I notice is how the food is more Filipino. Perhaps it has something to do with the summer season which makes it more appropriate to serve tropical food instead of Western temperate zone food which can stand our cool December climate.

In our beloved town of Sta. Rita, Easter morning breakfast consists of what dreams are made of. Many families would serve pistu, the requisite celebratory breakfast dish. This is paired with pandesal and a cup of suclating batirul with singlé duman. It is possible that some sopas would be available, also some ensaimada which might then be carried over to the minindal or the mid-morning snack.

Lunch would most probably consist of asado and a soup. Pochero might also be part of the meal, this time with meat instead of the pochero of Good Friday which is made with fish. Unlike in the Western tradition, our Easter meals are varied although there are patterns of seasonal cooking by town or region.

For merienda or the afternoon snack, my grandmother made lacatan or glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and served with grated coconut (puto maya). What struck me even then was how it was so simple, almost austere compared to the back-breaking and very special bico of Good Friday when we were supposed to be fasting. My grandmother’s simple explanation was that the puto maya was symbolic (mibabague) of the white of the risen Christ.

Very interesting, and if I took it further down the line of literary analysis, it would be pregnant with meaning. White and austere = pure and simple. I really haven’t asked around to find out if this was just our household tradition my Lola started late in her life (because I remember it but my mother and aunties do not) or if it is something more customary.

Happy Easter!

This is how lunch is served visitors in old Capampangan households. Aside from the Christmas season, summer is usually the time we entertain the most, with the Lenten holidays, fiestas and the long vacation bringing in family and friends.

The kitchen is always a beehive of activity. The large pots and pans are taken out from where they are kept most of the year. Special recipes are lavished with all the love it takes to cook them.

Guests often leave fully satisfied and eager to come back. After all, Capampangans are known for their hospitality, as well as for the cooking that goes with it.

Each time I am asked where the best Capampangan food can be found, I am at a loss for words. There is no single place, nor a single town or even a district that has a monopoly over good cooking. Even towns that are famous for specific specialties (ex: tamales from Cabalantian in Bacolor) are most probably known for these because they are successful in selling them.

Many restaurants and chefs are also offering Capampangan dishes and these are very well-accepted but these have already been adapted to the mainstream market.

The best of Capampangan cuisine is served in private homes. This summer, several Pampanga houses are opening their doors to welcome visitors and introduce them to their specialties. One of the families are the Gosioco’s who still live in a large, vernacular house of around 150-years old (picture above).

Karlo the Sleepy Traveler and cultural tourism specialist Alquimista, Inc. are organising coordinating to organise the day trip. Yours truly will be one of the resource persons. E-mail Karlo (karlodeleon@gmail.com) to reserve a slot for the 14 April tour.