Course Finger food | Main ingredient Dog meat | |
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Serving temperature Hot or room temperature Similar Dog meat, Pinikpikan, Dinuguan, Isaw, Sisig | ||
Asocena is a Filipino dish primarily consisting of dog meat. The term asocena was first used in the 1980s and became popular when a film entitled Azucena, written by Enrique Ramos and directed by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, was screened in 2000. The dish's name is a compound word, from aso, the Filipino word for "dog" and Spanish word cena, which means "dinner" or "an evening meal", the literal translation being "dog-meal" or "a meal of dog meat". It may also be a play on the Spanish name Azucena, which is also used to describe a variety of fragrant, white rice.
Contents
Eating
Asocena is usually consumed as pulutan (Tagalog; snacks or food served while drinking alcoholic beverages; loosely translates to finger food).
Controversy
The killing of dogs as a livestock animal has been banned in the Philippines since 1998 via Republic Act No. 8485, known as the Animal Welfare Act, with exemptions for dogs killed and eaten as part of indigenous rituals in some northern regions of the country. In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food.
