Here in the Philippines, no part of the chicken goes to waste, there's Grilled Chicken Feet, grilled chicken head (ulo), grilled chicken blood (betamax), grilled chicken intestines (isaw) among others.


A fairly common street food in Paete, Laguna and in other parts of the Philippines (e.g. Davao) but not common in Manila, grilled bato-bato is technically chicken spleen, a non-vital organ in vertebrates that functions like a blood filter. Spleen is connected to the liver and heart of chicken but never sold separately in the metro from the two.

Grilled Chicken Spleen:


So probably now you know that these grilled "balls" are now? Best served with spicy sauce and hot off the grill!

Labels: Street Food

As foreigners discovered that every part of chickens is eaten in the Philippines, from the head to feet, gizzards and intestines. here's the grilled chickn feet called Adidas in Philippine street food lingo, a reference to Adidas as the product with three stripes logo.


I should probably publish a list of Street Food in the Philippines soon :P

Labels: Street Food

It was mentioned countless of times in this blog about minani in Paete but no picture nor description of it was ever posted here so for your appreciation, Tutubi would like to share one of his favorite snacks you can buy only on the narrow streets of Paete: the minani

Minani, in Tagalog, means made like mani (peanuts) and aptly describes the way people of Paete prepare cassava (kamoteng kahoy) to be deep fried and mixed with garlic, salt and sometimes MSG (some people think it's evil but Tutubi thinks otherwise)

Minani being cooked at a roadside store near Paete's Plaza Edesan (Nikon D80 18-200 VR)
Small serving of minani can be bought at a mere P5. Some locals love to put vinegar on their "Paete Fries." (Canon Ixus 30)

It's a simple recipe but the secret is the selection of kamoteng kahoy (cassava) to get the perfect, translucent and fudge-like minani. Remember also to soak the diced cassava in water to remove natural cyanide in linamarin form (linamarin protects the cassava plant from predators) usually released into the air when processed.

The next time you set foot on Tutubi's hometown, try to sample this unique delicacy as well as other Paete culinary treasures. Should you happen to catch the elusive Tutubi, he may even buy some for you. :P

Labels: Calabarzon, Laguna, Paete, Southern Tagalog, Street Food