taguto

taguto – /ta-gû-tô/ Binul-anon-Leyteño [western Leyte] and Cebuano dish) [n.] sautéed minced chicken and chilies. 

A fiery hot sautéed minced chicken and chilies.

A native chicken is preferred when making taguto.

A native chicken is slaughtered by cutting its throat, the blood is set aside, then dressed, gutted, washed clean, and the whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet. 

The chicken is dressed. It is done by dipping briefly the slaughtered chicken in scalding hot water then the feathers are pulled off.

The dressed chicken is cleaned thoroughly

 

All the internal organs are washed clean and chopped into pieces, including the gizzard and intestine which are cleaned of their contents. The minced meat and chopped internal organs are sautéed with chopped garlic and red onion. 

Internal organs are washed clean and nothing is spared

The whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet

 

The siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is equivalent to the amount of chicken meat.

Adding finely chopped and pounded ginger is optional. Adding some sliced and pounded ginger, would spike the piquancy more that it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach.

The siling kulikot (siling labuyo in Tagalog) are minced similar to that of chicken meat.

The liver and gizzard are chopped into small pieces.

The complete set of ingredients for taguto.

The finely chopped siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is added in quantity equivalent to the amount of chopped chicken meat. Thus, if the minced chicken measures 1 liter, one liter of minced chilies is used. 

The minced chilies are sauteed with garlic and red onion.

The minced chicken is added in the sauté.

The dish is seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit one's taste.

The chicken blood is added then seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit the taste and then stirred continuously on medium fire until cooked.

The liver and blood are added towards the end of cooking to keep them tender and from getting overcooked.

The chopped gizzard is included

Taguto is often served as sumsuman (hors d'oeuvre) in drinking sessions and is extremely fiery hot. 

So called taguto because the tiny pieces of bones would crack little sounds and the usual reaction of the eater is to cluck through one’s teeth known as taguto in Cebuano.

This enormous amount of siling kulikot makes the pulutan last long and for everyone to go slowly in devouring the dish.  For sure, everyone will have a fair share of protein and will surely swig his tagay every after bite.

The piquancy (chili heat) of taguto is so intense it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach, the sensation that would initiate you to warm your body and stay awake in the cold night or rainy day.

Taguto is considered a body warmer. It will keep you warm in the cold of the night and on rainy days. Usually taken as pulutan with the bahalina (aged coconut wine) when having a night swimming picnic at the beach. 

Sorry if this makes you think "na para bagang ayaw ipakain at pinagdamutan ang gustong mamulutan." It seems, but you are wrong. We acquired the taste, and we love it. Of course, when you got the taste, you will surely love it too. 

Watch the TAGUTO of Inopacan, Leyte featured in GMA7 episode of Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS). Published in Youtube on Jun 19, 2017.This was made possible through the food research of Edgie Polistico and the people of Inopacan.

Now you have reason to forget the Bicol express of Bicolandia and the palapa of Lanao as the hottest dishes in the country. Here comes the TAGUTO of Leyte

There is this later variation of taguto that uses tuno (coconut milk) which causes the milder effect of chilies. Instead of using all the bones when mincing the chicken, only the soft bones of the breast part and neck are included, and more often the intestine is excluded being it is a very tedious process to clean the chicken bowels. This version of taguto is a bit soupy and is alternatively called as the halang-halang manok tinunoan (spicy hot chicken in coconut milk).

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Related posts:

Siling labuyo

Wild chili ale

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

chicharon buchi

A serving of chicharon buchi or buchiron with a dipping of sukang Iloko from a participating food stall during the launching of Mercato Centrale's Mezza Norte in Trinoma, Quezon City - May 3, 2013.

chicharon buchi – /tsi-tsa-rón but-tsé/ Tagalog delicacy; dw Span. buche [crop]  [n.] crisp fried chicken crop.

also spelled as tsitsaron butse in Tagalog 

a.k.a. butse, butse chicharon, butseron or buchiron in Tagalog

Buchi is the Tagalog word for the chicken crop or craw of fowls and other birds. It is the small pouch-like gullet of fowls and birds, a part of the esophagus where freshly swallowed food is temporarily stored for later digestion in the gizzard or for regurgitation as when feeding the nestlings.

It is also in the butse that swallowed food is lightly fermented or softened by gland secretions before it passes through the gizzard for grinding. 

Pinoys would collect butse, clean it thoroughly then deep fry it to become chicharon also known in Tagalog by the same name, butse or chicharon buchi.

Because you can harvest only one butse for each chicken, several dozens of chickens have to be slaughtered to get a heap of this another Pinoy favorite pulutan. The mass production of fast-growing chickens provides an ample supply of chicken crops as another by-product of chicken meat. Pinoys transformed this what used to be a waste and dirty offal into a tasty and sought street food in the country.

Chicharon buchi is also called butse, butseron, or buchiron in Tagalog. Butseron is the short name for butse chicharon, (likewise, buchiron is from buchi chicharon) with the chicken crop usually split open or cut lengthwise into halves and fried until browned and crisp.

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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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, you must try this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

biti

biti - /bi-tì/ (Bicolano [Camarines sur] preserved) [n.] dried swim bladder of abo fish.

Abo fish (tiger toothed croaker)  is a kind of fish found in the seas of Camarines Sur in Bicol.

When dried and uncooked, biti is flat and leathery.

Biti is rare and pricey when available. 

As of 2009, a kilo of biti is worth around P1,200.00 in Naga City.  In 2015, it is sold at P2,500.00 a kilo in Naga City and up to P3,000.00 or more in other places outside the city.

Dried biti I bought from the public market of Legazpi City in 2015.

This dried internal organ of abo fish can hardly be found being processed, dried, and sold outside Camarines Sur in Bicol or anywhere else in the country.

Biti would expand and swell like a balloon when pan-fried. 

It is cooked by pan-frying on low to medium fire. It would swell and turns crisp like chicharon when cooked. Must be taken away from the pan when already golden brown. Otherwise, it will turn dark and darker, which means biti is getting burned and bitter to taste.

Pan frying has to be done quickly on medium fire. Biti would easily get scorched and burned. It must be golden brown when cooked, not dark brown.

It can be served as a breakfast meal with sinangag na kanin (pan-fried rice) and sunny-side-up chicken egg or served as a snack or pulutan (food served along with alcoholic drinks). 

Dried biti is very light in weight, almost like that paper.

A handful of biti I found in the public market of Legazpi City in 2015.

A sheet of dried biti found in the People's Mall (a public market) of Naga City in 2015.

10 grams of biti is priced at PHP250 in 2015 when I found it in the People's Mall ( a public market) of Naga City in 2015. 

A handful of biti from the public market of Naga City

A pack and a handful of biti. I found this in the public market of Naga City during one of my travels in Camarines Sur (Bicol) in 2009

All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Let us know your opinion on the subject. Feel free to comment in the comment section, below. We need to know what you think.

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

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. 

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.  

Edgie Polistico  

betute tugac

A freshly fried betute tugac. I got this on the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's 'Big Bite' The Northern Food Festival in Angeles City, Pampanga in October 2013.

 

betute tugac - /ba-tú-tè tu-gák/ (Capampangan delicacy) [n.] stuffed frog; a fried stuffed edible frog.

 

Other local names: 

• a.k.a. batute or batute tugak in Capampangan 
• also spelled as betute tugak in Capampangan

A Capampangan dish made with whole tugac (farm frog) caught from the river or from rice paddies of Pampanga.

Skinned ricefield frog sold in the public market of  Cabanatuan City January last year. There are ingenious  and Novo Ecijanos would tan the skin into leather and made into taxodermy-like coin purse attached with keychain holder.

The frog is skinned and all its entrails are removed. The feet are cut off, its head decapitated and thrown away. The cleaned hollowed body is then stuffed compactly with minced meat of another frog, or added with ground pork or finely chopped chicken meat or their combination as stuffing. 

The stuffing is seasoned with finely chopped fresh herbs and spices that include leaves of tangle, a fragrant premma tree (Premna odorata) an aromatic leaf of the tree also known as alagaw in Tagalog. Other seasonings may include other locally available herbs and spices (i.e. garlic, red onions, ginger, tomatoes, kuse, kulitis, etc.) - all minced or chopped into small pieces.

When I came back to Cabanatuan City last June 2012, I brought home and cooked these skinned frogs.

The internal organs of the frog have to be removed and the hollowed cavity has to be filled with ground meat mixed with seasonings and minced tangle leaves if you are going to make a betute tugac.

The stuffed frogs are fried like a relleno. It is deep fried until brownish red or darker and crisp.

The host was trying to impress us with a serving of betute tugac during the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's 'Big Bite' The Northern Food Festival in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Capampangan betute actually means butete in Tagalog or puffer fish in English.

The stuffed frog is called betute because the bulging-filled belly of the frog makes the frog look like a pufferfish.

This one is filled with ground meat and minced vegetables. The tangle leaves in it added the aromatic flavor.

Betute tugac is served and eaten with a dipping of spiced-up vinegar, chili sauce, or toyomansi. Without the dip, the fried frog would taste flavorless, and its two spreading legs are just pieces of tough meat.  The fillings are made tastier if added with ground pork or beef with all the seasonings and herbs mentioned earlier (above).

Dipping the betute tugac in spiced up vinegar (or any Pinoy dipping sauce) would bring out the taste and enhance the flavor of the frog.

 

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

See Index of Entries here

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. We need to know what you think.

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

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, you must try this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

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. 

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. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling. 

Edgie Polistico  

barako finger (dynamite chili stick)

barako finger  - /ba-rá-ko fing-geyr/ Tagalog delicacy) [n.] green finger chili roll \dynamite chili. 

Other local name:

• a.k.a. dynamite chili or dynamite chili stick in Tagalog and Cebuano

The siling berde or siling haba (green finger chili) is cut lengthwise with the stalk remaining intact, seeds removed, washed clean, then filled with a cheese stick. Another version is filled with sautéed ground meat in chili sauce instead of a cheese stick. The filled chili is then wrapped in lumpia wrapper (wanton wrapper) and fried until crisp and browned.

The stem or stalk of the finger chili juts out like a wicker of dynamite. Thus, it is called dynamite chili with reference to its dynamite-like appearance.

Packs of freshly made and uncooked barako fingers are sold in food stalls at the Caticlan Airport in Malay, Aklan.

The barako finger is deep fried and served as an appetizer or a pulutan. It makes a good partner with your ice-cold beer.

The barako finger is not too hot to handle as one may think because siling haba (green finger chili) is mildly spicy hot, even made lesser spicy hot when its seeds are removed.

A pile of dynamite chilies at a world-class and first picnic-inspired night food market at Glorietta's Dolphin Park in Ayala Center, Makati City.

The barako finger could be a lot hotter if the seeds are not removed. However, keeping all those seeds inside would cause this appetizer to have a hint of bitterness in taste.

Here are the steps on how to make the simplest version of barako finger (a.k.a. dynamite chili).

A serving of freshly fried barako finger (a.k.a. dynamite chili) doused with sweet chili sauce.

There are now many variations on how barako finger is prepared and enhanced. The most common is with the filling lined with a sheet of bacon before it is wrapped in a lumpia wrapper.

Those who seek or demand an intensely hot variation can have their wish granted by simply adding minced siling labuyo (Philippine tiny bird’s eye chili) or any other species of chili pepper that are intensely hot. If Carolina Reaper is available, you can use it to rig the barako finger or dynamite chili to the max. Just add the explosive super hot chili in the sautéed ground meat for the filling. A chili sauce version can also be used.  

Now you have another good reason to cry out loud, babe.

All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

See Index of Entries here 

If you liked this post, 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. 

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

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.

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. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling. 

Edgie Polistico