Pateros residents put own twist on well-loved Pinoy dishes using balut

Residents of Pateros, home of the fertilized duck egg balut industry, put their culinary expertise to the test on Saturday during a cook-off at the annual “Balut sa Puti Festival."

Expert community cooks put their own twists to well-loved Pinoy dishes like afritada and adobo, as well as pickles, by throwing some balut and itik (duck) into the mix.

Balut and itik are considered local delicacies in Pateros.

Cherry Dagan, one of the contestants, said balut doesn’t just have to be a pulutan or food that goes with alcoholic drinks, but can actually be used to substitute chicken in various dishes.

“Yang balut pagka lumaki yan ng konti, tawag namin dun ugbo. Yung sisiw niya babalatan mo, a-afritada mo pa rin. Adobo pwede rin. Mas maraming kinchay, mas masarap,” Dagan said.

Pateros residents boldly claim their balut is the best in the world.

“Ang balut ang kauna-unahang produkto ng Pateros, mga ninuno pa namin,” said Pateros acting tourism officer Renato Bade.

The difference, he said, of the Pateros balut from those in other Southeast Asian countries is the quality of Pinoy variant.

“Mas masarap yung sisiw na may puti puti pa sa paligid. Yun ang pinaka-masarap na balut. Yun ang balut-Pateros na kung tawagin natin ay balut sa puti,” he explained.

The 13 competitors were judged according to taste and presentation.

In the end, local cook Charlie de Guzman bagged the top prize at the culinary competition.

But everybody came out a winner as everyone was later allowed to feast on all the balut and itik dishes that were prepared during the cook-off.

The Department of Tourism said the government is promoting Pateros’ balut as a culinary tourism product.

“Balut is one of the original exotic food here in the Philippines. So this is also considered a livelihood here in Pateros and this is the unique selling point of pateros,” said DOT-NCF Regional Office OIC Catherine Agustin.

“Sana yung mga niluluto dito na afritadang balut, adobong balut, we hope na makita natin sa mga restaurant especially here in Pareros. Magandang matikman din ng ating mga bisita itong mga kakaibang lutuin,” she ended. — MDM, GMA News