Vigan Longganisa

My husband really like ilocos longganisa (a regional sausage from the north of the Philippines).. it has a garlicky and very distinct vinegar taste that really brin gs him back to his roots (his grandfather is from ilocos) After eating some very disaapointing longganisa (it was too fatty) I decided to try making my own.

This would be my last post in the "fatty" category.

Why?

Well, since the start of this year, I am trying to do a medical plan. eat healthier and lose some of the weight I gained since starting this blog. (don't ask how many pounds-- =(

So, as a farewell... here's ... drum roll please... VIGAN LONGGANISA!!

Ingredients:
1 kg ground pork (it would taste better if it's a little more fatty)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2- 2 heads garlic chopped (more garlic is better)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar (or better yet, vinegar from ilocos- sukang ILOKO)--
2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. cornstarch

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or more. (for better flavor, marinate overnight). shape into small sausages and if cooking right away, fry in a non stick pan (no need for oil) till its browned. If you want to keep in freezer, cut pcs of wax paper and you can roll each suasage between theses and freeze for later use. If using with casing, (w/c I didn't have)- omit cornstarch

the black is the ilocos cane vinegar. it has a very distinctive taste

tips: you can add cubes of fat with the ground meat. I used pure lean ground meat and it wasn't as YUMMY as when you have a bit more fat in it.

The "long" method is they cure the sausages in the fridge for 3-5 days. If you can wait that long, I think the taste would be better.  (I only marinated mine overnight)

You can shape it like burger patties (like what my maid did, but it kindda misses when it doesn't look like a sausage.. don't you think?)

Best to serve with garlic fried rice chopped tomato and salted egg. happy eating!

P.S. - next blog posts from me will be "healthier eating"... if you want to know what I'm on, click HERE