Sisig

Sisig is a Kapampangan term which means "to snack on something sour". It usually refers to fruits, often unripe or half-ripe, sometimes dipped in salt and vinegar. It also refers to a method of preparing fish and meat, especially pork, which is marinated in a sour liquid such as lemon juice or vinegar, then seasoned with salt, pepper and other spices.

The dish is said to have originated from local residents who bought unused pig heads from the commissaries of Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga. Pig heads were purchased cheap since they were not used in preparing meals for the U.S. Air Force personnel stationed there. An alternate explanation of its origin is that it is but an innovative variation on an older recipe, which is pork ears and jowl, boiled, chopped then marinated.

Preparing sisig comes in three phases: boiling, broiling and finally frying. A pig's head is first boiled to remove hairs and to tenderize it. Portions of it are then chopped and grilled or broiled. Finally, it is fried with onions and served on a sizzling plate. Variations of sisig may add any of the following: eggs, ox brains, chicharon (pork cracklings), pork or chicken liver, and even mayonnaise. Recently, local chefs have experimented with ingredients other than pork such as chicken, squid, tuna and even tofu.

Lugaw

Lúgaw (alternately spelled lugao or lugau) is the Filipino name for congee. Otherwise similar to Cantonese-style congee,lúgaw is typically thicker, retaining the shape of the rice, but with a similar texture. It is boiled with strips of fresh ginger. Other flavors may be added according to taste. Most often it is topped with scallions and served with crispy fried garlic. As with Japanese okayu, fish or chicken stock may be used to flavor the broth. Lúgaw can also be served with tokwa't baboy (diced tofu and pork), goto (beef tripe), utak (brain [of pig]), dilâ (tongue [of pig]), litid ([beef] ligaments), and with calamansi, patís, and soy sauce. It is often served to the ill and the elderly, and is favored among Filipinos living abroad in colder climates because it is warm, soft, and easily digestible.

Some provinces prefer the Spanish-influenced arroz caldo (literally "rice broth"), which is often thought to be a European dish because of its name. Arroz caldo is actually a Chinese congee that was adapted to the tastes of the Spanish colonial settlers who patronised Chinese restaurants in the Philippines.

Arroz caldo is usually spiced with saffron and black pepper in place of or in addition to the more traditional ginger and scallion. Arroz caldo more closely resembles risotto than congee, from which it can be distinguished by its bright yellow saffron colour and the relatively larger pieces of chicken meat. Arroz caldo is more popular among people of Ilokano heritage, although those of other provinces, such as Cebu, often eat it with the addition of prawns, olive oil, bay leaf, and Chinese sausage.

Street Foods

Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast food. Street food costs less than a restaurant meal. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.

Street food is intimately connected with take-out, junk food, snacks, and fast food; it is distinguished by its local flavour and by being purchased on the street, without entering any building. Both take-out and fast food are often sold from counters inside buildings.

BETAMAX

Oh man, we really have weird street food names. Now why betamax? I dont have any idea! If you're wondering what Betamax is, these are actually blood clots, yes, they are solidified blood of a cow/pig. No don't be disgusted, as ugly as they sound to be, they taste great. Also with the barbecued street food family, Betamax is brushed with barbecue marinade and then grilled over live coals. The dipping is the usual spicy/non-spicy vinegar (with chopped onion bits actually) and once you try it, it will totally change your perspective about Betamax.

ISAW

Isaw is a street food from the Philippines, made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines. The intestines are cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again, repeating the process several times. They are then either boiled, then grilled, or immediately grilled on sticks. They are usually dipped in kurat (Filipino term for especially made vinegar with onions and other flavour enhancers) then eaten. They are usually sold by vendors on the street corners in afternoons.

PROVEN

Proven (sometimes also "Chicken proven", or spelled "Proben") is a type of street food popular in some regions of the Philippines. It consists essentially of the proventriculus of a chicken, dipped in cornstarch, and deep-fried. It is served either in a small bagful of vinegar, or skewered on bamboo sticks to be dipped in the vinegar just before it is eaten.

Proven is particularly favored among towns in Laguna, and by students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where enjoying a taste of the snack in the afternoon has become a popular part of campus culture, similar to the iconic status given to Isaw at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Adobo

Adobo is the name of a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat or seafood marinated in a sauce of vinegar and garlic, browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

Although it has a name taken from the Spanish, the cooking method is indigenous to the Philippines. When the Spanish conquered the Philippines in the late 16th century and early 17th century, they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar, which they then referred to as adobo, which is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade. Dishes prepared in this manner eventually came to be known by this name, with the original term for the dish now lost to history.

While the adobo dish and cooking process in Filipino cuisine and the general description adobo in Spanish cuisine share similar characteristics, they refer to different things with different cultural roots. While the Philippine adobo dish can be considered adobo in the Spanish sense—a marinated dish—the Philippine usage is much more specific. Typically, pork or chicken, or a combination of both, is slowly cooked in vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf, black peppercorns, and soy sauce then often browned in the oven or pan-fried afterward to get the desirable crisped edges.

Adobo has been called the quintessential Philippine stew, served with rice both at daily meals and at feasts. It is commonly packed for Filipino mountaineers and travelers because it keeps well without refrigeration. Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients, vinegar, which inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Outside of the home-cooked dish, the essence of adobo has been developed commercially and adapted to other foods. A number of successful local Philippine snack products usually mark their items "adobo flavored." This assortment includes, but is not limited to nuts, chips, noodle soups, and corn crackers.

Dinuguan

Dinuguan (also called dinardaraan in Ilocano, tid-tad in Pampanga, sinunggaok or champene in Batangas, and sampayna or champayna in Northern Mindanao. Possible English translations include pork blood stew, blood pudding stew, and chocolate meat) is a Filipino savory stew of meat and/or offal (typically stomach, intestines, ears, heart and snout) simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often siling mahaba), and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the Filipino word dugo meaning "blood".

It is frequently considered an unusual or alarming dish to most people, though it is rather similar to European-style blood sausage, or British black pudding in a saucy stew form. It is perhaps closer in appearance and preparation to the Polish soup Czernina or an even more ancient Spartan dish known as melas zomos (black soup) whose primary ingredients were pork, vinegar and blood.

Dinuguan can also be served without using any offal, using only choice cuts of pork. In Batangas, this version is known as sinunggaok. It can also be made from beef and chicken meat, the latter being known as dinuguang manok ('chicken dinuguan'). Dinuguan is usually served with white rice or a Philippine rice cake called puto.