Ilocano Pulutan · Grilled Pork Salad
Dinakdakan
Photo: PSA / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The dish's signature creamy texture traditionally comes from mashed pig's brain stirred through the meat — not mayonnaise, which only became a common substitute in modern versions.
Grilled or boiled pig face, ears, and snout are chopped into larger pieces than its Kapampangan cousin sisig, then tossed with vinegar, calamansi, onions, and chili, bound with mashed pig brain for richness. Ilocano stalls sell it as a pulutan to go with drinks or plain rice.
Why it's made this way: It is a long-standing Ilocano pulutan often compared to Pampanga's sisig because both use grilled pig face, but dinakdakan is cut into bigger pieces and served at room temperature rather than on a sizzling plate.
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