Besides the rice, pancit and chicken adobo, filipino cuisine also offers a strange assortment of foods that not all Filipinos know about. For example, did you know that animal bile is used in some Filipino dishes or that the chocolate in chocolate meat isn’t really what it seems? As disgusting as it may sound, some of these dishes are actually tasty and delicious.

Balut

One of the most widely known delicacies to Filipinos, the balut is a two-week-old duck embryo baked in their shell. It is eaten by cracking a small hole on the rounder part of the shell till it becomes the size of a bottle cap. Salt is usually sprinkled on top for seasoning, the juice from the balut is sipped and then voila, the small little duck is eaten.

Dinuguan

Also called dinardaraan in Ilocano, or chocolate meat in English. This dish is a savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a rich gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the word dugo meaning “blood”. It is recognizably thick and dark, hence the Westernized euphemism “chocolate meat.”

Kilawen

Kilawen, a popular dish among Ilocanos, means that the meat is eaten raw and is “cooked” by an acidic liquid. Usually made with raw shrimp, fish, beef, goat, pork or chicken. This dish is mixed with ingredients such as onions, ginger, lemon juice or kalamansi, vinegar and salt.

Bagoong alamang or aramang

This popular, but smelly condiment is made from shrimp or tiny fishes that has been salted and fermented for several weeks. Usually used as a flavoring in most foods such as pinacbet and mangos. The liquid version of bagoong is called, patis.

Pork Sisig

Sisig, which means to eat something sour. The pork sisig is usually made with the pig’s head, which is prepared by boiling the head to remove the hair and to tenderize it. Portions of the head are chopped, grilled and boiled. Then finally it is fried with onions.

Dinakdakan

Similar to pork sisig, dinakdakan is not only made with the meat from the pig’s head, but also the pig brains, pig face and pig ears. Usually mixed with onions, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

Papait

Typically used in dishes such as pinapaitan and sinanglaw, the papait comes from the bile of the cow or goat. But if you don’t like the thought of eating a waste product from an animal, there is a similar ingredient, sali-salida or purslane, which is a weed that also can be used as a substitute.

Article by: Marichris Diga