Philippine Food Illustrated: egg

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August 13, 2017

balot itlog manok

balot itlog manok - (ba-lót it-log ma-nòk; Cebuano delicacy) [n.] boiled fertilized chicken egg.

a.k.a. balot in Cebuano
balut itlog manok in Tagalog and other local languages

This Visayan delicacy is a new variation of Filipino balut egg that is made with brownish Caber chicken egg. It became popular in Cebu City a few years ago.

This 16-day-old balot itlog manok looks more gruesome than its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more feathers with fully developed legs, head, and beak.

It started to appear in Cebu City sometime in 2012.

Along with the penoy itlog manok or pinoy, this Visayan balot is now gaining fast popularity in Visayas and in some places in Mindanao. It even reached Lucena City in Quezon province and in Bambang, Manila, probably brought and introduced by the Visayans who moved to settle in Quezon province and in Metro Manila.

Recently, I found it on the sidewalk of the Alabang viaduct and on Montillano Street in Muntinlupa City.

This Visayan "balot" is more gruesome compared to its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more hairs (feathers) and the legs, head, and beak of the chick appear to be prominently developed already.

It tastes quite similar to duck egg balut, but the bones are a bit tougher and the hairs are nasty. Next time you dare a foreigner to eat balut, offer this Visayan BALOT instead. Let's see how far we can scare them. hahaha!

By the way, do not dare to offer this to our Muslim brethren because a nasty and gruesome food like this is considered unclean (Haram) according to Islamic laws. Besides, living animals have to be slaughtered in a manner that it has to bleed. Otherwise, you are insulting them.

Related posts:

Balut

Penoy

Orange egg barbecue

Pinoy (penoy itlog manok)

Guinness's largest serving of balut in Pateros

Ebun a barag

See Index of Entries here

For more about Filipino food, see this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

pinoy (penoy itlog manok)

pinoy - (pi-nóy; Cebuano delicacy) [n.] unfertilized chicken egg.

a.k.a. pinoy Bisaya in Cebuano
penoy itlog manok and pinoy Bisaya in Tagalog and other local languages

A variation of Filipino "penoy" boiled egg that is made with brownish Caber chicken eggs.

For the past 5 years now, it is now gaining popularity in Visayas, particularly in the downtown district of Cebu City, such as in Carbon Public Market, Fuente Osmeña, and Taboan.

It can also be found now in Iloilo City and Bacolod, as well as in Cagayan de Oro City of Misamis Oriental (Mindanao). Also in Tacloban City, Lucena City (Quezon), Silay City (Negros), and sometimes even in Bambang (Manila) and Alabang (Muntinlupa).

The Visayan PINOY and BALOT eggs are getting more popular than its predecesssor, the duck egg penoy.

It tastes quite similar to an ordinary boiled chicken egg, with no bad smell.

A dipping sauce of spiced-up vinegar sprinkled with or pressed on rock salt, a zest is added to it.

Similar to balut penoy, opinions as to whether or not pinoy is Haram (forbidden) in Islamic law differ from various schools of thought.

It is unclear if this unfertilized egg is just similar to a fresh chicken egg that can be taken as food.

There are those who would say that considering the chick and its blood are not yet formed in the egg. Thus, pinoy and/or penoy can be taken as food, because only those living animals that are not killed without slaughtering and whose blood was not shed are considered Haram.

To be safe, it is advisable to ask first if that Muslim would gladly accept a pinoy egg.

Related posts:

Penoy

Orange egg barbecue

Ebun a barag

Guinness largest serving of balut in Pateros

See Index of Entries here

For more about Filipino food, see this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

October 13, 2013

ebun a barag

A bowl of boiled (half-cooked) ebun a barag presented during the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's "Big Bite! The Northern Food Festival" in Angeles City last week

ebun a barag - (e-bun a ba-rág; Capampangan exotic food) [n.] monitor lizard’s egg.

Other local names:

itlog ng bayawak in Tagalog
itlog sa halo in Cebuano
itlog sa hawo or itlog sa haw in Boholano
illuk alivo in Itawis

This is the egg of the Capampangan monitor lizard (scientific name: Varanus bitatawa) they called barag or what is known as bayawak in Tagalog.

The pliant shell of the egg would shrink after it is boiled (half-cooked) causing the surface to dent

The taste of ebun a barag is agreeable. It reminisces the taste of masabaw na balut penoy. A friend, Kenny Ngo of Life is Kulayful gestures with approval after trying ebun a barag.

Another friend, Az Coladilla of Azrael's Merryland Blog, seems to be fascinated also by the ebun a barag. A rare exotic delicacy of Pampanga.

Its egg yolk is cream-colored and the egg white is transparent.

The yolk is creamy-white and does not hold any shape. When squeezed out, the yolk would flow like toothpaste. The albumen (egg-white) is transparent and coagulating like that of chicken egg and flow thin (watery)

The Capampangans would boil the bayawak’s (monitor lizard’s) egg as malasado (half-cooked) and eat the cooked egg by puncturing a hole on the top side of the shell and then squeezing the pliant shell. The egg’s content is often spread on hot, freshly cooked rice.

The pliant shell of spent egg would just deflate like a busted pingpong ball. Unlike the shell of chicken egg, the shell of ebun a barag would not crack or brittle

It tastes similar to the balut penoy egg that is masabaw (moist and juicy)

RJ Ledesma, co-founder of Mercato Centrale, sips ebun a barag during the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's "Big Bite! The Northern Food Festival" in Angeles City last week.

Related posts:

Balot itlog manok

Orange egg barbecue

Balut

Guinness's largest serving of balut in Pateros

References:

National Geographic, “Giant, fruit-eating monitor lizard discovered in the Philippines” Ed Yong, April 7, 2010, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/giant-fruit-eating-monitor-lizard-discovered-in-the-philippines

See Index of Entries here

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Continue to follow my blogs. You can also follow and learn more by joining us in our Facebook group. Have more bits and pieces about our kind of food, ingredients, and ways of cooking, dining, and knowing food culture across the 7,641 islands of the Philippines. I will search for more and continue to share my findings. It is my pleasure to rediscover the known and least known things or the unheard ones and put them here for everyone to find, learn, and treasure.

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Edgie Polistico

June 22, 2013

orange egg barbecue

Orange egg barbecue on display and ready for grilling at a roadside food stall in Cauayan City, Isabela. I found this while on a food hunting one evening in March 2013.

orange egg barbecue - (o-rens eg bar-bek-kyu; Ilocano [Cauayan City, Isabela] and Ibanag delicacy) [n.] hard-boiled orange-colored eggs in a barbecue stick

Other local name:

a.k.a. egg barbecue in Ilocano [Cauayan City, Isabela]

The chicken eggs or duck eggs are hard-boiled, shelled, and then soaked and boiled briefly in achuete water. If achuete water is not available, water tinted with yellow-orange food coloring is used.

When I passed by the public market of Alicia, Isabela I found these bags of bugok na itlog itik (rotten duck eggs). The eggs are already shelled, colored orange, hard-boiled, and all ready for skewering into egg barbecue and grilling.

Grilling the orange egg barbecue at a roadside food stall in Cauayan City, Isabela while on a food hunting one evening last March 2013.

The tinted eggs are skewered in bamboo barbecue sticks and grilled until eggs are heated well. Egg barbecue is served with a dipping of spiced vinegar.

Grilling orange egg barbecue on intensely hot live charcoal embers. This was my evening snack in Cauayan City, Isabela (March 2013).

There are at least four kinds of egg barbecue depending on the kind of egg used:

fresh egg barbecue - using hard-boiled fresh chicken egg

binugok egg barbecue - using the shelled hard-boiled binugok egg or chicken egg that remained unfertilized after undergoing an incubation period

penoy egg barbecue - using the shelled hard-boiled penoy egg (duck egg that remained unfertilized after undergoing the incubation period)

balut egg barbecue - using the shelled hard-boiled balut eggs

Cross section of orange egg barbecue served with sukang Iloko. Also in the dipping bowl is pork barbecue.

These pieces of egg barbecue, being sold in the public market of Alicia, Isabela, are coated with breadcrumbs. They have to be deep-fried along with the bamboo stick then grilled afterward. The grilling is actually done to reheat the fried skewered orange eggs. Most often, grilling is skipped for those who cannot wait to bite.

Related posts:

Balut

Penoy

Balot itlog manok

Ebun a barag

See Index of Entries here

Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. Sharing and giving away is happiness to me. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and share the happiness we have in the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized every time my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

For more about Filipino food, see this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

If you liked this post and our site, share it.

Let us know your opinion on the subject. Feel free to comment in the comment section, below. It is important for us to know what you think.

Tell us what other topics you would like us to write, share, and discuss about.

Edgie Polistico

December 21, 2010

balut

balut - /ba-lùt/ (Tagalog [Metro Manilan, Lagueño and Bulaqueño), Batangueño, Mindoreño, Cebuano, Boholano, Waray, Ilonggo, Masbateño, Bicolano, Ilocano, Pangasinense, Itawis, Ibanag, and Capampangan, Surigaonon, and Zamboangueño delicacy) [n.] boiled fertilized egg of itik (mallard duck), approximately 16 to 19 days old of incubation with the almost fully developed embryo or chick inside the shell.

Other local name:

a.k.a. balut sa puti in Tagalog

The cooked duck embryo of a fertilized duck egg is so-called balut sa puti because the biggest part of the embryo is still wrapped in egg white, fondly called by Pinoys as bato (stone) being the toughest part of balut that would require a lot of chewing to fully masticate it.

The famed balut sa puti is in the center stage among the pulutan (food served with the wines) when the classy Planet Grapes of Tuscany, McKinley Hill in BGC introduces their concept of pairing world-class wines with Pinoy street foods themed as "wine meets street food." Here, a hard-boiled balut egg becomes the centerpiece.

A table setting of Planet Grapes' "wine meets street food" with balut egg as the centerpiece on each plate.

Balut has found also its way on classy food stalls such as this bucket of balut eggs offered to customers at daytime Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City (BGC - The Fort), Taguig City

Removing the shell before your eyes under an open light is not for the weak at heart. It is suggested that you eat balut without looking at the egg content, or better yet eat this while hiding in the dark.

Balut is eaten by first cracking an opening at the tip of the egg by tapping it lightly against a hard surface. Using the finger, the shards on the cracked portion are removed to expose the veiny thin film that would easily peel off or burst open, further exposing the watery content (amniotic fluid) of balut. More often, the thin film on the side would adhere and peel off with the shard of the shell. A pinch of salt is then sprinkled into the hole and/or doused with a little amount of vinegar.

More often, balut is cracked and opened only on the top side, then a pinch of salt is sprinkled all over the exposed boiled chick. The juice (amniotic fluid) is then slurped or sipped out.

The juice (amniotic fluid) in the egg is immediately sipped out or slurped to savor the taste. When drained, the rest of the shell is cracked open and discarded to expose the whole content of the balut.

Sprinkling more salt or dousing more vinegar may be needed before biting or mouthing the whole content of the balut.

For those who cannot brave the sight of the veiny yolk and the hairy dead chick, it is advised to take balut at night or in a dark room or unlighted places. This probably is the reason why balut is popularly sold and available in the streets at night.

Balut is not unique to the Philippines, as it can be found also in other Asian countries where it is known to have another name and is served or eaten with different condiments.

Balut is high in protein and is valued by Pinoys for its nutritional benefits, considered by most locales as vigor enhancing delicacy and as an aphrodisiac.

Click the image for you to find out why it is advised that you eat this delicacy at night or under the cover of darkness. Disgusting for some. It's yucky but yummy exotic food for those who have tried it.

Balut is sold in almost all cities and big towns all over the Philippines. In Bacolod City, the egg is always kept warm over a steamer that is also used in heating boiled peanuts.

In Guadalupe Nuevo (Tulay), Makati City, workers would stop to buy and eat balut from a sidewalk stall beside the Guadalupe wet market.

Vendors and bargain hunters in Divisoria of Tondo, Manila are also offered the delicacy.

Balut has no marking - Marking boiled eggs with a distinctive line or mark using a pencil or pentel pen is done to easily distinguish balut sa puti from the balut penoy, such as this tray of balut with a bottle of spiced vinegar sold on the sidewalk under the viaduct in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The marked eggs are the balut penoy, while the unmarked ones are balut sa puti.

Production of balut is also done now in other provinces throughout the country where eggs of itik are available.

The famed balut in Pateros of Metro Manila no longer originates in this town after duck farming was wiped out by the intrusion of modern development in Metro Manila.

Most duck eggs used in making balut in Pateros are now sourced from the duck raisers in Pampanga, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija provinces.

Due to the limited supply of duck eggs, commercially produced brown chicken eggs are now fast becoming an alternative to making balut, known as balut itlog manok.

While in Cebu City, balut is available day and night at the Fuente Osmeñia Park.

Balut eggs can also be served in several ways. It can be cooked in tomato sauce to become balut caldereta or balut afritada, or in a soup like a balut a la pobre, and as paste or spread for bread, as in balut pate.

Though considered a delicacy by some Pinoys, balut is considered unclean or filth by the followers of the Islamic faith and is Haram (forbidden) in Islamic Laws because it comes under the heading of eating maytah, or that the animal has died without being slaughtered properly.

Eating maytah is definitely Haram according to Islam. Thus, balut should not be served to Muslims so as not to offend or insult them.