Skewers · Grilled Offal

Isaw

Photo: Allan Chatto / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

This grilled-skewer staple only became a street food fixture once a 1970s meat shortage made offal worth selling instead of discarding.

Chicken or pork intestines are cleaned, boiled, threaded onto bamboo skewers, and grilled over charcoal until slightly charred outside and tender within. They're served hot off the grill with a dip of spiced vinegar.

Why it's made this way: Rising meat prices in the 1970s pushed street vendors to turn cuts once considered scraps into an affordable, smoky snack, and the dish takes its name from 'sawsawan,' the dipping sauce that defines how it's eaten.