"Exotic Foods in the Philippines"

#35

Every country has its signature dishes and every province has its delicacies.

Filipinos are known as explorers and experimental people, especially in the kitchen that's where the delicacies and Filipino native recipes begin. Filipinos are also known as exotic food lovers and that is what foreign visitors look for.

Almost all foreign visitors are looking for some adventure, especially in food. They expect that every place they visited there is one or more exotic foods that are offered to them to taste.

Here is the list of exotic foods that your Filipino friend or your tour guide offers you to try. So, read up and get ready.

1. Balut

Balut is popular street food in the Philippines. It is usually sold by roaming vendors at night using baskets or small size bucket foam to maintain the heat of the balut.

Balut is a boiled fertile duck egg, which means there is a 16 to 18 days duck embryo inside the egg. It was eaten with spicy vinegar and salt.

How to eat balut?

To eat balut, you need to crack a little bit in the tip of the egg, once cracks open so you can slurp the soup inside the egg after that you put vinegar and salt and sip it again, peel the shell to reveal the whole egg and put vinegar and salt into it and direct it the whole egg. You can also peel the whole egg and dip it into the bowl with vinegar and salt then bite little by little so you can feel the taste and enjoy the experience.

I can assure you that balut is a very delicious exotic food. I am a balut lover and I 100% recommend this to you to try.

1. Betute Tugak (Deep Fried stuffed Frog)

Betute originated in Pampanga and is a specialty involving deep-fried rice field frogs filled with minced pork. And this tastes like chicken meat.

I can assure you that frog meat is so delicious in any kind of recipe. You can also try it on adobo, curry, and halang-halang.

1. Kinilaw na Tamilok in Palawan and Aklan (Shipworm or Woodworm dipped in Salt and Vinegar)

Tamilok is a bivalve mollusk that is attached to mangroves. They look like worms inside, but they taste like the typical oyster. So imagine your typical oyster served in kinilaw style and you would get an idea of how this would taste like.

Kinilaw is a popular way of preparing seafood especially shelled mollusks. Kinilaw is quite similar to ceviche, where you would need some acidic solution to “cook” the ingredients. They soak it in either vinegar or calamansi juice with bits of ginger, and minced garlic and they leave it for a bit. This is then served as is.

Source:

http://juancuisine.blogspot.com/2017/12/kinilaw-na-tamilok-in-palawan-and-aklan.html?m=1

1. Chicharon Bulaklak

Chicharon Bulaklak or deep-fried ruffled fat is a popular Filipino appetizer. It is often consumed with alcoholic drinks and is best eaten when dipped in spicy vinegar. Chicharon bulaklak is at is the best form right after frying when it is still warm and the texture is extra crispy.

Source:

https://panlasangpinoy.com/chicharon-bulaklak-recipe/

1. Tuyom (Sea Urchin)

This sea urchin or TUYOM in Cebuano is among the most popular seafood in Cebu. Without cooking you can enjoy eating raw meat of sea urchin but you have to watch of its spines.  To enjoy more eating meat of sea urchin you have to pair it with vinegar with chili and rice.

1. Adobong Uok or Coconut Worm

They live in dead coconut logs. Natives would collect them and eat them raw or cooked adobo style. It has an interesting texture and taste that people from around the globe are a fan of.

The uok/coconut worm isa hatchling of the Black Beetle that becomes greater than a human thumb. It is considered as an outlandish neighbourhood delicacy in South East Asia. ... They are found extraordinarily in coconut trees however here in Paluan Occidental Mindoro, the vast majority of it are found in “Dungon Trees”.

Source:

https://puntomindoro.com/uok-paluan-exotic-food/

1. Dinuguan

Dinuguan is the Filipino version of blood stew. Pork slices are sautéed in onion and garlic and cooked with pork blood. Sometimes, pork innards such as the small and large intestines along with other internal parts of the pig are added.

Source:

https://panlasangpinoy.com/pork-dinuguan-recipe/

1. Isaw

Isaw is a popular Filipino street food dish consisting of marinated, boiled, and grilled chicken and pork intestines which are usually coiled and skewered on a stick.

The dish is usually dipped in a vinegar-based sauce that is made with chili peppers and onions (sawsawan). Because it is one of the cheapest Filipino street food meals, the dish is extremely popular, and there are even street stalls called isawan, devoted entirely to the preparation of this specialty.

Isaw is usually enjoyed as an afternoon snack, and apart from its popularity on the streets, due to its low price, it is also a staple food for numerous university students.

Source:

https://www.tasteatlas.com/isaw

1. Betamax

Betamax Babeque is chicken blood that has been dried up and shaped into cube like pieces which are grilled. Its shape is similar to huge chocolate cubes. It doesn’t have a foul smell or very gamy taste.

Betamax Babeque is very chewy that is best eaten with a sauce such as vinegar or chili mix. It is best eaten if before drinking outside with friends or as a snack in the middle of the day or at midnight.

Source:

https://www.pinoyrecipe.net/betamax-recipe-or-grilled-chicken-blood/

Eating this exotic food would complete up your ultimate vacation experience here in the Philippines, but the question now is, Do you have the guts to try these dishes?

You can also read my articles:

https://read.cash/@PrettyMom_96/lets-go-and-explore-leyte-10ebd3b7

https://read.cash/@PrettyMom_96/native-delicacies-of-leyte-and-southern-leyte-philippines-5a23b51e

Thank you for reading!

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