The Broken Marriage Vow Cochinillo Stole The Scene

Don’t skip dinner.

Especially if it’s the dinner scene made iconic and unforgettable by Doctor Foster and The World of the Married which has been excellently “Filipinized” by the ABS-CBN hit series The Broken Marriage Vow which stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Zanjoe Marudo, Sue Ramirez, Rachel Alejandro, Art Acuňa and Zaijan Jaranilla.

The trending and viral dinner scene of the show broke viewing records hitting 130,000 live viewers on Kapamilya Online Live with its March 7 episode. The confrontation episode was a pivotal moment not only for the advancement of the plot but also for Filipino culture.

Aside from showcasing proudly Filipino designer wardrobes and craftsmanship in the trending episode, Filipino dishes took centerstage during the scene. Here are a few of the culinary highlights from the much-talked about episode.

Cochinillo. Before the revelations as the audience held their breath for what’s about to come, the cochinillo or the roast piglet was a scene-stealer as viewers hear the crunchy goodness and salivate over the popular Filipino dish as Mr. Lucero (Art Acuňa) cut it with a plate and distribute it to their dinner guests. A cochinillo is a piglet (ideally, three weeks old) that has been breastfed. One of the marks of a cochinillo is how succulent and tender its meat is and how it has a thin layer of fat under the skin compared to a lechon’s thicker layers of fat.

Pancit Palabok. Another Filipino specialty that caught our attention was the bilao of (sadly half-opened) pancit palabok. It is a noodle dish made of rice noodles with thick yellow-orange sauce which can have various toppings such as shrimp, smoked fish flakes, chicharon, hard-boiled eggs, spring onions, fried garlic and even squid rings at times.

Bibingka. A classic Filipino dessert was waiting to be enjoyed at the Lucero dinner but the bibingka would have to wait as juicy drama unfolds. Among those we have spotted at the dinner table are pieces of bibingka wrapped in banana leaves. Bibingka is a Filipino coconut rice cake traditionally made from galapong (freshly milled rice), coconut milk, margarine and sugar.

Liempo. We did a double-take on this but it looks like there was a serving of elegantly garnished liempo on the table while the confrontation was happening. Liempo is a Filipino dish that’s simply grilled pork belly marinated in several ingredients with Pinoys mostly using soy sauce, calamansi and ground black pepper. The dish was innocently just placed there, depressingly untouched at the dinner table.

Basket of fruits. There’s nothing special about fruits but don’t you think it’s also very Filipino to always have fruits (in this drama the dinner table has grapes, apples, oranges and pears) at hand as healthy and refreshing panghimagas (dessert)? We Filipinos even use fruits as a table display and as a sign of bountiful harvest and abundance. In any case, we can all collectively heave a sigh of relief that the fruits weren’t used by Dr. Jill as outlet to her anger and seething emotions.

With all these delectable Filipino dishes on the table, we can’t help but wonder if the dinner would have been as chaotic if all of them decided to eat first before drinking those glasses of wine. Kudos to The Broken Marriage Vow team for showcasing yet another aspect of the Filipino culture in a highly anticipated scene.