I had an alarming realization following the conclusion of my lechon experiments. Filipino cooks are beholden to MSG. Restaurants who want to compete in the market place all use MSG. If you eat out, 99% of the time your food will be sprinkled with MSG. The cooks, the waiters, the common Filipino masses are brainwashed to use MSG as part of their cooking recipe.
See this example of a recipe with MSG from KauKauTime.
Lechon Kawali (Crispy Pork) aka Chicharon
Ingredients:
- 6 C Pork belly or side pork (equal parts fat and meat)
- 4 C Water Salt to taste
- 4 C Cooking oil
- 1 bottle Mama Sita’s Sarsa ng lechon (Sauce for Roasts)
- MSG to taste
Cooking Instructions:
Combine pork, water, MSG and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the pork is tender. Drain the pork and cool. Prick skin with fork and rub with salt and MSG. Leave in colander to dry for one hour. Heat cooking oil in a deep fryer or wok at high heat. Fry pork until golden brown and crispy. Cut into serving pieces and serve with Mama Sita’s Sarsa ng Lechon (Sauce for Roasts). Also may be served with fresh tomato slices mixed with harm-ha (fine shrimp paste) sauce as a side salad dish.
Sounds like a paid advertisement for MSG.
One time I was in a carinderia that sold goat dishes and I specifically requested a goat kinilaw (goat skin cooked in vinegar) and the female cook asked my honestly inquisitively why I would want my food without MSG. Yes, she found me STRANGE that I was going to eat my food without MSG. She and her husband looked at me and found me ODD why I would want to eat my food without MSG. It was unthinkable for them. All forms of cooking in their mind just had to have MSG to taste.
This is what happens to generations of television zombies. Those old MSG campaigns on television and free recipe books have taken their toll. Generations have indeed become dumber and dumber.
Get a clue people. You are poisoning yourselves with MSG. MSG is poison. You can live without MSG. You will THRIVE without MSG.