The 14 Unusual and Weird Foods in Philippines You Must Try

Filipino food should be synonyms of unique cuisine, which is full of the concoction of recipes and assorted ingredients. However, some unique Filipino foods are weird but delicious; you will be amazed at the sweet taste of  Tamilok and Etag when you gobble them. And speaking of “diverse”, it’s even more fascinating how our kababayans apply both creativity and resourcefulness to come up with the next big dish. Here, we present our 14 best and bizarre foods in the Philippines just for you:

Unusual and strange Filipino Food to Eat

1. Soup No. 5

Soup No. 5 is a unique bizarre food in Philippines made from bull’s testes and penis. Soup no. 5 should be a hot pick If you’re a brave foodie and looking for the next aphrodisiac to try. This dish is not for those whose stomach turns at the sight of exotic foods. For one, Soup no. 5 is made from a bull’s sex organs considered by many as the “fifth leg” of the animal, hence the name. Nevertheless, it remains a fantastic choice for those who are either bored with bulalo or craving for an unusual beer match.

2. Betamax

Betamax is one of the tastiest dishes, made of congealed chicken’s blood, as well as the pig. The rectangular shape and reddish-brown color are indeed mouth-watering. It’s often grilled and served with the spicy Filipino vinegar. Once you taste the texture of this weird Filipino street food, you will find it thick and gelatinous. The street food can be found in barbecue stands across the country.

3. Sundot Kulangot

Sundot Kulangot is basically made from Glutinous rice (kalamay) cooked with brown sugar and coconut milk. Sundot Kulangot can scare away picky eaters by just its name alone. Describing the bizarre way of eating it literally means “poke a snot” or “pick a booger.” But despite its name, there’s nothing gross about this traditional unusual food in the Philippines. Sundot kulangot are actually sweet, pinch-sized delicacies that taste like our traditional coconut jams and packaged within small wooden orbs. If you are crazy enough you must break the orb and use either a popsicle stick or one’s own finger to get a taste of the candy.

4. Adidas

Adidas is actually the name of a shoe brand. However, when you travel to the Philippines, it refers to “grilled chicken feet”. As we know, Asia has varied types of chicken feet dishes, but the islands have a different way of making them. Before the grilling process, this delicious but unique Filipino street food is marinated in an acidic sauce made of calamansi juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and some spices. The texture is between tough and crunchy.

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5. Kamaru

Kamaru or the fried paddy field cricket is actually a high-protein and healthy food. This weird Filipino dish has a crunchy and juicy texture – it seems that you take a bite on a fried prawn instead of cricket. To eat it, be sure to add spicy vinegar and soy sauce for an amazing taste. Try the other version of the dish, called Adobong Kamaru, (it’s cooked along with tomatoes and garlic).

6. Tamilok

If Japan has sashimi as a national dish, then the Philippines owns tamilok. This one of the strangest food in the Philippines is a type of mollusk living inside dead mangrove trees. Instead of using cutlery, grab the fresh long oyster-looking snack with your hand. Add fresh lime juice or dip it in kilawin vinegar to enhance the flavor.

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7. Etag

Etag is special traditional food from the mountainous region named Sagada, often served as an offering in the local festival. It’s basically made of smoked and cured pork. To prepare this unusual Filipino food, the pig meat is salted, smoked, then stored in an earthen jar for a couple of weeks. You can also eat it raw or by combining with dried beans and lepeg, a kind of fermented left-over rice.

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8. Pinikpikan

Pinikpikan is and unusual food dishes in Philippines made from native chicken beaten to death through a process called “pikpik” from which the dish got its name. The Bontoc tribe of the Cordillera region in Phillippines must have been hated by animal welfare groups. Blame it on traditions but this group prefers to torture their chickens before boiling it with salt and cured pork (etag). They believe that lightly beating the chicken with a stick tenderizes and boosts the flavor of the meat. After beating with its bones still intact, an ideal chicken should not be bloody.

9. Isaw

Isaw is another popular bizarre Filipino dish, made of the intestines of both chicken and pig. It’s often boiled, skewed on a wooden stick, grilled like satay, and served with sukang pinakurat sauce (Filipino vinegar, mixed with peppers, spices, and onions). The blend of spicy, savory, and sour is incredibly good and worth trying. The vendors usually sell this food in the afternoon.

10. Tuslob-Buwa

Tuslob-Buwa is one of the weird food of Philippines made from pork brain and liver cooked with chili, salt, and other spices. Resourceful Filipinos will always find a way to make the most of what they have. And that includes making sure that no part of the swine goes into waste. Pork’s brain and liver are cooked thoroughly with spices until the sauce thickens. When bubbles appear on the surface you know the dish is ready to serve. The bubble on the surface explains why Tuslob-Buwa literally means “dipping bubble”. Anyone can get a taste of this exotic dish as long as you buy rice ball (which locals call “puso”) from street peddlers. 

11. Dinuguan

Another must-try unique delicacy is the Dinuguan. It’s a typical Filipino casserole, made of pork organs – they would be ears, heart, kidneys, lungs, snout, and intestines, all simmered with flavorful spices, chili, vinegar, and fresh pig blood. The tender texture of this weirdest Filipino food is heaven for the people of this country and for them also who loves bizarre delicacy.
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12. Lepeg

Lepeg is made from fermented rice or the residue from which tapuy or rice wine is extracted. Without a bottle of traditional rice wine called tapuy, important celebrations in Mountain Province won’t be complete. Just like their intricate ceremonies, the process of making this alcoholic drink is also a bit complex and time-consuming. This weird food from Philippines is a special variety of cooked red rice called balatinaw that is left fermenting inside a jar for 20 days. The residue (lepeg) is then served with fresh chicken blood once the liquid part (tapuy) is harvested. While the long process of storage gives lepeg a distinct or even repulsive smell the taste is a bit sour.

13. Balut

One of the most enjoyed, definitely unique, and bizarre Filipino food is balut – fertilized duck egg, eaten with chili and garlic vinegar. Break the shell a bit off the top, season it, then sip the broth. After, peel off the rest of the shell and eat the egg. You can choose not to eat the egg white since it might be too rubbery.

So far we have discussed the unusual foods in the Philippines, which contains the proper information regarding all the famous strange foods in the Philippines. I hope you might have loved reading this article and if you love to know more about the Philippines then kindly head to our other articles as well which will help you to get knowledge about.

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