What are the Street Foods in the Philippines?

It is said that if you really want to taste the real flavors of a certain cuisine, you’ve got to go to the streets. In the Philippine cuisine, the case is no different. You’ll also find rich diversity when you explore the country’s street food scenery.

In case you want to hit the streets, here are common food items you’re going to see and definitely try. I suggest that you also take time to know what these food are, in case you are not yet familiar with some.

What are the Street Foods in the Philippines?

Here are 20 food/dishes that are often sold as street food in the Philippines. If you are already familiar with the listed items, let it serve as a guide if ever you need inspiration on what to prepare (e.g. for a street food party). We included links to some recipes we already have here on Pinoy Food Guide.

1. Balut

   
   For someone who is not very adventurous when it comes to food, balut may be considered an exotic street food. Balut is a fertilized duck egg that is boiled and served warm.

   To eat it, you simply open a portion of the shell, salt it a little and consume what’s inside. Tip: better not to look while eating 😆. You’ll find balut vendors in the street especially during night time.

2. Kwek Kwek, Fish Balls, Kikiam, Squid Balls

   
   There is a street food group in the Philippines that we call “tusok-tusok”. It is a Filipino term that is used to describe the act of skewering something. The most common tusok-tusok foods you’ll see are: kwek-kwek, fish balls, kikiam, and squid balls.

   You’ll recognize them when you see a food stall with a cooking pan filled with oil, frying these foods. You’ll be given a bamboo skewer or barbecue stick and you’ll be skewering the food you want straight from the pan. You have the option to add sauce or not.

   Kwek-kwek are hard-boiled quail eggs coated in an orange batter. Fish balls are ground fish shaped into spheres. Kikiam are ground pork and shrimp wrapped around a bean curd sheet. And squid balls are ground squid shaped into spheres.

   If you want to have your own tusok-tusok at home, try making them with our recipes: Homemade Fish Balls Recipe, Easy Homemade Kikiam Recipe, Homemade Kwek-kwek Recipe.

3. Isaw, Walkman, Wetpaks, Betamax, Adidas, Helmet, etc.

   
   There is also another street food group we call “ihaw-ihaw”, a term to describe charcoal grilled food. But when you are out in the street, you’ll notice that the grill has weird looking food items, in different shapes and sizes. This is because they use unusual body parts of pork and chicken.

   Here’s a quick guide:
   Isaw- pork or chicken intestine.
   Walkman- pork ear
   Wetpaks- chicken ass/ buttocks
   Betamax- dried chicken blood
   Adidas- chicken feet
   Helmet- chicken head

4. Pork Barbecue/ Hotdog

   
   If you crave grilled street food, but you don’t want to try the above-mentioned food items, don’t worry, we have pork barbecue and hotdogs for you. Pork barbecue is made with marinated pork slices, skewered then grilled. While hotdogs are local red hotdogs, skewered also, then grilled.

   If you want to try cooking pork barbecue at home, try our Classic Filipino Pork Barbecue Recipe.

5. Turon

   
   Turon is a popular street food that is often eaten by Filipinos as their afternoon snack. It is made up of saba (plantain) bananas and jackfruit, wrapped inside a lumpia (spring roll) wrapper. This is then coated with brown sugar and deep fried until crispy. Yummy, right?

   If you want to try making turon at home, try our Basic Turon Recipe and Chocolate Turon Recipe.

6. Banana Cue/ Kamote Cue

   
   Banana Cue and Kamote Cue are sugar-coated skewered saba (plantain) bananas and sweet potatoes respectively. Although they are skewered, they are not grilled. Bananas or sliced sweet potatoes are first coated with brown sugar then deep-fried before skewered in bamboo sticks (barbecue sticks).

   Want a chocolatey twist to your banana cue? Try our Milo Banana Cue Recipe.

7. Chicharon Bulaklak

   
   Chicharon Bulaklak is deep-fried crispy pork ruffle fat. Ruffle fat is part of the pork’s intestine that turns into a flower-like shape when prepared (hence bulaklak, the Filipino word for flower). This is a fatty and tasty snack that is often served as a beer match or pulutan.

8. Empanada

   
   Empanada is a Spanish turnover pastry adapted by the Philippines. Here, empanada is filled with ground pork or ground chicken together with potatoes, carrots, and other ingredients. You’ll find simple empanadas sold in the streets and fancy ones sold by pastry bakeshops.

9. Mami

   
   Mami is a type of Filipino noodle soup dish. It is made with a broth-based soup, wheat flour noodles, meat, vegetables, and other toppings. This warm soup snack is available in the streets or noodle shops and is always in demand during the rainy days.

   If you want to cook mami at home, try our Classic Beef Mami Recipe.

10. Sorbetes/ Dirty Ice Cream

    
    The Philippine street food version of the ice cream is known as sorbetes or dirty ice cream. But don’t worry about the name, it’s coined ‘dirty’ since vendors or peddlers usually roam the streets with an ice cream cart. You’ll know when an ice cream peddler is near when you hear a bell ringing.

    Sorbetes is usually made with carabao’s milk or coconut milk and has simple flavors like chocolate, cheese, corn, mango, strawberry, and avocado.

11. Okoy

    
    Okoy or ukoy is a type of Filipino fritter that is traditionally made up of batter-coated small shrimps together with some vegetables and spices. This mixture is shaped into a flat circle and is deep fried until crispy. It is commonly served with a vinegar dipping sauce.

    Today, you see different variations of this dish sold by street food vendors and carinderias (eateries).

12. Proven/ Proben, chicken skin

    
    Proven (also spelled proben) is one of the highly addictive street foods you’ll find in the country. It is short for the word proventriculus, a part of a chicken’s stomach. This part is seasoned and breaded, then deep fried like you would cook a fried chicken. Proven is also commonly served with a vinegar dipping sauce.

    Street food stalls selling proven usually sell chicken skin. This chicken skin is also seasoned, breaded, and deep fried like proven.

13. Taho

    
    Taho is a famous Filipino sweet snack made from soybean curd. What’s unique with taho is that it is traditionally served with pandan-flavored syrup and tapioca pearls. Today, we now have several flavor options like strawberry, ube, and mango.

    Taho is usually sold by street food peddlers, carrying metal buckets while shouting “tahooo”. But nowadays, taho can also be found in malls and restaurants.

14. Cheese Sticks/ Cheese Lumpia

    
    Cheese sticks are slices of processed cheddar cheese, wrapped in spring roll (lumpia) wrappers, and rolled to form sticks. They are deep-fried until crispy and are usually served with a ketchup-mayo dip.

    Cheese sticks are definitely a crowd-pleaser. Each bite is irresistible and a single stick won’t be enough.

15. Ngohiong

    
    Ngohiong is a popular street food in Cebu, Philippines. It is named after the Chinese five-spice powder called Ngo Hiong, its main flavoring. To make this, you wrap singkamas (jicama), ubod (palm heart), and other meats and vegetables inside a rice paper roll. The rolls are batter-coated and then deep fried until crispy.

    I think you’ll only find this street food in Cebu city and the nearby areas, so make sure you try one if ever you are here.

16. Carioca

    
    Carioca or karioka is a sweet Filipino delicacy that can be eaten both as a dessert or snack. It is made up of glutinous (sticky) rice balls that are coated with caramel. Street vendors and peddlers usually sell them skewered in bamboo sticks

    Carioca is really easy to do, try making this at home with our Easy Carioca With Caramel Coating Recipe.

17. Bicho

    
    Bicho or Bicho-bicho (also known as shakoy) is a Filipino doughnut that is usually sold on the streets. Just like any other doughnut this one is also deep fried. It may come in different shapes and sizes but all are coated with white sugar and are usually filled with cheese.

    If you want to try making Filipino doughnuts at home, try our recipes: Pilipit Recipe and Filipino Cheese Donut Recipe.

18. Mangga at Bagoong (Green Mango with Shrimp Paste)

    
    This is probably the only fruit you’d see in the list but mangga at bagoong is far from tasting like a fruit. The mangga (mango) used here are the green, unripe, and really sour ones. To balance the sour taste, the vendors top a sliced mango with the salty bagoong (shrimp paste).

    When in a street food stall, you’ll see that these mango slices are skewered in bamboo sticks and placed in a big glass jar filled with water or inside transparent plastic bags.

19. Binatog

    
    Binatog is one of the few healthful street food snacks. It is boiled white corn kernels that is usually topped with shredded fresh coconut. Some may prefer this with salt for a savory flavor, while most prefer this with sugar or condensed milk to sweeten the snack.

    Binatog vendors can usually be spotted with a pale or bucket mounted on a bicycle with a ringing bell.

20. Iskrambol

    
    Iskrambol or ice crumble is a Filipino shaved ice dessert that is usually sold by vendors and peddlers in the streets. It is traditionally colored pink and is given flavor by banana extract, milk, and chocolate.

    Today, businesses are making their own brands of iskrambol. They now come in different colors and different toppings like marshmallows, sprinkles, and wafers.

Images from canva.com

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