The Philippines' street-corner skewer: pork slices marinated in soy sauce, calamansi, garlic, and — the local secret — banana ketchup and 7-Up, grilled while being basted with the same sweet-savory glaze. Part of the wider ihaw-ihaw grilling culture that skewers everything from chicken feet to intestines.
Also known as: pinoy BBQ, inihaw, ihaw-ihaw, pork BBQ sticks, Filipino barbecue
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork shoulder (kasim), sliced thin, about 5 mm x 4 cm
- 120 ml soy sauce
- 60 ml calamansi juice (or 2 parts lime to 1 lemon)
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 100 g banana ketchup, plus extra for the glaze
- 50 g brown sugar
- 200 ml lemon-lime soda
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Bamboo skewers, soaked
- Spiced vinegar dip (cane vinegar, garlic, chili, onion)
How to make it
- 1
Whisk soy, calamansi, garlic, banana ketchup, sugar, soda and pepper; submerge the pork overnight.
- 2
Ribbon 4-5 slices onto each skewer so they sit flat, and boil the leftover marinade with extra banana ketchup for 3 minutes to make the basting glaze.
- 3
Grill over medium coals, turning every 2 minutes and mopping with glaze at each turn.
- 4
After 10-12 minutes the edges should be caramel-dark and sticky, the fat translucent.
- 5
Serve with the vinegar dip and rice, ideally on a street corner of your own kitchen.
Pro tip: Banana ketchup is non-negotiable; tomato ketchup makes it merely sweet. The banana version brings the fruity, faintly tangy note that says Manila, and it caramelizes darker without turning acrid.
