I felt that if I had to drink alcohol with my mom’s money the only affordable pulutan were the street food readily available at any time of the day. At that time, despite the fact that gin was relatively cheap, we only had enough change for street food.

When chefs talk about variety meat, they usually refer to the non-traditional cuts of meat; meaning not the main cuts but the off cuts of meat that are sometimes thrown away. In the Western context off cuts include liver, ox feet, ox tongue and mostly the innards of butchered animals for meat.

But for Pinoys, off cuts, which usually mean a wide array of street food, are something we find really tasty because it already has a distinct flavor of its own. These off cuts are usually cooked in vinegar, garlic, pepper and patis, just like adobo, in order to remove the funky smell from the said cuts, and to provide meat tenderness and more flavor. Off cuts may seem bizarre to some but these are still the quintessential Pinoy pulutan.

Chicken isaw and other types of Pinoy street food

Fish Balls and others – in high school we had a regular manong who sold an assortment of fish balls, squid balls, chicken balls, and kikiam all made out of fish trimmings, flour, fish flavorings, and molded into different shapes. These were deep fried into crispness and dipped in our choice of cornstarch-thickened, garlic vinegar and soy based sauces -- we had a choice between spicy or sweet. We were also given the choice of dipping the stuff in some vinegar with finely chopped garlic, ginger and lots of onions.

Chicken Isaw - are the intestines of a chicken cooked slowly in black pepper, vinegar, patis and colorings, then skewered and grilled; it is then dipped in spicy vinegar. Although not very healthy (it can be your ticket to some illness), it is still part of some Pinoy drinking sessions and random street gatherings.

Betamax – a slang name for the cubes of chicken blood that look like betamax tapes, also grilled and dipped in vinegar. When it’s perfectly cooked, you get a crisp outside and a splash of sweet vinegar flavor from the inside which melts in your mouth.

This may seem yucky but think of the Westerner’s blood sausages and this doesn’t seem so yucky in comparison.

Chicken Liver, Heart and Gizzard -not everyone has a taste for liver but chicken liver is one of my favorites. Some make pates out of it, but I like it grilled.

Heart and gizzard are tenderized through long hours of boiling in flavored vinegar then grilled. It gives off that distinct meat flavor and texture that when chased with ice cold beer, makes for a perfect beer and pulutan combination.

Pork Kidneys – very tasty and chewy, and can also be very smelly; but it’s really good when prepared well. Europeans eat animal kidneys, but the way we prepare pork kidneys here is something they cannot take; it is usually not cleaned well and just cooked adobo style or grilled.

Pork Isaw – comes in two varieties, large and small; also called wheels because of its shape; can be grilled or used in congees and has a really distinct flavor. If grilled it can get rather crunchy and the fat inside melts in the mouth.

Pork Ears – my personal favorite; texture and flavor are packed in one magnificent off cut. Highly recommended.

Beef Isaw – clean this first if you can; it is called chincholin in Argentina and the best method of preparing this is to take it out of the dirt, boil it in milk, salt it really well, and then grill.

Chicharon – refers to anything that can be made crispy, from fatty chicken skin, to fat found in beef and pork intestines; chicharon pork skin is the most famous.

The boiled and cured pork skin, with a little fat and meat, is the most common. Another common chicharon is the type sold with balut, and made out of ox or carabao skin; very tasty when dipped in spicy vinegar.

Balut – unhatched duck eggs that are sometimes boiled or steamed before being served. Some restaurants make dishes out of it; but it is always great with beer. Go easy on this though because it can really increase your cholesterol levels.

Eggs – kwek-kwek – unlike balut which already has a small bird developing inside, kwek-kwek is still egg yolk and whites; it also boiled and served but it best prepared when coated with a peppery, orange colored batter and fried. The small version is the tokneneng, which uses quail eggs.

There are other varieties if you want me to continue, the likes of which include papaitan, dinuguan and bopis, which use lungs and other off cuts, but are found in carinderias or small eateries. As always, Pinoy street food goes well with good company and your favorite brew.