April 9, 2023
The Yummy Plate’s Asadung Matua
Yang best seller, Mi Yan!” said Mercy Manuel Guevarra, the one who manages the online store The Yummy Plate, as she gave me these rhythmic and repeated pork slices. Mercy and her sister Jenie, a close friend of mine, are also from Florida.
“When I was in elementary school, I would always accompany my late Tita (Mommy Pong) whenever they hired her as a cook for fiestas, weddings, or other barrio events.” I worked as her personal assistant. “That was my first experience of Filipino food,” she explained.
Asadung Matwa is possibly the most excellent meal the Kapampangans have ever produced, as it is always on the menu for every festival. It has the ability to provoke memories.
This one, in particular, tasted like home and brought back “fiestang balen” memories of apu, dara, bapa, pawnakan ampo pisan, waking up in the early hours to fire the kalang, smack that kasim with a tabak, and squeeze the calamunding, then marinating and slow cooking the pork meat with a humongous amount of tomatoes. This is known as “sinkotsa.”
“Asadung Matwa is possibly the most excellent meal the Kapampangans have ever produced, as it is always on the menu for every festival. It has the ability to provoke memories.”
Orders for the asadung matua come from as far away as Metro Manila in the south and Bataan in the north, making it one of Yummy Plate’s most popular dishes.The mix of ingredients is like a soul that must come together with raw meat to create a complete power of taste that will satisfy your appetite.
It’s funny because the only time everyone gets a break is when the mosikus start smashing their cymbals and blowing their horns as they parade to greet the fiestang balen. The packed, miserable kitchen transforms into an abandoned warehouse in a matter of seconds, but only for a minute, as the fading sound of the marching bands prompts everyone to return to work after seeing the festive display.
In the instance of this asadu from The Yummy Plate, I appreciated the subtle combination of sour and salt that leaked from the in-between slices, coloring the rice while you watched the white vapor depart your plate. While this Asadung Matwa has a simple ingredient, how you combine it and calculate how long to slow cook it is a technique that only masters can execute. And this one rises to the occasion.
Please contact Mercy Manuel Guevarra for online purchase!