We are back with a traditional Filipino dish that needs to be given the credit it deserves – Paklay. This is a traditional dish that is said to have originated from the Southern Philippines and is commonly found in Cebu as well as Iloilo. A lot of people will be scrunching their nose or maybe even be wincing when they find out that Paklay or Pinaklay is made with pork or beef innards, sometimes even goat. But then again, if you have eaten processed meats, then you probably have consumed some entrails already. Whoops! No need to worry or panic, though, because that’s okay, you are going to be fine. Believe it or not, offal is still widely used in a lot of dishes in many Asian countries, one of which is the Philippines.

That being said, it is probably best for you to actually know that in the Philippines, this kind of delicacy is pretty common. Animal innards from heart, lungs, and stomach are not the only ones left uneaten, because even the blood is used in a few Filipino dishes such as Dinuguan. Aside from these dishes having been part of the Filipino culture ever since, another reason is that animal entrails are a more pocket-friendly alternative to “proper” meat cuts and so, Filipinos are still even reinventing them by creating new dishes, including fusion ones. We mean, food is one of our many ways to celebrate our heritage, so it is really not surprising to have our fellow Filipinos taking up inspiration from our roots.

Anyway, Paklay has been passed onto generation after generation, so preparing them all boils down from who or where you have learned to make it. Just like other Filipino dishes, every Filipino household or province has their own preference of how they want their Paklay. The common one that we know though is that the pork, beef, or goat innards are cooked alongside ginger and chilies with a souring agent such as tamarind or vinegar so as to get that distinct and delicious blend of sour and spicy tones.

To get a taste of this delicious traditional dish, you can watch how we make our below. Make sure you have your rice with you, though, because this one just really splendid paired with that as you can pour the Soup of the Paklay onto it. Yum!

Authorwhattoeatph

Ingredients:

½ kg beef tripe

½ kg pork liver

½ kg pig intestines

½ kg pork heart

2 red bellpepper, sliced

1 green bellpeper, sliced

3 green chilis, sliced

5 red chilis, sliced

1 ginger, sliced

2 onions, sliced

1 garlic, minced

1 stalk of scallions, sliced

2 potatoes

1 tsp whole black pepper

5 laurel leaves

½ tbsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp ground black pepper

5 tbsp vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

5 cups coconut milk

3 tbsp fish sauce

Directions:

In boiling water, add pork liver, pig's heart, beef tripe and pig intestines. Add sliced scallions.

Add laurel leaves, salt, garlic, onion and whole black pepper. Bring to a boil.

Slice the pork liver, pig heart and intestines and beef tripe.

In a separate pan, saute' ginger then add onion, garlic and butter.

Then add beef tripe and mix well. Add pig's heart, pork liver and pig intestines.

Add ground black pepper, salt, laurel leaves, vinegar, soy sauce and coconut milk. Mix well and let it simmer.

Add potatoes, red chilis, fish sauce then the rest of the coconut milk. Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Add green chilis, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and scallions. Mix well. Serve hot in a bowl and enjoy.

Ingredients