Lechon or whole roast pig is a delicacy enjoyed in many countries all over the globe. However, it is the Philippine lechon that has won the blue ribbon from Anthony Bourdain, popular TV chef host of the hit travel show “No Reservations”. The famous food adventurer declared Philippine lechon as “the best pig ever” in his blog entry featuring “The Hierarchy of Pork”. This statement later prompted Time Magazine to give lechon the title “Best Pig” in its 2009 Best of Asia list.
The Origins of Lechon
Filipinos learned to make lechon from the Chinese who, legend has it, discovered the dish quite accidentally, through a disastrous fire. Charles Lamb makes mention of reading about this unintended process in an old Chinese manuscript. In “A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig”, published in 1822, he writes that when the house burned with the swineherd’s pigs in it, the swineherd’s “gormless” son had his first taste of whole roast pig. [Read more…]
