PAPAITAN is a popular Filipino stew dish that originated
in the Ilocos Region in the Philippines. It is an exotic stew
made from cow, ox, or goat innards, offal, tripe, flavored
with Bile, chilies, and sour agent like tamarind.
The featured dish’s name is a Filipino word derived from
“Pait,” which means “bitter” in English. The bitter flavor of
the stew or soup dish comes from the Bile, including the
gallbladder and liver part where the bitter juice gets
extracted.
It is a traditional dish commonly served as “Pulutan” and
appetizer on any occasion like fiestas, weddings, birthday
parties, baptismal, New year, or any gatherings in the
Philippines.
It contains Bile, which produces the bitter juice used as
the flavoring agent to the featured dish. However, if you
could not find Bile, you could use bitter gourd as the
dish’s bitter flavoring agent.
Many considered the dish to be disgusting because of the
ingredients used to make the dish. But this dish is a
humble, hearty cuisine that incorporates and introduces the
rich sources of spices and seasonings in the Philippines.