Tamilok – Crispy Fried Woodworm – Yum!
by Donna Amis Davis
Palawan Delicacy, or Weird Quirky Food?
Crispy Fried Tamilok, or Woodworm with Vinegar at Kinabuch Restaurant, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.
It tastes like oysters! Some of the bites were a little grainy, kind of yuck. But the rest tasted great.
Tamilok looks like a slimy gray worm. Tamilok is the Filipino name. Also called Woodworm, or Shipworm. They are found burrowing into old rotten lumber, in the mangroves.
Eat it Raw, or Breaded and Fried?
The brave eat them raw, with a side of spiced vinegar. Or ceviche style, marinated in spicy vinegar.
Wimps like me — batter and fry it, please.
OK, now I can cross that one off my Bucket List. Still to go: Balut. Can you believe I spent 30 years in the Philippines and haven’t yet tried balut? I know, I’m a wimp. (That’s a boiled duck embryo still in the egg, folks.)
On a side note, I have a question for you — this new blog format is designed to be easy to read on Smart Phones and tablets. Are any of you checking this blog via your cell phone or iPad? If so, can you drop a comment and let me know how it looks on your device? Thanks, I’d appreciate that!
Related articles – Here are some others who have tried Tamilok and lived to tell the tale!
http://www.vivisrandomramblings.com/2013/01/palawan-famous-delicacy-tamilok-wood-worm.html
http://blauearth.com/2011/09/02/quintessential-palawan/
http://blauearth.com/2011/09/03/exotic-dinner-at-kinabuchs/
http://pinoyblabbermouth.blogspot.com/2012/09/gastrointestinal-fortitude-braving.html
- Puerto Princesa Underground River (kirstenmasilang.wordpress.com)
Looks okay covered in batter as you can’t see what you are eating.
Exactly. And INMHO that is a good thing.
Better than the Scottish deep-fried Mars bar which is a chocolate bar covered in batter sold in Scotland.
Ugh. Can’t understand why anyone would buy one of these.
Check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar
I love much of what Kinabuchs has to offer, but Tamilok won’t be on my list of special requests. Balut? Not in a million years!
If you’re a wimp, you’re still way ahead of me!
I’ve watched Andrew Zimmern on TV as he dug worms out of old trees and sucked them down. That was close enough for me.
I saw that Andrew Zimmern episode, too. The one he did on Palawan was at Sabang Beach, and those slimy long gray worms were tamilok. I’ll take them crispy fried, thank you very much!
hahaha! the grainy balut balut embryo is yuck! i eat only the yellow:)
I’m always embarrassed to admit to a Filipino that I haven’t tried balut!
it’s okay. not all Filipinos eat balut.sorry for the typo above. thanks for blogging about the Palawan, Donna!
oh, i forgot, the breaded tamilok is the sanitized tamilok.
So true. The “Anybody Can Do Tamilok” version!
I’d try that!
Frying anything makes it better, doesn’t it?
You know, it actually does! If I could get a side of ranch dressing, or blue cheese, it’d be even better.
Eeek, I hate worms of any kind so I don’t think I could eat them unless I didn’t know what they were! 🙂
I know! Pretty slimy. Apparently they are officially some kind of mollusk, and once I heard them called mollusk it made a difference to me somehow??
Yes, a mollusk sounds a lot more palatable!!
Hmmmm……”Catbird” doesn’t like worms.
Haha, seems ironic, right?
I’ve tried Balut out of curiosity, but not sure if I’m willing to push my luck with worms… :-). P.S., I’m looking at this on a tablet & it seems fine (since you asked).
Sorry, this is Stephen…
Thanks, Stephen. I’m trying out different free themes on WordPress to see which are mobile friendly. There’s a Google app called ‘Glimpse’ which allow you to see how a theme looks on a cell phone. Good to know, since so many people are accessing blogs via their cells.
I don’t know how I missed this post. I do wish you have enclosed a photo of the tamiloks before they met the batter and frying pan. And I’m going to keep a special heads up for any upcoming posts on balut. I’ll eat ANYTHING, and probably like most of it, but balut… I’m not sure about that. Be sure to take lots of photos. Ken
Think long oyster, and you’ve got a tamilok!