Kapampangan cuisine
Kapampangan cuisine differed noticeably from other groups in the Philippines. The Kapampangan kitchen is the biggest and most widely used room in the traditional Kapampangan household.
When the Philippines was under Spanish rule, Spanish friars and sailors taught Kapampangans the basics of Spanish cooking. The Kapampangans were able to produce a unique blend that surprised the Spanish palate. Soon, Spanish friars and government officials were entertaining foreign guests at the expense of Kapampangan households. In the late 18th century, the Arnedo clan of Apalit were commissioned by the colonial government to entertain foreign dignitaries, including a Cambodian prince and a Russian archduke. Kapampangans were given the task of creating the meals and menus that were served in the proclamation of the First Philippine Republic in Malolos, Bulacan.
Some popular Kapampangan dishes include sisig, morcon, menudo, caldereta, estofado, embotido, asado, lengua, lechon, chicharon, afritada, sipo egg, bringhi, tabang talangka, the "tocino" or pindang including pindang damulag or carabao’s meat tocino and their native version of the longganisa. A unique Kapampangan dish that is well enjoyed by other ethnic groups is nasing biringyi. Since nasing biringyi is so difficult to prepare, this unique Kapampangan dish can only be enjoyed during fiestas in Pampanga. It is comparable to Malaysian nasi biryani.
Some unusual Kapampangan dishes include balo balo or burung bulig from Candaba, betute tugak from Mexico (Pampanga) and Magalang, adobung kamaru, calderetang barag, kubang asu from Macabebe, and tidtad itik from Masantol.
Other heritage dishes include tidtad, begukan, hornong pistu, asadong dila and kilayin.