Uok

Adobong uok 

Beetle larvae may not sound very appetizing at first, but uok cooked as adobo served with rice and tomatoes is considered an exotic delicacy. One restaurant that serves this dish is Balaw-Balaw Restaurant in Angono, Rizal.

Who would have thought that this bizarre looking dish would be so much enjoyed not only by the Filipinos but also tourists coming from different parts of the globe?

Uok (native term) is basically a coconut rhinoceros beetle larva which can be found in dead coconut logs. This fat, eerie worm can be eaten raw just like what the natives do in the forest. This creepy creature is best when cooked in adobo style which is called "Adobong Uok" and is very tempting and mouth-watering despite of its worm-like appearance. This exotic dish is very popular in some of the places in the Philippines.

Adobong Uok was already featured in the show of Andrew Zimmern called "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" in Travel and Living Channel, where he described the taste as glutinous and earthy.

When I watched that episode, I was so delighted to try it for myself because I am really a big enthusiast of exotic foods. The sense of tasting a gelatinous, sour, salty, and spicy adobong uok makes me crave more for it.

This dish is being cooked with vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper. It is not eaten in an ordinary way. The head should be removed first before sipping the inside of it.

It is popular in some restaurants which serves native and unusual dishes. This unusual dish would really suit for those people who are very adventurous in feasting up bizarre foods like me.

Tamilok

Kinilaw na tamilok

The name "tamilok" come from the words of a foreign visitor in Palawan while they were walking when they saw locals in Palawan eating the raw worms from the woods and they are eating it with just vinegar. The visitor said "Tommy, look!".  Since then, the woodworms from mangrove trees, have been known as tamilok. Despite by its usual name of worm, woodworms are not that usual worms that some people are getting disgusted at, woodworms are molluscs, which is why they tend to have an oyster-like taste and texture like "tulya". The tamilok is served kinilaw style cuisine, meaning it is raw, deep in vinegar with spicy peppers, onions, and calamansi juice.

How to enjoy eating it:

1. On a plate full of tamilok, pick a size that you can swallow.

2. Deep it into the the spiced vinegar.

3. Deep it in a while, get it from the vinegar.

4. Swallow or eat it carefully like a spaghetti. Taste it carefully and feel the it as you get it in your mouth.

5. Say masabor gale! It means "delicious" in Palawan. And when your done with one, repeat it again until you finished it all.

Balut

Balut in the PH

Almost all of the Filipinos eat balut very common, yet there are still those who don't have the courage to try to eat balut. Balut is a fertilized egg of a duck, its either 16 to 18 days old. Balut has been boiled and is eaten with vinegar or salt. There is almost a fully formed duckling inside the egg that can be turn-off to some, but balut is a very nice evening treat in most Filipinos in Philippines.

A balut is commonly eaten in a way right away in its shell. Popularly believed to be a healthy food and high in protein, its good for the heart. Balut are usually sold by walking vendors and street vendors. It is considered as a street food in the Philippines. They are often served with beer. This food can be cooked in many ways by chefs such as sinigang, adobo, and many other Philippines cuisines.