FILIPINO STREET FOOD: INASAL, ISAW, and the many others

Wherever you go in the Philippines, hunger will always be satisfied. There are lots of sari-sari store, karinderia/turo-turo, local fastfood, and of course the never absent street food vendors. I myself love street food because it's more economical, fun, and admittedly flavorful. And take note, there are those inasalan who became well-known and are linked to a destination because of their tasty food.

Pork inasal and chicken skin

THE INASAL
Inasal means grilled, and the Filipino has transformed almost all parts of the chicken to this. The head, neck, body parts, and almost all the internal organs of the chicken was not spared by the ingenuity of the Filipino. Pork is also a common meat in the inasalan. Prices range from Php 3 to Php 50. Here is an example of what you may encounter in the insalan:

betamax - chicken blood (yummy!) cut into squares
helmet - chicken head
isaw - hog/chicken intestines 
proven - chicken proventriculus
ewe/pwet ng manok - chicken ass
adidas - chicken feet
tenga - pig's ears
maskara - meat from face area of a pig
botsi - chicken esophagus

yummy Liver Inasal, Php10 each

And the list is endless! The more familiar internal organs are also present, like the liver, gizzard (balun-balunan, my favorite), and chicken skin. Pork meat and chicken meat are also available. These are all either grilled over hot charcoal or maybe coated with flour and deep-fried. And because Filipinos are fond of putting sauces in every dishes for an extra kick (i'm soooo guilty!!), all inasalan comes with their versions of sauces (sweet, hot, spiced vinegar, or you can mix all) where you can dip the cooked inasal. 

Famous Chicken Inasal of Bacolod City

Some stalls have even evolved to restaurants just to cater the ever growing patrons of their delicious food. (Click here to read about the famous chicken inasal of Bacolod City!)
Warning though. Because the preparation of food may be unsanitary, and because it's being displayed and cooked in the streets, some stomachs could not endure the bacteria that may be proliferating in these foods. Consult your medical doctors ASAP when signs of diarrhea and dehydration are felt :).

Filipino food may seem to be exotic, gross, or a mish-mash of everything to the point of disgust, but once tasted you'll always ask for more because the flavors just bursts in your taste buds and become etched in your memory forever. Many have said that Filipino food is under-represented, so that's why I am now letting the whole world know why it's more fun to eat here in the Philippines!

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