Top 10 Unusual Filipino Foods to Try

Exotic Filipino Foods to Try

Every traveler’s or nomad’s itinerary includes experiencing and savoring the local foods or the best cuisines of their destination. Although some folks are hesitant to try new, exotic foods, others are more daring and fearless. Most travelers are always willing to explore, indulge and experience. Thus, cuisines that are quite unusual and even less-than-appealing to consume can never go untried. 

A gourmet excursion to the Philippines is unquestionably an excellent idea if you’re a nomad brave enough to explore exotic cuisines. The Philippines is known for its adobo, Lechon, halo-halo, Leche flan, and other absolutely delectable dishes. However, as a Filipina who was born and raised in the Philippines, it’s a pleasure to mention that the Philippines is also home to many exotic and strange dishes of all time.

From intestines to worms, these are ten of the most unusual and bizarre foods to try in the Philippines. Dare you!

Balut is an embryonic duck that is cooked and eaten from the shell. It is frequently served with salt and vinegar. Others think it’s an aphrodisiac! Always request the extremely young or small duck embryo for a better first experience. It creates a healthy Balut, especially if you have just been sick or given birth.

For lack of a better phrase, ex-pats refer to balut as an “Aborted Duck Egg.” For some Philippine residents, balut is a pleasant treat. While there may be quite some   Filipinos who are unwilling to try this delicacy, balut is still greatly renowned as a national delicacy. Some folks find eating a little duckling with wings and a beak unappealing. However, it’s not always the case. Balut comes in a diverse number of days – 16, 18, and 21. The smallest number is the most in-demand as it is the best to consume with salt and vinegar. The 16-day balut can never go out of stock as it has the smallest duck inside. In other words, it’s embryonic, which means it’s more pleasant to eat.  The partially developed duck embryo and yolk are high in protein. And the broth-like liquid that results from cooking is typically drunk first. 

Many natives choose to season this indigenous dish with salt or vinegar, onions, and minced chiles. Balut cooking methods have changed through time, from basic boiling to a variety of other possibilities, and you may now eat it fried, sizzling, or even in a soup.

In Cebuano, the language spoken in the Philippines’ Visayas area, “Tuslob” means “dip” and “Buwa” means “bubbles.” This Cebuano dish is created with a pig’s brain, optional pork liver or intestines, onions, oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, and other ingredients. “Tuslob Buwa” is a local dip composed of the components mentioned above. This meal is frequently served with sticky rice balls. As a Cebuana, it’s guaranteed that if you come to Cebu, Philippines, you’ll get the best Tuslob Buwa you deserve. 

Tuslob Buwa is frequently offered as an unlimited meal. You only need to buy the “puso,” or diamond-shaped rice balls. This strange cuisine will allow you to channel your inner zombie, or at least Hannibal, in you. This dish’s main ingredients are cooked pig’s brain and liver. Succulent brains, indeed!  Admirers of this extraordinary cuisine claim that it tastes delicious, and most Cebuanos can vouch.  Rice balls are frequently served with this meal. Tourists and folks who have tasted tuslob buwa argue that you won’t be able to tell what the ingredients or components are just by looking at the dish. And this is mostly true. Perhaps not knowing is the exciting part of eating this exotic dish. 

Dinuguan is a popular strange dish in the Philippines, a pig’s cooked blood. The word Dinuguan is derived from the Bisaya word “Dugo,” which means “blood.” This dish is commonly served with rice, but locals say that the puto, or steamed rice cake, is the meal’s soulmate. Because of the easy availability of its constituents, it is one of the most famous recipes in the Philippines.  Dinuguan is widely marketed at karenderias or food stops. Dinuguan has grown so popular in the Philippines that commercially prepared and ready-to-eat versions are now available everywhere you go. Hence, if you prefer a more traditional dining experience, some eateries provide handmade or house specialty dinuguans.

As it is commonly prepared as a barbeque, chicken heads are roasted and served on sticks. This meal is insanely delicious on exotic tongues and is expected to appear in a barbeque store. Moreover, this is usually offered as a “pulutan,” an appetizer or dish consumed while drinking beer or gin, for starters.

When you see a chicken head BBQ, the first thing that springs to mind is the safety gear worn on the head to avoid serious head injuries in the case of an accident. This helmet-like meal is repeatedly alluded to in the Philippines as marinated chicken heads with the comb and beak removed. Heads are commonly roasted like grills here in the Philippines. And chicken head BBQs, to date, is one of the provinces’ most famous street dishes. 

Locals have prepared chicken heads to keep them from being thrown away because the customary chicken parts consumed are only the wings, breasts, legs, and thighs. After grilling, the chicken head BBQs are dipped in a sauce made of salt, vinegar, and chopped onions.

Papaitan is a popular Ilocos Region soup dish prepared from either goat or cow intestines. ‘Papaitan’ is derived from the Filipino root word ‘pait,’ which translates literally as ‘bitter.’ The bile incorporated in its preparation gives this cuisine its bitter and spicy flavor. Despite being one of the most known delicacies on the list, papaitan may be more suitable for brave souls and stomachs. This, along with bulalo and the following meal, may be bought at the many roadside cafes that border the provinces.

If you’re up for something visually exotic, Tamilok is a good preference. Tamilok is a woodworm that tastes like an oyster. It’s a popular dish on the picturesque island of Palawan. It appears to be a worm but is actually a mollusk found within decaying mangroves. People who have eaten this say it tastes great! 

Tamilok is a meal that stands out due to its main constituent, the woodworm. Tamilok is renowned for being one of the most polarizing foods on Palawan’s gorgeous island. This dish is described as having an oyster flavor by brave souls. But the notion of a slimy worm slipping down your throat makes you squirm. Tamilok is not a regular dish in Palawan since these worms are difficult to find, yet it sells like hotcakes, especially among travelers who crave the unusual taste.

7. Bopis

If you’re a fan of pig-innard, you’ll love this! Bopis is a savory meal prepared with chopped and stewed pig’s heart and lungs. Bopis is classified into two types: dry and wet. Because of the chewy scent that the chef must tolerate from raw pig’s lungs, successfully preparing this delicacy involves substantial expertise and dedication. This strange food is commonly accessible and affordable, and its flavor changes depending on how it is prepared.

“Adidas,” also known as chicken feet, is named after a sneaker. Skin, tendons, and muscles make up the texture, which is very gelatinous. Because of the collagen, it is ideal for ladies. Chicken feet have a particular texture that distinguishes them from the rest of the chicken’s flesh. They’re difficult to eat because there are so many little bones that you have to spit out as you go. Folks, particularly foreigners, are initially apprehensive, but those who take the chance find it unbelievably tasty. It is very popular among women because of its high collagen content.

Pinikpikan is a customary chicken meal among Northern Luzon tribes. Because of the cooking style, many people are hesitant to attempt this cuisine. Meal preparation begins with a local chicken being beaten with a stick since it is thought that the beating and ensuing blood clotting improves the flavor dramatically. The perfect battered chicken for pinikpikan should have no broken bones or cracked skin due to the beating. After that, the chicken is cooked in a salt broth with etag, cured pork. Pinikpikan tastes like grilled chicken, and the formed blood surrounding the muscles provides a distinct richness that enhances the flavor of the meat.

Kamaru, also known as Mole crickets, are rice field crickets that eat rice grains and leaves, which are rich in protein and vitamin B.

Why not make kamaru a crispy dish? Taking a hefty mouthful of a fried rice field cricket results in an unusual crunch and subsequent gushing fluid. Yes, you read it correctly, a cricket, making it one of Luzon’s most unusual cuisine selections. Aside from frying, there are various ways to prepare bugs, such as adobong kamaru or insects cooked in soy sauce and vinegar. According to those who have tasted it, the food tastes like stir-fried shrimp with a distinct blend of saltiness and bitterness.