| Pastil | |
| Alternate Name: | pastel, patil, patel, patir, pater, paster |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Region: | Maguindanao |
| Course: | Main dish |
| Main Ingredient: | white rice, glutinous rice, shredded beef/chicken/fish |
| Similar Dish: | binalot, piyoso & nasi dagang |
Pastil is a Filipino dish made with steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves with dry shredded beef, chicken, or fish. It originates from the Maguindanao people and is a popular, cheap breakfast meal in Mindanao, especially among Muslim Filipinos.
The meat or fish component of the dish is known as the kagikit. It is usually shredded beef or chicken. The meat is cooked similarly to adobo (but without the vinegar). It is boiled and then shredded. Garlic and onions are sautéed in a pan and the shredded meat is added. Soy sauce (or oyster sauce), black pepper, and salt to taste are added and allowed to simmer until they evaporate. Palapa or chili pastes are also traditionally added since Muslim Filipino dishes are almost always spicy.[1] Shredded grilled fish can also be used; usually katipa (walking catfish) or dalag (common snakehead) mixed with coconut meat.[2]
The white rice is mixed with a little glutinous rice, steamed, placed on oiled banana leaves and wrapped as a thick cylinder with a strip of the meat filling extending along the length of the rice or covering one side of the rice. The leaf is then wrapped around the mixture with the ends tucked inside.[3] [4] [5]
Pastil is traditionally served with vegetables soaked in vinegar as a side dish, like cucumber or togue (mung bean sprouts), to neutralize the saltiness of the kagikit. A hard-boiled egg may also be included to complement the meal. It is usually eaten with coffee or Tsokolate (hot chocolate) for breakfast or merienda.[6] Pastil are commonly sold by restaurants and street vendors in Muslim communities in Mindanao and throughout the islands, for example, General Santos hosts several restaurants serving this with side dishes. It is also sold as a cheap snack or breakfast on the go in Metro Manila's Muslim areas like Maharlika Village in Taguig and Quiapo in Manila.
Pastil resembles northern Filipino wrapped meat dishes like binalot, but it diverges by incorporating shredded meat or fish fillings instead of conventional meat options. [7]
Its popularity has led to different versions of pastil being made outside of Mindanao, causing controversy over some versions that have culturally appropriated the dish, such as by placing the pastil in bottles and versions that used pork (which is considered as haram (forbidden) in Islam) and marketing them as pastil.[8] The controversy also prompted an investigation from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos into pork pastil and other non-halal dishes being sold under misleading labels, such as palapork, pork biryani, and pork shawarma.[9] A Bangsamoro official has also appealed to the public to refrain from calling any wrapped meat dishes that use pork as pastil.[10]