‘Chicha-rabao’ keeps on crackling
SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ—Mention the word “carabao” and what comes to mind are leather shoes, handbags, belts and upholstery.
But as proven by a cooperative in Tuguegarao City, the carabao hide could soon be equivalent to “Chicha-rabao,” a variant of “chicharon” (pork crackling).
“We process an average of 2,100 kilograms of carabao hide a week to make Chicha-rabao,” said Arturo Tabbu, general manager of the Lighthouse Cooperative, which, in 2006 started producing the crackling as part of a menu of items sold under its “Ybanag Food Products.”
Chicha-rabao is distributed in Luzon and in Middle East countries, Tabbu said.
About 30 kg of cracklings are produced from every 100 kilograms of hide, Tabbu said.
The cooperative buys the hide at P40 per kilogram from slaughterhouses in Tuguegarao City and the towns of Piat, Lal-lo and Baggao, all in Cagayan province.
The hide is sheared, cut into small squares, boiled to make it soft, and after cooling, boiled again in low fire for 14 to 16 hours.
“It takes two to three days to complete the process, which includes deep frying the soft hide and packaging the finished product,” Tabbu said.
Each pack weighs 80 grams and is sold at a wholesale price of P32. Flavor selections are garlic, hot and spicy, and onion.
Lighthouse Cooperative has been assisted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the processing, packaging and labeling of Chicha-rabao.
The DOST and the Small Enterprise Technology Program (Set-up) also provided processing equipment.
The cooperative was founded in 1998 by Pastor Rosauro Resuello of the Victory Christian Fellowship based in Tuguegarao. It ventured into food production when it observed that many popular products consumed here came from other places.
The cooperative also said more than 1,000 carabaos are slaughtered every month in Cagayan Valley. This inspired the Lighthouse Cooperative to produce “carabao tapa” before developing its best-selling Chicha-rabao. —ANSELMO ROQUE
