Filipinos love to celebrate different occasions in their lives, and these may lead to night-long merrymaking involving liquor.  For many, it is one way of spending time with the people close to them with lowered inhibitions in a relaxed atmosphere.

As such, Filipinos have long learned to cook, prepare and adapt different dishes that are best paired with beer and any other liquor.  In our country, it is popularly known as “pulutan,” from the Filipino word “pulutin.” Pulutan literally means ”something that is picked up.” Originally, it was a snack accompanied with liquor or beer but has found its way into Philippine cuisine as appetizers or, in some cases, main dishes, as in the case of sisig.

Websites wheninmanila.com and choosephils.com give their recommendations for the top 10 best pulutan for memorable drinking experiences for many Filipinos.

 

• Sisig

Sisig is a popular pulutan from Pampanga made from the pig’s cheek skin, ears and liver. It is initially boiled then grilled over charcoal and afterwards minced and cooked with chopped onions, chillies, and spices.

• Chicharrón

Who would have thought that pork and chicken skin would be one of the best pulutan? Yes. It is called chicharrón, a deep fried pulutan, which can be cooked in different ways and produced in different kinds. Chicharrón baboy are pork rinds that have been salted, dried, and then fried; chicharong bituka, pig intestines that have been deep fried to a crisp; chicharong bulaklak, similar to chicharong bituka it is made from mesenteries of pig intestines and has a "bulaklak" or flower-like appearance; and chicharong manok, chicken skin that has been deep fried until crisp.

• Crispy Pata

Who among us doesn’t like the delicious crispy pata? Actually, it is one of the main dishes and in some cases; it has been one of the favorite pulutan for many Filipinos. Best paired with condiments like calamansi and toyo, pork knuckles (the pata) are marinated in garlic-flavored vinegar then deep fried until crisp and golden brown, with other parts of the pork leg prepared in the same way.

For many restaurant chains throughout the country (e.g. Andok's, Baliwag, Toto's, Sr. Pedro's, G.S. Pagtakhan's), I am sure you will have a lot of choices where to find this tastiest crispy pata.

• Kinilaw

Another common appetizer while drinking is the “kinilaw.” One of the most exotic foods I’ve ever tried, kinilaw is an Ilocano food where fish or seafood is simmered in vinegar or calamansi juice along with garlic, onions, ginger, tomato, peppers.

• Mani /  Peanut

One of the best finger-foods is the peanuts, popularly known as “mani.” These are boiled in the shell, salted, spiced and flavored with garlic often sold by street vendors on the Philippines. This kind of pulutan is well-known in the northern part of Luzon.

• Tokwa’t Baboy

Another best food to taste while drinking is the famous tokwa’t baboy. It is a diced, fried tofu with boiled pork then dipped in a garlic-flavored soy sauce or vinegar dip that is also served as a side dish to pancit luglog or pancit palabok.

• Isaw, Betamax, and Adidas

For those who are not familiar with isaw, betamax, and adidas, the possible thing that will come to their mind would be an old version of VCD, VHS, or DVD (Betamax) or a sport shoe (Adidas).

Actually these three exotic foods are made up of internal organs of either chicken or pork. Isaw is seasoned hog or chicken intestines; betamax, roasted dried chicken blood served cut into and served as small cubes for which it received its name in resemblance to a Betamax tape; Adidas, chicken feet named after the popular shoe brand; and proven, the proventriculus of a chicken coated in cornstarch and deep-fried.  These are often sold by street vendors and are one of the cheapest pulutan.

• Fishballs, Squidballs, and Kikiams

Street food which are great to eat together with beer are fishballs, squidballs, and kikiam. Fish balls or squid balls are skewered on bamboo sticks then dipped in a sweet or savory sauce, commonly sold frozen in markets then cooked and peddled by street vendors.

• Papaitan

Papaitan is one of the favorite pulutan my parents had while drinking and my father knows the best ways of cooking papaitan. Derived from the word “pait,” papaitan is an exotic food made out of goat or beef innards, a stew flavored with bile that gives it a bitter (pait) taste. During holidays or special occasions, papaitan is one the dishes served to our visitors.

• Paklay

Paklay is one of the Cebuano dishes made out of internal organs of pork cooked like paksiw. It is a dish where the vegetable or meat ingredients are cut into strips. Sometimes, paklay is made up of beef, goat or pork innards, usually tripe, liver and heart, sautéed and cooked with ginger and chilies. Strips of vegetables like bell pepper, carrots est. are added to give a contrasting color besides flavor.

No matter how hard or simple the way it cooked, your drinking session will not be complete without pulutan.  No one can actually determine where each may have come from but the important thing is that pulutan is one of the things that contribute to much pleasure to the drinking experience of many Filipinos.