Philippines -- Street Food Sensation

Filipino Street Food -- popular comfort food in the Philippines. They are cheap, easy to eat, flavorful, and found everywhere.

Michael loves his street food especially grilled skewers. But before I took him to get his skewer fixation, he had to pass the Balut test.


the BALUT CHALLENGE:

For those who don't know, the balut, which means 'wrapped', is a fertilized 16 to 20 day old duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in a shell. The soup is actually very tasty, add a little bit of salt... Yumm! There are 2 kinds: the balut sa puti (wrapped in white) and the penoy (9-day old embryos).

According to the locals the best age for balut sa puti is 17 days and from Pateros City. For those squeamish to see a forming duck inside can opt for the more under-developed 8-12 day old balut penoy which is mostly yolk and similar to a hard-boiled egg.

My parents reminded me how I would eat 4-6 baluts when I was very young. Wouldn't do that now even if you paid me or even if you threatened me with arthritis! You see, locals believe the balut is very good for the bones and to develop strong knees! 

he loved it. 

Balut is sold by vendors at P10-20 each = ~$0.25-0.50
For more of what the balut is and Mike's balut experience, click here.


SUPER SKEWERS:

skewer:  fruit or meat pieces on a thin bamboo stick.

Well, we Asians love our grilled skewers! In the Philippines, every part is essential -- intestines, feet, liver, etc...

Found in every street corner prices vary from P2.00-7.00 each

clockwise L-R: fishballs, carinderia (local street restaurant),
popcorn, various skewers

clockwise L-R: isaw, walkmen, pork barbecue, fried nibbles
*we couldn't bring ourselves to try the fried chick

Street Skewer Food Vocabulary for the photos ABOVE:

Barbecue / Bbq -- made from marinated thin pork slices grilled with the maker's special sauce  

Isaw -- chicken or pork intestines

Adidas -- chicken feet

Walkmen - pig ears. named from the old sound system gadget.

Betamax -- chicken or pig's blood. named as such for its being square/block shaped like the old video cassette.

Fish balls -- airy fish-flavored (often cuttlefish) dough, fried in oil. They are skewered as they float in the oil and dipped in assorted sauces from sweet to spicy. This is often sold with the other variant - the Squid balls, Kikiam, and Kwek-kwek. 

Non-Skewer:

Kikiam --  sausage-like fried thing made from pork.

Kwek-kwek -- hard-oiled quail eggs in batter. this is also known as 'hepa' eggs because of its orange color like that of anyone afflicted with hepatitis.

Fried Chick -- fried 1-day old chicks.

* Filipinos put humor in their daily lives and even in their food!

The website Tagalog Lang has more on Filipino street food and this FB page has an even more extensive list: Dictionary of Philippine Street Food.

Mike, waiting for his turn to skew some fishballs

Next:  Philippines -- Normal Food