Burnt Lumpia: Filipino Food | Filipino Recipes | Culinary Hijinks

Papaitan: Offal & Bile Soup

I know what you're thinking.

WTF? Offal and bile soup?!!!

Yes, that is perhaps the most unappetizing description of a soup ever known to man. I mean, it's got "awful bile" in the title. But I didn't know how else to describe the Filipino soup known as Papaitan (papa-ee-tahn) because, well, it's nothing more than a hot steaming bowl of animal innards seasoned with green digestive juices. Sheesh, I'm on a roll. I should write menu descriptions for a living.

Anyhizzle, don't let the individual parts of this dish dissuade you from discovering the whole of something truly delicious. And yes, it can be delicious if bitter is your bag, baby.

Hailing from the Ilocos region of the Northern Philippines (Ilocos son, what?!!), Papaitan is usually comprised of the organ meats found within a goat such as its stomach and intestines, as well as its bitter bile. However, it can be made with beef offal as well.

With such a mish-mash of animal parts and its green hue, Papaitan is sort of the Frankenstein's Monster of Filipino cuisine (but in a good way). And I guess that makes Dinuguan the Vampire, and Sisig with brains the Zombie espesyal of Filipino food (much like Zombies, Sisig is so hot right now). But I digress.

I can't say I've had goat Papaitan, but I am quite familiar with the bovine variety as it makes an occassional appearance at my Grandmother's from time to time. That version, usually made by one of my aunties, features onions, garlic, ginger, mild chili peppers, beef meat, as well as tripe, intestines, and the heart too, methinks. While that concoction on its own can bring more than enough flavor to the party, the addition of beef bile lends that ever-so Ilocano bitter flavor profile.

And that brings me to the bile. Biologically speaking, bile is a greenish fluid that is secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid in digestion. Culinarily speaking, it's bitter as hell. A spoonful is a nuclear bomb of bitterness. It's kinda like if a Double IPA were brewed from a zillion bittermelons and a touch of battery acid. So yeah. That's what bile tastes like.

Us crazy Ilocanos, we'll eat anything. But we aren't the only ones who enjoy the bracing bitterness of bile. Thais also enjoy beef bile in their Koi Soi--an Isaan dish of raw beef and bile.

But what's with the Filipino (or more specifically, Ilocano) love of bitter flavors? In her book Tikim, Doreen Fernandez wrote, "Ilocanos know that after the mildly bitter comes the pleasure of an after-sweetness, and that the word 'bittersweet' is a reality, and not a figure of speech."

And I can attest that there is definitely a sweetness that follows most bitter flavors. Admittedly though, having been raised on things like Pinakbet, I am quite biased. Much like a chiliheads' love of hot and spicy foods, I've built a tolerance and appreciation for all things bitter. And it's this bitter note that adds to the richness and complexity of so many Southeast Asian cuisines.

An Interview with Claude Tayag

Photo courtesy of Claude Tayag

To American audiences, Claude Tayag may best be known as Anthony Bourdain's Pampangan host and tour guide in the Philippines episode of No Reservations. But Claude Tayag is more than just a tour guide.

Tayag is a renowned artist, chef, and food writer in the Philippines. In addition to authoring Food Tour, a book exploring culinary traditions throughout the Philippines, Tayag is also the co-author of Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine.

And most recently, with his wife Mary Ann, Tayag co-authored Linamnam: Eating One's Way Around the Philippines--a unique and reader-friendly culinary travel guide that will lead readers to the best eats in every region of the Philippines.

[Record screech]

THE BEST EATS IN EVERY REGION OF THE PHILIPPINES??!!!

Once I get my hands on this book, I'm heading to the P.I. ASAP! Linamnam will be released in Manila on November 3 of this year.

Linamnam Nom Nom Nom

In short, Tayag is perhaps one of the foremost experts on Filipino cuisine, and it's a shame that Mr. Tayag's works aren't more readily available here in the U.S.

Now, I know that I laid it on pretty thick for Mr. Tayag in the previous paragraphs, but with good reason. I've been lucky enough to have corresponded with Mr. Tayag via a few emails for the last year and a half or so, and Mr. Tayag has always been gracious and kind to me when he didn't necessarily have to be. After all, I'm just an idiot food blogger;)

Consequently, I was supposed to have a one-on-one meeting with Tayag a couple of weeks ago at an event in San Francisco. But as luck would have it, Mr. Tayag had to cancel his trip to the U.S. at the last minute. Thankfully though, Mr. Tayag was nice enough to agree to an interview with me via a Q&A over email.

The following are Mr. Tayag's candid and very thoughtful responses to a few questions I had for him. There is much for all of us to learn from Mr. Tayag's views and expertise on Filipino cuisine.