Admit it; Filipino culture wouldn’t be complete without
street vendors selling street foods anywhere! I just love going down the street
with my friends after class and eat different kind of street foods. It would be
like a part of you feels like a total stranger to your own country if you
haven’t taste one.
For you to be more
familiar with our street foods in the Philippines here is my list of what you
should grab and taste!
1.
The very first street food I would recommend to
you is Taho. It’s made of soft tofu with arnibal caramelized brown sugar and sago. The best comfort food you’d taste especially in the morning.
But did you know that the Indonesian and Malaysian version of taho is tauhue?
A magtataho carries two large aluminum buckets that hang from each end of a yoke. One of the buckets
carries the tofu base; the other, smaller bucket holds the arnibal and
sago. A taste of this will surely
make your day!
2.
No people, the round oranges you’d see are not
fruits, they are what we call Tokneneng or in a smaller version, kwek-kwek.
It’s made by deep-frying orange batter covered hard-boiled
eggs. The difference between Tokneneng and Kwek-kwek is that the bigger one is
made of chicken or duck eggs and the smaller one is made of quail eggs. These
are usually served with a spiced vinegar-based dip or a sweet sauce. They are mostly seen
beside the schools and universities.
3.
Fishballs, a food originated from
China is one of the most popular street foods here in the Philippines along
with squidballs
and kikiam. It is somewhat flat in
shape and most often made from the meat of cuttlefish or pollock and served with a sweet and spicy sauce or with a thick
black sweet and sour sauce.
Credits: I-don't-know-where-I-got-this :/
The fourth one is Calamari or here in the
Philippines, Calamares. A breaded fried squid dish that
would surely make you say “yum!” when you get to try it. It is served best with
spiced-vinegar or for others, toyo mansi (soy sauce and calamansi). My dad said
that for adults, it is better as a pulutan because of its crunchy texture.
5.
Oh yes! Banana-que! One of my favorite foods
to eat outside the campus. Banana-que must have been coined
to mean 'on a stick', which is taken from the word barbecue,
made
of deep fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar. Banana cue is made from Saba bananas. It is usually skewered on a bamboo stick. It is also sold along with camote-que ( deep fried sweet potato coated in caramelized brown sugar) and turon (deep fried-wrapped saba coated in caramelized sugar). Perfect for merienda!
of deep fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar. Banana cue is made from Saba bananas. It is usually skewered on a bamboo stick. It is also sold along with camote-que ( deep fried sweet potato coated in caramelized brown sugar) and turon (deep fried-wrapped saba coated in caramelized sugar). Perfect for merienda!
6.
And if you are looking for exotic types of
food, Betamax or Blood is just the right one for you.
The rectangular blood resembles the shape of a Betamax tape
and this is the reason why it was called such. It’s grilled and
skewered in a stick and usually dipped with vinegar and onions.
7.
Isaw. It is also being sold along with Betamax (blood), barbeque, adidas (marinated grilled chicken feet)
and helmet (marinated grilled chicken
head). Isaw is made from
barbecued pig or chicken intestines, served with spiced-vinegar with chopped
onion.
8.
It’s not summer but it’s still hot! So want to
grab a dirty ice cream? (A.K.A Sorbetes). Sorbetes is a Philippine version of ice
cream usually peddled from street carts
in the Philippines. Either served in a plastic cup,
cone, or recently, in a bun. Yes, buns. (ice cream sandwich). Some say
it got their name ‘dirty’ because of an unhygienic way of preparing and serving
the ice cream. On the other hand, some people say that it is only called
‘dirty’ because of its rough texture. But anyhow, you’d still love the
overwhelmingly taste that’d burst within your mouth.
9. After a
long walk around the city, aren’t you feeling kind of thirsty? Don’t worry
there’s got to be a sago’t gulaman somewhere. It is an iced beverage of sweetened sago pearls
and diced gulaman (jelly) with crushed ice. Surely a thirst quencher!
110.
Lastly, our family’s most favorite snack, the Balut
along with it is Balut penoy, originated from China.
A balut is a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. Balut eaters prefer salt and/or a chili, garlic and vinegar. But wait! Don’t break the shell
completely! You must first suck the broth inside the egg. I know it looks
disgusting. It looks like a brain! It tastes good though, so don’t miss out!
And there
you have it! My list of street foods you do not want to miss, but don’t limit
yourself in my list, explore! Try different variety of street foods here in our
country. But remember, too much street foods would be very harmful and risky to
your health. We have a rich culture around us; we just have to look closer. You
might also want to try our country’s famous delicacies. Being food lovers that
we are, Filipinos tend to develop Filipino cuisine and spread it
internationally, for as long as we have the affection and dedication in our own
culture.
“Nothing would be
more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as
well as necessity.” –Voltaire
Fascinating!!!
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