You're going to wish you hadn't asked this question by the time I tell you! I spent last year in the Philippines, and I made a promise to my fiance' that I would try anything/everything at least once, (much to my own regret, at times). I was also not about to offend her mother when we visited the Province by not eating what was given to me, and I was also raised in a very strict household and taught that, when you are a guest somewhere, you eat whatever is put before you. Here are some of the "delicacies" I was taught to appreciate, (for the mere fact that when you're starving, as many filipinas are, your list of what's edible and what's not, increases a great deal).1) BalutWhat It
Is - The "notorious" boiled fertilized duck's egg. Duck's egg usually takes 28 days to hatch but the perfect balut is boiled at 17 days, when the chick is still wrapped in white and showing no beak or feathers.
Where You'll Find It - The town of Pateros and neighboring towns of Rizal and all through Metro Manila.
Dish On The Dish - There is an art to eating balut. First, make sure it's hot. hold up the egg and determine the wider end; lightly tapping it here will allow you to savor the balut's tasty broth. Break off a piece of eggshell and then take a sip - you may want to salt it before doing so. Once all the soup has been sipped, crack the rest of the egg, peel it open and sprinkle it with rock salt. The yolk is firm yet tender and the chick should go down smooth and sweet. Balut is traditionally sold by vendors who do their rounds on the streets peddling the eggs in baskets in the evening, bellowing, "Baluuuuuuuut!" Every night, while trying to go to sleep, you can hear the call of the balut vendor. (It is sold at night because it is considered a strong aphrodesiac). The menfolk like to gather at street corner sari-sari stores with their bottles of beer or gin and balut as pulutan (bar chow), spending many a happy happy hour.
2) TamilokWhat It Is - Woodworm found in driftwoods.
Where You'll Find It - Agusan, Surigao and Davao provinces ... people travel to Cebu
just to eat this delicacy!
Dish On The Dish - Tamilok is not for the squeamish nor the faint of heart. The experience of eating it is more risque than eating sushi. Forget raw; these worms are eaten alive. The driftwood is chopped so you are able to extract pink juicy worms measuring six to eight inches long ... they also find them by peeling the bark off mangrove trees. The worms are then washed then dropped onto the tounge. Fans love the clean taste and the tingling sensation through the digestive tract.
The taste was really not bad ... the problem I had was getting used to the things moving in my stomach once I swallowed them ... a bit unnerving, to say the least.
3) KamaroWhat It Is - A mole cricket that burrows in the moist soil of growing rice fields.
Where You'll Find It - Pampanga, Tarlac other Provinces
Dish On The Dish - These mole crickets are the most delicious pulutan in Pampanga, a foodie province known for delicious dishes, the country's best cooks and most discriminating gourmands. The kamaro catchers stomp their bare feet on the soil to make the crickets surface, causing them to jump and fly awkwardly, making them easy to catch. cooking them is even more laborious.
The cricket's legs and wings must be removed, after which the body is boiled in vinegar and garlic. It is then sauteed in oil, chopped oinion and tomatoes until they are chocolate brown in color. Kamaro is a party in your mouth with every bite: the initial crunch gives way to a moist interior, making it a perfect pairing with ice-cold beer. Without the wings and legs, there is no scratchy texture.
Once again, it was a texture thing for me, because the flavor itself is very good ... I've found that aversion to food is all in the "mind", of course, but unfortunately, the mind is in constant and direct contact with the stomach and all it's reflexes!
4) SinarapanWhat It Is - The world's smallest fish.
Where You'll Find It - Lake Buhi, Camarines Sur
Dish On The Dish - At a mere six to eight millimeters when fully grown, the sinarapan is definitely the world's smallest edible fish. These diminutive creatures are endemic to this lake, and swim in massive schools of 100,000 to 500,000 fish. Their minute bodies are transparent so only their black eyes are visible. To give you a clearer idea of how small they are, just imagine that a tablespoon holds over a thousand of them! The best time to catch sinarapan is two hours before dawn or at three or four in the afternoon.
These fish are said to be an aphrodisiac when eaten raw with salt and a few squeezes of lime juice. It is quite amusing as its name seems to come from the root word, sarap, which means "delicious" in Filipino - a word that is used to describe both food and sex. Sinarapan are usually added to an omelet for breakfast or cooked Bicolano (is what the locals are called in the province of Bicol) style with coconut milk, vegetables and chili. Unfortunately, they may soon become extinct due to over-fishing. This was fairly palatable, as the sauce I had them with, (vinegar, salt and lemon juice), is what you taste ... again a texture thing for me.
(On the far left)
5) PanikiWhat It Is - A fruit bat that feeds on over-ripe lanzones, jackfruit, durian and other tree fruit.
Where You'll Find It - The Philippines has over 50 species of fruit bats found throughout the country, including Subic, tha Samal Caves in Davao ans San Juan, Batangas
Dish On The Dish - Batman, beware! Nothing is spared of the fruit bat once it's been caught. To prepare it for cooking, the entire bat is skinned, and the two glands found at the base of its limbs are removed. It is then chopped into bite-sized pieces, sauteed in oil, garlic, vinegar, tomatoes, pepper, laurel leaves and simmered until the broth has almost dried out.
Although some Filipinos consider these fruit bats a delicacy, eating them must be stopped since many bat species are close to becoming endangered. These fruit bats play an important role as they help to maintain the biodiversity of the Philippines' ecological system by propagating fruit-bearing trees. I was fed it for the sake of "International Relations", as you can NOT be a westerner in the Philippines without tasting paniki! (It was actually good, but I'll stick to preserving the species).
6) Betute TugakWhat It Is - Stuffed frog
Where You'll find It - Everywhere, esp. Provinces
Dish On The Dish - Farmers used to depend on rain water to irrigater their farms. Children would then catch the frogs, which came out during the rainy season, while their parents cultivated the land or planted rice. Outwitting the frogs has been a traditional "family bonding" ritual. Betute is a play of words on butete, which means "tadpole" in the local dialect. Betute is the entire frog stuffed with minced pork - so it looks like a very fat frog. It is then deep-fried in oil.
This, I must admit, (after my initial aversion to eating something I used to find "cute and playful" as a kid), is absolutely delicious. I found myself relishing this with great anticipation whenever heading to Rose's, (my fiance'), mom's in the province of Tarlac, as this was one of her "specialties". My own mother has still not forgiven me for this atrocity, as frogs are her favorite animal, and I am now seen as a traitor.
7) Abu-osAnt Eggs
What They Are - The eggs of tree ants
Where You'll Find Them - Ilocos Norte
Dish On The Dish - Known as the caviar of Ilocos' wealthy set, they are found on the branches of certain mango trees where these ants make their homes. You need an expert who can detect them from under the trees branches. Gathering them requires a light hand and fleet feet as the sound of foot steps makes these ants hide their eggs. Flat baskets are attached under the branches and the tree is shaken vigorously until the eggs fall into the baskets.
These are fried in butter. the result: A crisp shell on th outside and creamy filling on the inside. I have to admit, (again after initial aversion), that this stuff is very good, and once the texture thing is overcome, the flavor in itself is amazing. I was told it's "all how you serve it", so I have to take that at their word ... I only has it once, and served one way, so it's not like I'm an expert.
I'm going to stop there for now, as these are the definite highlights ... I did also eat rat, (which is very common), but I didn't know it at the time, so it's not really a fair critique.
As far as what the results of eating these things was, I'll leave that up to the imagination. I will say that I only tasted one of these dishes twice, (if you know what I mean ... once on the way down, once on the way up), but that was purely by choice and my own initiation.
To keep it all in proper perspective, I had friends there who, if they did not sell enough at the market during the day, did not eat at night ... and their replacement food at those times was salt ... period. I also knew some whose family pets had disappeared permanently ... and I'll let you guess why.
Be very thankful this Thanksgiving, that you have food on your table and a full stomach ... and a roof over your head ... and a warm, dry place to sleep at night ... and a decent hospital down the street ... and decent clothes on your back ... and air conditioning when it's hot ... and a mattress and soft pillow to sleep on ... and comfortable shoes ... and electricity ... and running water ... and an inside toilet that flushes ... because for most people on this earth, those things are not a given, and it's a daily struggle to have even those basic things we take for granted.
I have seen so much in a short time that has changed my view of life and what's truly important, and I pray that no one here takes those things for granted that I always have, and that we all realize how truly blessed we are to live in a country so great and so rich and so full of hope and promise ... where the next meal is not the only thing we're worrying about all day long. God has been so good to me, and I pray he is such to you as well ... and that this Thanksgiving is the best ever. But I also hope when you sit down to eat on the 26th, you'll think of those who are eating only salt, (or nothing at all), and say a prayer for them and theirs.
God bless.