Pinoy Street Food

Street food are food that are sold at street by food peddlers these could be a hawker using bilaos carried on top of their heads, bamboo basket, push carts, bicycles or those two metal containers balanced on bamboo poles on their shoulders and all types of improvised portable containers to carry their merchandise or side walk vendors from a makeshift or portable stall and side walk eateries. It also includes pasalubong of various native delicacies peddled at airport, seaport, bus or jeepney terminals.

Most street food is sold as barbecue, fried, boiled or steamed ect. These are usually finger food, snack, fast food or even fruits and drinks. They are most often exotic but they are also an adaptation of western food or any foreign food. There is a wide array of street foods categories from candies and nuts to quick snacks and refreshments and even to a full selection of viands or meals.

Pinoy street food names have been evolving thru the times and base on locality they are mostly coined after a similar food item or similar things around us.

Street food are delectable, convenient, practical and best of all economical. Because of their popularity especially today’s hard times and the escalating prices of basic food, street food has now become part the Pinoy cuisine.

The health awareness and quality of street foods have now improved significantly because most of us have now learned the importance of proper food preparation cleanliness and hygiene. New innovation of food preparation and availability disposable food utensils and food packaging play also a very important rule in the improvement of the quality. Of course it is still best to be wary of all times always check the cleanliness, source and method of preparation especially foods that are actually peddled or sold at dirty side streets. Street food have now find their presence in air-condition malls. They now thrive in most supermarkets and mall’s hallways in eye-catching food kiosks or food stands.

The following list is a collection of Pinoy Street Food that are common, it also include some popular regional street food from the Provinces.

Adidas - Barbecued chicken feet in bamboo skewer. Chicken feet are pre-cooked adobo-style. The name originates from a popular branded athletic shoe “Adidas”.

Adobong Mani – Deep fried peanuts with garlic and seasoned with salt. It is named adobo because of the addition of garlic to the oil use in frying the peanuts. See also pritong mani.

Arroz Caldo - Rice chicken porridge or congee. Boiled glutinous and/or normal rice with chicken sautéed in ginger and kasubha for the yellowish tint See also lugaw.

Atay - Barbecued chicken liver in bamboo skewer. Chicken liver are pre-cooked adobo-style.

Baga, Fried Bopis– Deep fried pig's or cow's lungs. Pre-cooked adobo-style cubed pig's or cow's lungs and deep fried, serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Balat ng manok - Crispy deep fried battered chicken skin. Similar to fried chicken but only the skin is used. See also chicken skin.

Balun-balunan - Barbecued chicken gizzard in bamboo skewer. Chicken liver are marinated or pre-cooked adobo-style.

Balut – Boiled fertilized duck egg (with fetus).

Banana que - Deep fried banana (saba variety) coated with caramelized sugar served in bamboo skewer. The name was coined on the basis that it is skewed similar to barbecue.

Barbecue - Grilled pork in bamboo skewers. Pork pieces marinated with soy sauce, kalamansi (lemon) juice and crushed garlic grilled in bamboo skewer.

Batchoy – Ilongo mami noodle soup made up of pork, chicken and/or beef broth topped with strips of boiled pork offal, chicken and vegetables and garnished with crushed pork cracklings. Origin traces to La Paz, Iloilo.

Betamax - Barbecued cubed coagulated chicken blood in bamboo skewer. Chicken blood is pre-cooked to form a firm block of coagulated blood and cut into smaller cube or sqares. It is named after the betamax tape a video storage device which was popular before the coming of VSH and CD the block of coagulated blood resembles the shape of the betamax tape.

Bibingka - Rice flour cake baked with charcoal fire placed both under and on top in banana leaves lined-molds.

Biko - Rice cake made up of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar topped with latik (toasted coconut milk).

Binatog - Boiled white corn kernels seasoned with salt and/or topped with sugar, grated coconut meat and/or butter or margarine.

Bituka ng Manok - Barbecued chicken intestines in bamboo skewer. The intestines are marinated or pre-cooked adobo-style. See IUD and isaw.

Buko Pie – Bake pie with filling made up of buko (young coconut) meat, milk, sugar and cooked in coconut water and thickened with cornstarch.

Buko Juice - Young coconut water with scraped or shredded meat drink freshly serve strait from the nut or from a plastic container with ice. See also palamig, sa malamig.

Calamares - Battered deep fried squid rings and serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Calamay – Glutinous rice cake or jam made up ground glutinous rice, cane sugar and coconut milk.

Carioca - Deep fried bilo-bilo (ball made up glutinous rice dough) coated with caramelized sugar served in bamboo skewer.

Casoy - Deep fried cashew nuts with garlic and seasoned with salt.

Castanas - Roasted chestnut

Cheese sticks – Deep fried cheese strips wrapped in spring roll wrapper.

Chichacorn – Crispy corn kernels, Boiled corn kernels boiled and sun dried and refried with garlic and seasoned with salt. See also cornik.

Chicharon Baboy – Pork rind cracklings. Made up of pork rind boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Chicharon Bituka ng Baboy - Pork isaw cracklings. Made up of pork isaw boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying. Name is derive from the flowerlike shape of the isaw after frying serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip. See also chicharon bulaklak.

Chicharon Bituka ng Manok – Chicken isaw (intestine) cracklings. Made up of chiken intestines boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Chicharon Bulaklak - Pork isaw cracklings. Made up of pork isaw boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying. Name is derive from the flowerlike shape of the isaw after frying serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip. See also chicharon bituka ng baboy.

Chicharon Balat ng Manok – Chicken skin cracklings. Made up of chicken skin boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying. serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Chicken Skin – Crispy deep fried battered chicken skin. Similar to fried chicken but only the skin is used. See also balat ng manok.

Cotton Candy – Flavoured candy fibre spanned in a bamboo stick into a big cotton like ball by a candy maker with a mechanical spinner.

Corazon - Barbecued chicken hearth in bamboo skewer. Chicken heart are pre-cooked adobo-style. Corazon means hearth in Spanish thus the name.

Cornik – Crispy corn kernels, Boiled corn kernels boiled and sun dried and refried with garlic and seasoned with salt. See also chichacorn.

Day-old – Deep fried day old chicken chicks. Literally one day old chicken chicks are crispy deep fried, serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Dila-dila - Boiled rice patty made up of galapong (glutinous rice flour dough) served topped with sugar, grated coconut and/or toasted linga (sesame seads). Literally means tongue like. See also palitaw.

Dirty Ice Cream - Homemade ice cream peddled in the streets in colourful pushcarts. Prepared by traditional method using ice with salt as a freezing medium. The usual choice of Pinoy flavours are vanilla, cheese, mango, ube and chocolate. See also sorbetes .

Fishballs – Deep fried balls made up of fish meat, served in bamboo skewers with a sweet and sour or spicy sauce dip or with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Growers - roasted peanuts seasoned with salt or unsalted.

Goto - Rice and beef tripe porridge or congee. Boiled glutinous and/or normal rice and beef tripe with ginger and kasubha for the yellowish tint. Serve with tokwa’t baboy or vegetable spring rolls.

Halo-halo – Assorted sweetened fruits and beans, jams and flavored gelatin with evaporated milk, sugar and sheaved ice topped with ice cream and/or leche flan (egg custard). Literally means “a mix of many things" or "an assortment,"

Helmet, Head - Barbecued chicken head in bamboo skewer. Chicken heads are marinated or precooked adobo-style. The name's origin actually refers to the logo of the popular branded apparel “Head” and others referred it to a "helmet." See also ulo ng manok.

Hepalog - Deep fried battered boiled chicken egg. See also kwek-kwek.

Hotdog – Hotdog on stick charcoal grilled in bamboo skewers baste with banana ketchup.

Ice Buko – Ice candy made from a solution made up of buko (young coconut) water shredded meat with milk and sweetened with sugar. See also ice candy.

Ice Candy – Popsicle in tube plastic bags made usually from a solution of fruit puree and shreds of the fruit meat with milk and sweetened with sugar example would be ice buko. The flavour defends on the availability the target market from a medley of halo-halo sweetened fruits, sweetened red beans, and fruit juices to food colourings and flavouring essences.

Ice Cream Sandwich – Milk bread buns with sorbetes (Dirty ice cream) filling.

Inasal na Manok – Ilongo chicken barbecue. Barbequed chicken in bamboo skewer made of selection of chicken cuts or parts marinated in vinegar, tanglad (lemongrass) and ginger. Paa (whole leg), pecho (breast), pakpak (wings), isol (tail), atay (liver) and baticolon (gizzard).

Inihaw na Saging – Grilled banana (saba variety) with peel in bamboo skewer.

Inihaw na Mais – Grilled corn in cob and in bamboo skewer.

Isaw ng Manok - Barbecued chicken intestines in bamboo skewer. The intestines are marinated or pre-cooked adobo-style. See also IUD,

Isaw ng Baboy – Deep fried or barbecued pork intestines in bamboo skewer. Pork intestines are pre-cooked adobo-style. Served with sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

Iskrambol – Flavored frostee/shake made up of shaved ice with sago (tapioca balls) and condensed or powdered milk mixed using a mechanical hand mixer into frostee topped with chocolate syrup. See also scrambol.

IUD - Barbecued chicken intestines in bamboo skewer. The intestines are marinated or pre-cooked adobo-style. The chicken isaw (intestine) when skewed resembles the IUD a type of contraceptive device, hence the name. See also isaw.

Kakanin – A collective term for snacks made with rice, cassava or any other grain and root crops like biko or sinukmani, bibingka, suman, puto, kutsinta, calamay, sapin-sapin, , palitaw, pitchi-pichi and many others.

Kamote que - Deep fried kamote (sweet potato) coated with caramelized sugar served in bamboo skewer. The name was coined on the basis that it is skewed similar to barbecue.

Kanto-ky – Crispy breaded fried chicken similar to the popular KFC fried chicken. “Kanto” literally means corner thus KFC fried chicken sold at street corners.

Kikiam – Finger patty made up of ground pork and vegetables or for seafood-based, usually made of fish meat and cuttlefish wrapped in bean curd sheets, deep-fried and served in bamboo skewer with sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

Kutsinta – Steamed rice cake similar to puto but the dough is made up of powder from boiled gelatinous rice with lye and brown sugar and steamed in cup cake moulds.

Kwek-kwek – Deep fried battered boiled chicken egg. Hard boiled chicken eggs are coated with orange tinted batter made up of flour then deep fried and serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Lomi – Thick egg noodles noodle soup with pork, chicken, shrimp, fish ball and kikiam with vegetables in broth/sauce thickened with beaten egg.

Lugaw – Rice porridge or congee. Made up of boiled rice seasoned with salt and pepper and kasubha for the yellowish tint usually topped with boiled egg. Serve with tokwa’t baboy or vegetable spring rolls.

Mais con Hielo – Boiled sweet corn kernels with evaporated milk, sugar in sheaved ice.

Mami − Noodle soup in pork, beef and or chicken broth topped with either shredded chicken, braised beef or pork, wonton dumplings.

Manggang Hilaw – Fresh green mango served with bagoong alamang (fermented salted kril) or salt.

Maruya - Banana fritter.

Melon, Cantaloupe Juice - Drink made up from freshly shredded melon meat in water and sugar solution drink from a plastic container with ice. See also palamig, sa malamig.

Nilagang Itlog - Hard boiled egg sold at bus terminals.

Nilagang Mais - Boiled sweet corn in cob and husk. Serve with butter or margarine.

Nilagang Mani – Boiled peanuts with husk/shell intack.

Paa ng Manok - Barbecued chicken feet in bamboo skewer. Chicken feet are pre-cooked adobo-style. See also adidas

Palamig, Samalamig - Literally means coolers. A collective term for flavored cold drinks serve from a plastic container with ice like sago at gulaman a caramel flavored tapioca balls and gelatin cold drink, buko juice young coconut water with scraped or shredded meat drink melon juice a drink made up from freshly shredded melon meat in water and sugar solution and many others.

Palitaw - Boiled rice patty made up of galapong (glutinous rice flour dough) served with sugar, grated coconut and/or toasted linga (sesame seads). Literally means cook in boiling water until it float. See also dila-dila.

Pandesal - Pinoy breakfast roll, peddled in the streets the wee hours of morning.

Pansit Batil Patung – Tuguegarao local noodles made up sautéed bihon and canton (rice and egg) noodles with garlic and ginger topped hot dogs, chicharon, ground meat, fried egg, and vegetables.

Pansit Habhab – Lucban miki miki noodles served on and eaten straight from banana leaf serve with vinegar or kalamasi (lemon).

Penoy – Boiled fertilized duck egg (with out fetus).

Pina – Fresh pineapple sold in pushcart and peeled by the peddler upon purchase. The eyes of the fruit are carved out forming a spiral canals swirling up the fruit to save the meat as much as possible. Also sold in slices.

Pritong Mani - Deep fried peanuts with garlic and seasoned with salt. See also adobong mani.

Proben - Barbecued chicken proven in bamboo skewer. Chicken proven are marinated or pre-cooked adobo-style. Proven (short for proventiculus) is the soft portion of the chicken guts where digested foods passes thru.

Pusit - Grilled sun dried squid in skewer.

Puto - Steamed rice cake made up of rice flour and steamed in cup cake moulds.

Puto Bumbong –Steamed in bamboo tube rice cake. Made up of ground pirurutong (dark colored glutinous rice) molded and steamed in bamboo tube served with sugar and grated coconut.

Saging con Hielo – Boiled in sugar chopped banana (saba variety) with evaporated milk, sugar in sheaved ice.

Sago at Gulaman – Caramel flavored tapioca balls and gelatin cold drink.

Santol - Fresh santol sold in pushcart and peeled by the peddler upon purchase. Serve with salt or soaked in vinegar water solution.

Sapin-sapin – Multi colour layered glutinous rice flour cake usually topped with grated coconut and latik (toasted coconut milk residue). Layer are composed rice cake flavoured with ube (purple yam), macapuno (coconut sport), langka (jackfruit) and kutsinta.

Scrambol – Flavored frostee/shake made up of shaved ice with sago (tapioca balls) and condensed or powdered milk mixed using a mechanical hand mixer into frostee topped with chocolate syrup. See also iskrambol.

Singkamas - Fresh singkamas served with bagoong alamang (fermented salted kril) or salt.

Sinukmani – Laguna version of the traditional rice cake made up of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar topped with latik (toasted coconut milk). See also biko.

Siomai – Steamed dumpling with pork and/or shrimp filling serve with fried chili flakes, soy sauce and kalamansi juice dip .

Siopao – Steamed bun stuffed with braised meat or meat ball with or without boiled egg.

Sitsaron – Pork rind racklings. Made up of pork rind boiled with seasoning and sun-dried before deep frying serve with vinegar, onion and chili dip. Chicken and beef skin or pork and chicken intestine are also used. See also chicharon.

Sorbetes - Homemade ice cream peddled in the streets in colourful pushcarts. Prepared by traditional method using ice with salt as a freezing medium. The usual choice of Pinoy flavours are vanilla, cheese, mango, ube and chocolate. See also dirty ice cream.

Squid balls – Deep fried balls made up of squid or cuttlefish meat, served in bamboo skewers with a sweet and sour or spicy sauce dip or with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Suha - Fresh grapefruit sold in pushcart and peeled by the peddler upon purchase. Serve with salt and/or vinegar.

Suman - Steamed rice cake roll made up of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar rolled in banana or coconut leaves.

Taho - Silken tofu serve with sago (tapioca balls) and arnibal (caramel flavoured syrup).

Tenga ng Baboy - Barbecued cubed pig's ears and face in bamboo skewer. Cubed or squared pig’s ears and face are pre-cooked adobo-style. See also Walkman.

Tokneneng - Is a smaller version of kwek-kwek, it uses quail eggs instead.

Tupig, Itemtem – Grilled rice cake roll made up of ground glutinous rice, grated young coconut meat, coconut milk and brown sugar rolled in banana leaves. Sold in the streets of Pangasinan, Ilocos and Isabela,

Turon – Fried banana roll. Made up of sliced ripe banana (saba variety) rolled in wrapper made up of flour and egg white. Special versions are additionally filled with strips of sweetened langka (jack fruit) and or buko (coconut sport) strips and even coated with caramelized sugar.

Ukoy – Shrimp fritter. Made up of small shrimp in flour or cornstarch batter garnished with onion and/or spring onion, fried until crisp serve with vinegar, garlic and onion dip.

Ulo ng Manok - Barbecued chicken head in bamboo skewer. Chicken heads are marinated or precooked adobo-style. See helmet, head.

Vigan Empanada - Made up of folded thin flat crust of freshly-rolled galapong (rice flour dough), filled with a mixture of vegetables topped with Vigan longganisa and an egg folded to form a shell shaped like a crescent. Deep fried until crisp in a wok serve immediately with vinegar, onion and chili dip.

Walkman – Barbecued cubed pig's ears and face in bamboo skewer. Cubed or squared pig’s ears and face are pre-cooked adobo-style. The name originates from a popular audio/music device/player “Walkman”.

Yema – A traditional sweet milk/egg jam made up of boiled condensed milk with egg yolk and flavored with vanilla wrap with colored cellophane in little pyramid cone. It is also made into balls coated with sugar.


Note:

Pinoy Street Foods is the second list of the several glossaries I am building. The list is not yet final although the number of items in the list is already significant and includes most of the popular Pinoy street foods. I have decided to post it also hoping to get feedbacks from my readers. I welcome all contributions. It will be added to the list progressively and your comment will remain as it is.