Pata Espesyal

                   

At  around 3 p.m sometime in February  I had a delicious bowl of Pata. I finished the bowl with sweat trickling down my forehead.

Pata is Filipino for hock. It loosely refers to either pork  or beef legs, front or hind. In the professional culinary world ,hocks are the pork's foreshanks which is part of the a primal cut called  as the shoulder picnic. The hocks meat, fat and muscle are propped up by the ulna and the radius which form the foreleg bones. In  North America, Europe and non-Asian countries ,the hocks are often smoked and simmered for hours unto tender to the bones. It's liquid contributes flavor to soups and stews.

In the Philippines, Pork hocks are usually boiled with spices and lemon grass until tender  and then deep fried to a succulent crispiness.When eaten, it is dipped in a combination of  native vinegar, soy sauce,crushed garlic,onions and lots of  bird-eye chilies. A delicious but life-threatening appetizer. The Crispy Pata is a mainstay in binge drinking parties. You just can't say no to it. The number of stroke and heart failures this hell of a leg  has caused have not been officially recorded.

In Iloilo ,when one says "pata" without the "crispy" it means  tender pork hocks simmered in a stock with garlic,onions, vetsin(MSG)  and  a souring agent called batwan . The soup has a thin jelly-like consistency because of the collagen breakdown from the slowly  simmered bones; and  an orange tint due to the added achuete seed extract for coloring.The soup is occasionally garnished with sliced green onions. It is eaten  as a main dish with rice or  as merienda(snack) fare with pan de leche(a kind of  roundish and sweet Filipino bread). During the afternoon coffee breaks, an invite from a peer of : "Ma mata ta"(let's eat Pata) is not uncommon. One usually sips the soup first and asks for a refill of caldo(stock).

                  

Arguably, the best place to eat Pata in Iloilo is at Andres Pata. The patahan which has somehow become an institution in the Pata business is a typical low-end shack made of nipa and bamboo. It cradled beside  the road and the river. This used to be a good location for  business because a few meters away was the city abattoir or slaughter house. We call it ilihawan. Ihaw means to slaughter. To our Tagalog brothers, ihaw means to grill in charcoal. Sugba is  grilling  to us. With this set-up the eatery has the advantage of getting the best pata in the yard. The abattoir is set to transfer its location soon but I don't think that would affect Andres' business.

       

Comments

[Karen]

Manong, kaya ka naman pala ina-alta presyon! Hehehe!

I should've sent you some banaba = antidote for hypertension, kidney stones, diabetes. :-)

[angelo]

ate karen,

hindi ko lang na post but my breakfast is oatmeal and oatmeal. i am feasting on amapalaya too. banaba i woukd like to try.
my god, are you still awake? at this time?