Jubiläumsausgabe - Universität Passau

A Filipino Barbecue Experience
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Ausgabe #2 Sommersemester 2009
by Jose Antonio Custodio
When people in Westernized societies
think of barbecue what comes to mind
are large slabs of red meat whether beef
or pork generously lathered with rich
marinade of which one piece constitutes
a full meal. Not so among
Filipinos or to be exact, the
great unwashed toiling Philippine
masses. For the average
Filipino, a barbecue which is
called “inihaw” is a cornucopia
of odds and ends of what used
to be a pig or a chicken. As one
travels around the Philippine
capital of 10 million souls, he or
she will see numerous makeshift
grills “ihawan” propped up on
the sidewalk or in some cases
even the street itself. It appears
that with the current economic
difficulties many Filipinos have
switched to selling barbecue to
make ends meet. Now what makes up
a Filipino barbecue? Well lucky for the
reader, there are ten such stands within
a 200 feet radius of my house. Let’s take
a look now…
Like I said, a Filipino barbecue is made
up of odds and ends of a pig or chicken.
No cows here and not because we’re
Hindu but because beef is too expensive.
So the first thing on the menu is
your typical “barbecue” which consists
of three to four small pieces of pork with
one piece of pig fat skewered on a stick.
No excitement there… The next is where
the fun starts. Coagulated pig’s blood
which comes in small cubes fondly
called “betamax” after that archaic video
recording device of yesteryear. Skewered
chicken innards nicknamed IUD
because they look like one! Of course
we all know what resides and passes
through chicken intestines and in those
times I eat it I sometimes wonder what
the heck is that creamy substance that
oozes out of the innards when I take a
bite. Then there are chicken heads on
a stick which one has to really suck to
get the good stuff out! Pig
intestines on a stick, pig
ears on a stick, pig liver on
a stick and small squid on
a stick are just some of the
other delicacies available.
Marinades usually consist of a
mixture of vinegar, soy sauce,
banana catsup and in some
cases even 7 Up. Is it safe to
eat those things? Is it even
sanitary? Well nobody really
knows for sure, and that is
part of what makes the Orient
so mystical and exotic to you
Westerners.
Jose Antonio Custodio is a technical advisor of Cubic Defense
Applications and is engaged in defense assessments
for the US military and also works as curator of the museum
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.