‘Bisdak’ chef whips up heirloom Visayan dish

If chef John Sison looks more like a showbiz personality than a chef, it’s because he actually does acting and commercial modeling on the side. He had to audition for the role of a chef in a Chowking commercial, but he easily nailed it and landed the part. He also took on the role of a chef in a Bounty Fresh commercial, served as a brand ambassador for Omega Houseware Philippines and acted in an indie film titled Madawag, where he played a soldier and was directed by Joel Lamangan.

In the culinary field, Chef John has worked at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel’s HEAT All-Day Restaurant, conducted cooking demonstrations for ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda and GMA’s Unang Hirit, and serves as a food consultant for Café Cyrilla Restaurant. As a food consultant, he also works with the Army’s mobile kitchen. On a regular basis, he is the resident chef and assistant host to Marc Logan on IBC-13’s DWAN radio program, Refoodlika Na Sa Pilipinas, where they invite bloggers as guests to discuss various food topics. As a reservist, he serves in the Philippine Army’s mobile kitchen, which operates during disasters, and also conducts feeding programs for children.

Chef John is best known as a bisdak chef from Mindanao. “Bisdak chef is a Visayan term that means Visaya Dako or Laking Visaya. Bisdak is a colloquial term used by residents of Cebu, referring to one another as native-born and bred Visayans,” explains Chef John, who hails from Cagayan de Oro.

He moved to Manila in search of a better life. He studied NC3 Commercial Cooking and NC2 Cookery at TESDA and went on to showcase his culinary talent in a cooking competition called Kusina Master, held at SM City Bicutan, where he bagged first place. This achievement marked the beginning of his culinary career.

Here, Chef John shares the recipe for an heirloom Visayan dish.

Balbacua Pata Tim Visaya Claypot

Ingredients:

1 kg pork pata

2.5 g salt

2.5 g pepper

1 head garlic, chopped

2 pcs onions, chopped

2 knobs luyang dilaw (yellow ginger or turmeric), crushed

1/2 pc. lemongrass

1 pc. siling labuyo

10 g annatto

390 g Pork ‘n Beans             

For toppings:  

1 bunch spring onion

40 g fried peanuts

3/4 slice banana

Procedure: Cook this dish in traditional palayok (claypot) style. Place one kg. pork with fat in the pan. Over high heat, boil for 45 minutes after adding salt, pepper and half cup of water. When pork is tender, remove from fire and set aside to rest. The boiling broth will be used to cook balbacua.

When the pot is hot, pour in oil. Sauté ginger, onion and garlic. Add the pata and simmer until golden brown. Use luyang dilaw or turmeric powder for its health benefits. Add Pork ‘n Beans, siling labuyo and annatto. Pour in reserved broth from boiling the pork. Boil for another five minutes. Add rice flour and stir in to thicken soup. Cook until done. Transfer cooked balbacua to serving bowl. Sprinkle peanuts and chopped spring onion on top. Top with saba banana.