Isaw

Ingredients

Intestines

• 1 kgchicken or pork small intestine
• coarse salt
• vinegar, for cleaning
• 2 tbspcalamansi juice

Boil

• 1onion
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tbsppeppercorns
• 1 tbspsalt

Baste

• 6 tbspsoy sauce
• 4 tbspbanana ketchup
• 3 tbspbrown sugar
• 2 tbspcalamansi juice
• 1 tspground black pepper
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tbspoil

Sawsawan

• 150 mlcane vinegar
• 1onion, minced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2siling labuyo, chopped
• salt
• black pepper

To serve

• bamboo skewers, soaked

Directions

1. Turn each length of intestine inside out and rinse it under running water until it runs clear.
2. Turning them inside out is the whole job and it cannot be skipped. Rinsed only on the outside they stay foul, and no amount of marinade or charcoal covers it.
3. Rub them hard with coarse salt, then with vinegar, and rinse again. Repeat twice.
4. Squeeze calamansi over them for a final rinse, which takes away the last of the smell.
5. Boil them with the onion, garlic, bay, peppercorns and salt for about an hour, until tender enough to pierce easily.
6. Boil them properly soft before they go near fire. The grill is only there to char and glaze; anything still tough at this stage stays tough.
7. Drain and cool them, then thread each length onto a skewer in a tight concertina, folding back and forth so it sits flat.
8. Thread them flat and close-packed. Loose loops burn through at the thin points and drop off into the coals.
9. Mix the baste ingredients until the sugar dissolves.
10. Grill over hot charcoal for 2 to 3 minutes a side, brushing with baste each time you turn.
11. Brush at every turn and keep turning. The baste is heavy with sugar and ketchup, and left still it blackens in under a minute.
12. They are ready when the edges are crisp and darkly caramelised and the surface glistens.
13. Mix the sawsawan and put it in a communal cup at the grill.
14. Serve straight from the skewer, dipped into the vinegar between bites.
15. It is after-school and after-work food, sold from pushcart grills outside Philippine schools and jeepney stops.

Technique

• Banana ketchup is the Filipino signature here and tomato ketchup is not the same thing.
• The vinegar dip is not optional; the sourness is what cuts through the fat.
• Chicken intestine is milder and more common than pork, which is chewier.

Substitutions

• Pork intestine, cleaned the same way.
• Lime or lemon in place of calamansi.

Variations

• Adidas, grilled chicken feet, sold from the same cart.
• Betamax, cubes of set chicken blood.
• IUD, chicken intestine wound differently, from the same family of grill-cart names.

History

Chicken or pork intestines cleaned, boiled and grilled on bamboo skewers, brushed with a vinegar and soy baste at street grills.

Frequently asked questions

What is Isaw?

Isaw is a street food from Philippines: charcoal-grilled chicken intestine skewers dipped in spiced vinegar. Chicken or pork intestines cleaned, boiled and grilled on bamboo skewers, brushed with a vinegar and soy baste at street grills.

How long does Isaw take to make?

Isaw takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 skewers. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Isaw?

Yes, within limits. Pork intestine, cleaned the same way. Lime or lemon in place of calamansi.

What is the most important thing to get right in Isaw?

Turning them inside out is the whole job and it cannot be skipped. Rinsed only on the outside they stay foul, and no amount of marinade or charcoal covers it.