When it comes to food, taste and diet are relative.
It varies especially from one country to another. Here in the Philippines, we
have a number of exotic foods that may not be to everyone’s tastes and may seem
like an extreme dining to some, but we consider as delicious delicacies and quite
normal to eat. Here are some Filipino exotic foods that you might want to give
it a try:
Balut
This one is already considered a tasty afternoon
threat in the Philippines. Balut is a boiled fertilized duck egg which is either
16 or 18 days old. It is eaten with salt or vinegar. You can see the
almost-fully-formed duckling inside the egg, which gives a slimy texture. The
half-formed head, guts, beak, and bones of the poor duckling can be off-putting
to some especially the foreigners.
Soup No. 5
Its main ingredient is bull’s sex organs,
considered by many as the “fifth leg” of the animal and that’s where it got its
name. Many believe that this exotic food is an aphrodisiac as it gives the
physical attributes of a bull to anyone willing to take a sip. In Cebuanos,
they call it “lanciao.”
Adobo or Deep-Fried Crickets
Mole crickets or Kamaro is an exotic delicacy in Pampanga. They are usually cooked as
adobo or deep fried. The legs, wings,
and heads are removed and what’s left is its body which is crispy on the
outside but soft on the inside. Also, the juice is coming out of its abdomen
when eaten.
Dagang Bukid or Farm Rats
These are not just any ordinary rats. These are dagang bukid or rats that are found in rice
fields and are assured to be clean because they only feed on rice. It can be
cooked as adobo, deep fried, or
roasted like chicken.
Tuslob-Buwa
Tuslob-buwa
in Cebuano dialect literally means 'to dip in bubbles.' It is made from pork
brain and liver cooked with chili, salt, and other spices. As the ingredients
are cooked thoroughly, you know that it’s ready to serve when bubbles appear in
the surface which then explains its name. Tuslob-buwa
is mostly served for free by the street vendors as long as you buy rice ball
(which locals call “puso”) from them.
Salagubang or june bug
Salagubang
or june bug is known to be protein-rich and is abundant in Nueva Ecija. When
fried, it is a common appetizer or pulutan
around town. It is also cooked as adobo and eaten with rice.
Adobong Uok
Normally served with rice and tomatoes, this
flavorful exotic dish will fill in your hungry stomach once you taste it. Uok is a coconut rhinoceros beetle
larvae which can be found in dead coconut logs. It is a popular exotic dish in
Angono, Rizal.
Etag
Etag is considered
as Cordillera’s official ham and as foreigners called it, the “Igorot smoked
meat.” It is a salted meat from native pigs which is cured and aged underground
using earthen jars for weeks. The final product can be foul-smelling, dark, and
rotting with maggots. For some natives, they prefer smoking usually for 30
minutes to about 3 hours per day for at least two weeks. This food is not
usually served on its own. It is rather a complimentary ingredient that gives a
distinct taste to delicacies such as pinikpikan, pinakbet, monggo and
other dishes with legumes as the main element.
Kinilaw na tamilok
“Tamilok”
is a type of woodworm and is a common delicacy in Palawan. But these are not
that the usual worms that you may think of. These woodworms are actually molluscs,
which has a taste comparable to that of oyster and a texture like "tulya." The tamilok is served as raw which you can just dip in vinegar with
spicy peppers, onions, and calamansi juice before enjoying its taste.
Wondering what the name “tamilok” means? The name came from the words uttered by a foreign
visitor in Palawan when he and his companion saw the locals eating raw woodworms
with vinegar. He said "Tommy, look!" and since then, the woodworms
from mangrove trees have been known as “tamilok.”
Betute tugak or stuffed frogs
Frog dishes are considered a delicacy in the
Philippines. But these are the kind of frogs from rice paddies which are much
more available that they are being sold in the urban wet markets. The taste of
frog meat is comparable to that of chicken. Some common ways of preparing frog
is to fry it (prito) or to turn it
into adobo (where the frog meat is
cooked in garlic, oil, vinegar, and laurel leaves). However, the Province of
Pampanga serves another frog dish called “Betute Tugak,” which is a frog
stuffed with minced pork and then deep-fried in oil. Betute is just a play of words on a local dialect butete, which means "tadpole"
in English.
Abuos
Abuos is
a delicacy in Ilocos made of ant eggs. This is usually served as adobo, sauteed with garlic, or just eaten
raw.
Street foods
Some common Filipino street foods are innards and
other parts of a chicken which are cooked by grilling them over a coal. These
include the following:
Isaw – barbecued chicken intestines.
Adidas – barbecued
chicken feet.
Betamax – barbecued chicken
coagulated blood cubes.
Helmet – barbecued chicken heads.
Note: The photos posted above are not mine.
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