Street food, according to many, is one of the best ways to learn about a new culture. Each culture’s street cuisine is built on local staples and fresh produce. As a bonus, this type of cuisine is frequently inexpensive.
In the Philippines, the aroma of barbeque on skewers, hotdogs, fish balls, isaw, and other street foods will make your stomach grumble as you stroll the streets. Vendors selling affordable, tasty street food may be found on the streets of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Grilled snacks, “kakanin” (rice or coconut-based dishes), and more unusual foods abound on the Philippines’ streets. These exquisite bite-sized dishes are the creation of Filipinos who have a talent for mixing flavors and making the most of what they have on hand.
1. Isaw
Isaw, a grilled dish of pig or chicken intestines will serve as our first entry on our list because it is one of the best street foods in the Philippines, in my opinion.
When you first smell the charcoal being lit in the late afternoon, you’ll know it’s time for a bite. A grill is used for cooking the intestines until they’re browned and smokey. There are two types of intestines: pig, which is more rigid and more flavorful, and chicken, which is more like tube sausage.
Seasoning with vinegar is a great way to enhance the flavor of isaw (and many other Filipino street dishes). To get the most vinegar flavor out of their isaw, most people soak it in a solution of chile onion vinegar and onion juice for several hours. The combination of smokey isaw and vinegar is a delight.
2. Ice Scramble
Shaved ice, sweetened condensed milk, food coloring, and banana flavoring are the components that make ice scramble a refreshing form of snack food. In most cases, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, powdered milk, and various sugary “sprinkles” are used to decorate the top.
3. Fish Balls
A street vendor with a food cart is one of the most common things in the Philippines. They stop every so often to make and sell deep-fried fish balls, squid balls, kikiam, and other snacks. Most of the time, these snacks are fried right there, put on sticks, and then dipped in sauce. You can choose from sweet sauce, spicy sauce, or vinegar.
4. Buko
Young coconut is referred to as buko in Tagalog. Another way fresh buko can be seen in the Philippines is on wooden pushcarts being sold, even in little towns like Manila.
Coconuts can be hacked in front of you and served with a straw by buko merchants. Many buko juice vendors also offer condensed milk and freshly shredded coconut meat strands if you don’t want a whole coconut.
5. Bulaklak
Those who live in the Philippines will find this an exciting street food meal. Black is the Filipino word for chitterlings or mesentery, both of which come from pork. Tissue folds make attachments to the abdominal wall of the small intestine.
The cooking method is what makes this bulaklak unique. As a deep-fried meal, chicharron bulaklak is commonly used to prepare bulaklak.
6. Skewered Barbeque
Slices of pork or chicken are put on a bamboo stick and grilled after being marinated in ketchup, soy sauce, and sugar. The same mixture is also used to baste each barbecue as it is cooking on the grill. The result is a tasty skewered barbecue that makes your mouth water. Some people also like to use ready-to-use barbecue marinades that come in bottles. Spiced vinegar is often eaten with skewered barbecue.
7. Pork BBQ
One of the most popular Filipino cuisines is pork barbecue. Despite the name, it’s not only Filipino street cuisine; it’s a lot more than that. Filipinos love pork barbeque, and it’s common to see it served at get-togethers, picnics, and corporate events. One chafing dish commonly contains barbecued pig sticks at catered events. It’s widespread at kids’ parties and served with other kid-friendly staples like Filipino sweet spaghetti and red hot dogs.
Pork barbecue is roasted over coals from marinated chunks of pork impaled on sticks. Savory-sweet and smokey, they’re also often charred in portions so that you may get the dark crunchy pieces seen below.
8. Puwet Ng Manok
The term “chicken ass” originates from the Tagalog language and refers to these kebabs, which are pieces of chicken bottoms that have been skewered and marinated. If you have never tried chicken ass before, it consists of a piece of fatty chicken meat with a tender band of cartilage running through it.
9. Sorbetes (Dirty Ice Cream)
Sorbetes are a type of ice cream only available in the Philippines. Carabao’s milk, which was less expensive than cow’s milk, was usually used in its preparation. Cassava flour and other unique ingredients like coconut milk are utilized significantly today. Mango, strawberry, chocolate, ube, buko, and our personal favorite, queso, are all popular sorbet flavors.
It would be best to eat sorbet as soon as possible because it melts more quickly than factory-made ice cream. Commercial ice cream companies also produce sorbet varieties in commemoration of this Filipino street snack.
10. Betamax
The pig or chicken blood is used to make Betamax, thickened and formed into squares. The name comes from the fact that it looks like a box-type video cassette tape called a Betamax. Betamax does not have an offensive smell or taste, although made from blood. It possesses a flavor that ranges from mild to bitter, which begs for a side of spicy vinegar.
11. Siomai
It should not come as a surprise to learn that Chinese cuisine is one of the primary inspirations for Filipino cuisine. As a result, one of the most common street foods in the Philippines is siomai, also known as dumplings. The dumplings, typically stuffed with pork and shrimp, are steamed before being served with soy sauce, the juice of calamansi, which is the local lime and topped with chili and fried garlic.
12. Taho
Tofu-based taho, which is flavored with vanilla and brown sugar syrup, is sold throughout the day, beginning at dawn when it is still warm. While strolling the streets of Manila or the nearby provinces, the taho vendor yells, “Taho!” to let the neighborhood know that he’s around and ready to serve anyone who’s in the mood for some taho.
There are two buckets of taho vendor’s choice, one for the sago pearls and syrup and the other for the silken or soft tofu, known as carnival. It’s preferable to wait at the front gate for the taho vendor to arrive with money ready in hand rather than chasing him down after he’s already passed by.
13. Kwek-Kwek
Using quail eggs, flour, and annatto, this orange-like fruit is rolled in cornstarch, coated in flour, and deep-fried. It’s a tasty street food when dipped in a spicy vinegar sauce. Instead of quail eggs, the dish is now referred to as tokneneng when hard-boiled eggs are substituted for soft-boiled ones.
14. Calamares
Calamari from the Mediterranean, as prepared in the United States. After being coated in flour, battered and deep-fried, the rings of deep-fried Squids are served. What’s the purpose of this? Chopped garlic and ground pepper are added to the vinegar, and some people prefer it with a dash of chile powder. Calamares, a popular Filipino snack, go well with a cold beer.
15. Mango Shrimp Paste
Green mango is used instead of an apple, and instead of caramel, it uses spicy shrimp paste. It’s like a Filipino caramel apple. It’s also one of the best street foods in Manila, in my opinion.
They usually use Indian mangoes, which are seedless and skewered, and when you order one, the vendor will pour a generous amount of shrimp paste on top of your mango. There is a perfect balance of sourness and sweetness in the mango, contrasted by the saltiness of shrimp paste.
16. Turon
The ripe Saba banana is wrapped in spring rolls before being deep-fried to create the sweet and crispy treat known as turon. Because of their naturally sweet flavor, less sugar can be added to them if that is what the user prefers. Bananas are wrapped in Saba, then rolled in brown sugar, and cut in half before being fried. It’s not uncommon to find turon for sale alongside banana and mashed potato cues.
17. Ukoy
Small shrimp and sprouted mung beans are used to make ukoy, and then dipped in a batter made of flour, corn starch, egg, and spices. This is another street food that is deep-fried and served with vinegar, chopped garlic, black pepper, and chili. Ukoy is often eaten as a snack in the afternoon, called a “merienda,” but it also goes well with rice.
18. Palabok
Palabok is a popular Filipino street food snack that can be found all around Manila and is one of the most prevalent Filipino noodle dishes. A rich sauce composed of shrimp, minced pork, and fried pork skin (chicharron) is put on top of the rice noodles in this meal. Palabok can also be served with a hard-boiled egg. The garlicky, thick sauce perfectly complements the silky rice noodles.
19. Lechon Manok
Lechon manok, or roasted chicken, is a main dish in the Philippines. I’ll write a separate post about Filipino dishes. Still, I had to include Lechon manok on this list of Filipino street food because the rotisserie chicken stands in Manila are so good.
The chicken is stuffed with lemongrass and then marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and kalamansi. It is then slowly roasted until it is golden and crispy. You can’t miss the roasted chicken on the street when you’re in the Philippines.
20. Cheese Sticks
Pinoy street food style cheese sticks contain cheddar cheese in the spring-roll wrapper and are deep-fried until golden and crispy instead of the breadcrumb-coated and ooey-gooey mozzarella sticks found in France. It’s accompanied by a pink sauce created from ketchup and mayonnaise. Filipino street food is a must-have for any tourist visiting the country.
