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Filipino Street Food... Anyone?

I'll be featuring some foods that is uniquely pinoy.  Please take note of its names too.. Filipino ingenuity at its best.

Chicken is one of the best source of street food. see drawing below:

The only part that's inedible (hence no commercial value) on a chicken are its feathers.

Chicken neck (aka Kurbata) is sold either fried or grilled.

Chicken feet (Adidas™) and curdled chicken or pork blood, cubed and grilled (Betamax)

Chicken intestines (aka Isaw / IUD) and barbecued pig ears (Walkman) are great served as 'pulutan'.

Chicken head (Helmet)

Kwek - kwek (quail egg) and Tokneneng (penoy, egg. or balut)  boiled, covered in orange colored flour and fried.

Fishball, Day-old chick, kikiam, and Squid / Chicken Ball. 

and finally, street food that doesn't include chicken or pork:

Bibingka (rice cake)

Puto Bumbong - purple-colored sweet cooked in tubes that are placed on a steamer-cooker. When cooked, they are removed from the bamboo tubes, spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut).

And what a good way after consuming the above delicacies, than with these 'pantulak': 

The Samalamig or Palamig, from the root word lamig meaning cold, are prepared beverages that contain sago (tapioca pearls) and gulaman (gelatin), and are usually flavored with syrup from a wide variety of fruit extracts. As the name suggests, it is used to refresh and nourish everyone's thirst, especially during the hot Summer season. Usually served in plastic cups and small plastic bags used for ice, this typical Filipino beverage is being sold everywhere and to anyone who wants to satisfy the need to quench their thirst at anytime of the day. In a country filled with junk and low nutrition food, the samalamig provides the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to fill the nutrient deficiencies of the Filipino people.

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How to eat Balut - A delicacy in the Philippines

BALUT is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are common, everyday food in some countries in Southeast Asia, such as in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation.

Preparation

Balut are most often eaten with a pinch of salt, though some balut-eaters prefer chili and vinegar to complement their egg. The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors; the broth surrounding the embryo is sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled and the yolk and young chick inside can be eaten. All of the contents of the egg are consumed, although the whites may remain uneaten. In the Philippines, balut have recently entered haute cuisine by being served as appetizers in restaurants: cooked adobo style, fried in omelettes or even used as filling in baked pastries.

Balut-making is not native to the Philippines. A similar preparation is known in China as maodan (Chinese: pinyin: máodàn; literally "feathered egg"), and Chinese traders and migrants are said to have brought the idea of eating fertilized duck eggs to the Philippines. However, the knowledge and craft of balut-making has been localized by the balut-makers (magbabalut). Today, balut production has not been mechanized in favor of the traditional production by hand. Although balut are produced throughout the Philippines, balut-makers in Pateros are renowned for their careful selection and incubation of the eggs.

Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten. Vendors sell cooked balut out of buckets of sand (used to retain warmth) accompanied by small packets of salt. Uncooked balut are rarely sold in Southeast Asia. In the United States, many Asian markets occasionally carry uncooked balut eggs, though there is not much demand for them in the U.S. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are enjoyed while still warm.

Duck eggs that are not properly developed after nine to twelve days are sold as penoy, which look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In Filipino cuisine, these are occasionally beaten and fried, similar to scrambled eggs, and served with a vinegar dip.

Steps in eating Balut

1. Crack a small hole on the more rounder part of the shell (if you hit a hard white piece, then you did it wrong).
2. Crack it a little more until the hole is the size of a bottle cap.
3. Sprinkle whatever what seasoning you would desired sip the juice.
4. Don't be afraid to eat the small little duck inside, just eat it like a boneless chicken thigh, dip the yolk in some lime juice and eat!

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Francis Magalona is dead

MANILA, Philippines - Master rapper Francis Magalona, 44, passed away Friday.

Vic Sotto confirmed the news over GMA's noontime show Eat Bulaga and asked for a minute of prayer for the eternal repose of the singer-composer's soul.

Magalona's battle with leukemia was made public last year. In a public statement last April 14, he admitted he was battling with the malady.

A blood drive was subsequently announced for the singer.

Unknown to the most, the 44-year-old singer-composer recently survived a delicate medical condition days before he was dispatched from a hospital.

"Akala ko kasi magki-Christmas ako sa ospital, e, because I had a very, very, very close brush with death last December 4. I went into septic shock and it was a very scary moment," he said in an earlier interview.

It was announced last year that Magalona was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant.

"My doctor said I'm in remission right now after my third chemo cycle. So, my next move would be to do the bone marrow transplant and I'm very happy to announce that I was able to find a match. One of my sisters from the States we have the same tissue typing so she would be my donor," he added. -

Source:
Amita O. Legaspi and Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV

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World's Worst Cultural Mistakes

Don’t let blowing your nose or taking off your shoes land you in hot water when you travel

By Sallie Brady

Touching Someone

Where It’s Offensive: Korea, Thailand, China, Europe, the Middle East.

What’s Offensive: Personal space varies as you travel the globe. In Mediterranean countries, if you refrain from touching someone’s arm when talking to them or if you don’t greet them with kisses or a warm embrace, you’ll be considered cold. But backslap someone who isn’t a family member or a good friend in Korea, and you’ll make them uncomfortable. In Thailand, the head is considered sacred — never even pat a child on the head.

What You Should Do Instead: Observe what locals are doing and follow suit. In Eastern countries remember that touching and public displays of affection are unacceptable. In places like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, men and women are forbidden from interacting, let along touching.

Knowing Your Right from Your Left

Where It’s Offensive: India, Morocco, Africa, the Middle East.

What’s Offensive: Many cultures still prefer to eat using traditional methods — their hands. In these cases, food is often offered communally, which is why it’s important to wash your hands before eating and observe the right-hand-is-for-eating and the left-hand-is-for-other-duties rule. If you eat with your left hand, expect your fellow diners to be mortified. And when partaking from a communal bowl, stick to a portion that’s closest to you. Do not get greedy and plunge your hand into the center.

What You Should Do Instead: Left-handed? Attempt to be ambidextrous — even children who are left-handed in these cultures are taught to eat with their right hand — or at least explain yourself to your fellow diners before plunging in.

Keeping Your Clothes On

Where It’s Offensive: Scandinavian countries, Turkey.

What’s Offensive: Wearing bathing suits, shorts and T-shirts, underwear, or any other piece of clothing into a sauna, hammam, or other place of physical purification. In some cultures, a steam room or a sauna is considered a place of purity and reflection, where the outside world (i.e., your clothes) should be left outside. In some Scandinavian countries it’s common for entire families to sauna together in the nude.

What You Should Do Instead: Sitting on a folded towel is considered acceptable. If you’re too modest to appear naked, strip down, but wrap yourself in a towel.

Getting Lei'd Off

Where It’s Offensive: Hawaii.

What’s Offensive: Refusing or immediately removing a lei.

What You Should Do Instead: Leis in the Hawaiian Islands aren’t just pretty floral necklaces that you get when you check into your hotel or show up at a luau. They’re a centuries-old cultural symbol of welcome, friendship, and appreciation. Never refuse a lei — it’s considered highly disrespectful — or whip it off in the giver’s presence. If you’re allergic to the flowers, explain so, but offer to put it in some place of honor, say in the center of the table, or on a statue. Note that closed leis should be worn not hanging from the neck, but over the shoulder, with half draped down your chest and the other half down your back.

Looking Them in the Eye … or Not

Where It’s Offensive: Korea, Japan, Germany.

What’s Offensive: For Americans, not making direct eye contact can be considered rude, indifferent, or weak, but be careful how long you hold someone’s gaze in other countries. In some Asian nations, prolonged eye contact will make a local uncomfortable, so don’t be offended if you’re negotiating a deal with someone who won’t look you straight in the eye. If toasting with friends in a German beer hall, your eyes had better meet theirs — if they don’t, a German superstition says you’re both in for seven years of bad luck in the bedroom.

What You Should Do Instead: Avoid constant staring and follow the behavior of your host — and by all means, look those Germans straight on.

Drinking Alcohol the Wrong Way

Where It’s Offensive: Latin America, France, Korea, Russia.

What’s Offensive: Every culture has different traditions when it comes to drinking etiquette. Fail to consume a vodka shot in one gulp in Russia, and your host will not be impressed. Refill your own wine glass in France without offering more to the rest of the table, and you’ve made a faux pas. In Korea, women can pour only men’s drinks — not other women’s — and if you want a refill, you need to drain your glass. And if you’re in Latin America, never pour with your left hand — that’s bad luck.

What You Should Do Instead: Until you’re culturally fluent, leave it to your pals to pour.

Blowing Your Nose

Where It’s Offensive: Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, France.

What’s Offensive: Some cultures find it disgusting to blow your nose in public — especially at the table. The Japanese and Chinese are also repelled by the idea of a handkerchief. As Mark McCrum points out in his book Going Dutch in Beijing, the Japanese word hanakuso unpleasantly means nose waste.

What You Should Do Instead: If traveling through Eastern and Asian countries, leave the hankies at home and opt for disposable tissues instead. In France as well as in Eastern countries, if you’re dining and need to clear your nasal passages, excuse yourself and head to the restroom. Worst-case scenario: make an exaggerated effort to steer away from the table. Let’s hope you don’t have a cold.

Removing Your Shoes…or Not

Where It’s Offensive: Hawaii, the South Pacific, Korea, China, Thailand.

What’s Offensive: Take off your shoes when arriving at the door of a London dinner party and the hostess will find you uncivilized, but fail to remove your shoes before entering a home in Asia, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands and you’ll be considered disrespectful. Not only does shoe removal very practically keeps sand and dirt out of the house, it’s a sign of leaving the outside world behind.

What You Should Do Instead: If you see a row of shoes at the door, start undoing your laces. If not, keep the shoes on.

Talking Over Dinner

Where It’s Offensive: Africa, Japan, Thailand, China, Finland.

What’s Offensive: In some countries, like China, Japan, and some African nations, the food’s the thing, so don’t start chatting about your day’s adventures while everyone else is digging into dinner. You’ll likely be met with silence—not because your group is unfriendly, but because mealtimes are for eating, not talking. Also avoid conversations in places a country might consider sacred or reflective—churches in Europe, temples in Thailand, and saunas in Finland.

What You Should Do Instead: Keep quiet!

Road Rage

Where It’s Offensive: Hawaii, Russia, France, Italy, around the globe.

What’s Offensive: Honk on Molokai or fail to pay a police officer a fine, a.k.a. bribe, on the spot when you’re stopped for speeding in Russia, and you’ll risk everything from scorn to prison time. Remember, too, that hand gestures have different meanings in other countries — a simple “thumbs-up” is interpreted as an “up yours“ in parts of the Middle East.

What You Should Do Instead: When driving abroad, make sure you have an international driver’s license; never, ever practice road rage; and keep your hands on the wheel.

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