Hotta Rice | Pork Igado

7-Eleven is riding high and continues to be consistent with making the “Hotta Rice” brand relevant by adding new flavours to an expanded portfolio for this product. But of course, you won’t notice the changes on the menu list with the new dishes added while the older ones are getting retired subtly as they have done in the past. It’s no secret that the “Hotta Rice” (mostly spelled “HottaRice” is aimed at targeting a lower market that can afford the product while retaining good quality with the dishes they have introduced under this product range. For years, the Hotta Rice range has been mostly basic dishes that Filipinos have based on their home cooking. This time, they have up the ante by going deep into the popular dishes from the province.

There’s nothing like “home cooking” made from a tiny bowl of Filipino-inspired dishes from the past and present that is widely known locally. You can never get enough of rice while you are in this country and there are A LOT of dishes to pair with that in so many things that you might not have known all of your life.

Recently, 7-Eleven has introduced two new dishes for the “Hotta Rice” range and they’ve been slowly being picked up and noticed by most who just want an “on-the-go” experience with the frills. A third dish was considered a “limited time only” to celebrate forty years of 7-Eleven in the Philippines.

Pork Igado

If you’re unfamiliar with the name of this dish, here’s a quick description of what this dish is all about… “Pork Igado is an Ilocano stew made of strips of liver and pork tenderloin braised in a tangy and savory soy sauce-vinegar mixture and spices such as garlic, onions, and bay leaves.”

This dish sounded unheard of for someone who lived in Metro Manila and never got to experience what the Ilocanos are having in their part of their hometown. But 7-Eleven made sure the dish would be known for those who have never had one or even traveled to Ilocos to have that authentic experience.

The uniformed packaging for the new “Hotta Rice” dish introduced this year has colours related to each as the way the Pork Estafado’s packaging has purple on the packaging, but entirely different from the “limited time only” Tofu Sisig. This also includes ingredients and a description of what they have put on this product can be found on the side of the packaging.

To make things clear and unformed, all of the dishes are now in separate containers including the ones with Dimsum on it. 7-Eleven has streamlined how they are now packaged and not cutting corners on some of the dishes that usually sit on top of the rice in the past iteration of the product.

The liver is not for everyone

There are more than ways to enjoy your pork, but with the liver in the mix, it's not a healthy sight when you start tasting it. The Pork Igado is made with liver as part of the ingredient but it is not specified in the details on the packaging until you get to taste the experience of having the Pork Igado.

At this stage, having liver as part of the dish is unhealthy, and should not have it in there. But it is part of the allure of why the Pork Igado is known and this dish is not for everyone. It is good no doubt about it, but without the liver part would still work for those who do not eat pork most of the time.

Overall, Pork Igado is good minus the liver ingredient as not everyone is into having it. But to respect the dish it is part of its identity as a dish hailing from Ilocos. But health-conscious individuals are avoiding eating too much meat and even liver.

This dish is a win and you may not find it in your 7-Eleven store during lunchtime. But the rest of the experience is good enough to warrant a good rating for 7-Eleven making one accessible to Ilocanos living in Metro Manila that missed their style of home cooking in their hometown.

• Food Quality: 3 out of 5
• Affordability: B-
• Overall: The liver is not for everyone, but the rest is really good.

Pork Igado | Retailed at: ₱ 85.00 Pesos [$ 2.27 AUD | $ 1.48 USD]**

** - Currency Converter via Google.com