Is it only the Filipinos? Almost our neighboring Asians eat animal parts that are considered by other nations as discard.
I think it's not about preference. It is about survival that makes people eat something that is considered taboo to other nationalities. The Filipinos in the past had experienced extreme hunger because of war, famine, natural calamities and mostly survived on fruits, root crops, grains than can be easily found in the sorroundings. It is unlikely that meat is a common part of the diet as during those days people live like a nomadic lifestyle (fleeing from place to place). Before the introduction of raising animals for food consumption, they hunt wild animals and fish as a source of protein, and from there, they consider every part of the carcass as edible because, come on, it's rare and it is a part of a tasty meal as well.
In regards to the mentioned “vinegar and onion" with the addition of ginger, and black pepper, salt to taste and also birds eye chillies. Literally it is not common to only add vinegar and onion to cook Filipino dishes. There are dishes or appetizers as we called, that uses native vinegar and onion, with the addition of other ingredients of course, like fish ceviché jumping salad, and paksiw dishes.
A jumping salad is pouring a mixture of vinegar, salt, onion, chili, ginger into a bowl of fresh (moving) small shrimps making the animals to jump while they're eaten alive.
Back to the main topic, yes, almost every part of the slaughtered animal are eaten. Balls, brain, eyes, nose, ears, tonque, heart, gizzard, kidneys, intestines, trotter, knuckles, blood, snout. These are meat discards but Filipinos, along with other Asian countries have a unique way of preparing it and transforming it into an exotic and tasty dish.
Let's take a look;
- India's Rakti or blood fry.
2. Singapore's pig organ soup.
3. Japan's Horumon Yaki
4. Taiwan's Milkfish deep fried and soup intestines.
5. China's stewed lung and intestines.
6. Indonesia goat liver Satay and fried pig tongue Padang
7. Philippines’s meat and pig brain dinakdakan
Chicken intestine isaw
Blood stew dinuguan
Goat/ cow meat and intestine pinapaitan. (Using bile as a one of the flavourings to attain that slightly bitter taste, the name came from the root word “pait” means bitter.
Chicken gizzard and liver adobo.
Bopis, a spicy dish of minced pork, heart, kidney and lungs.
Braised chicken feet
6. Arab’s Pacha (grilled sheep's eyeballs).
Now, have you heard of placenta? Just kidding.
