Kilawin
Kilawin is a Filipino dish consisting of chopped raw, grilled, or boiled meat—such as fish, pork, goat, beef, or carabao—marinated in vinegar or citrus juices. It is commonly served as an appetizer or as finger food with alcoholic beverages. Originating from the Ilocos Region, kilawin is considered the Ilocano counterpart of Visayan and Tagalog kinilaw, but unlike kinilaw, it is not limited to raw meat.
Kilawén is closely associated with the Ilocano dish kilawén a kaldíng, which uses lightly grilled goat meat and is traditionally eaten with papaít, a bittering agent usually derived from bile or chyme extracted from the animal’s internal organs.
Among Ilocanos, kilawén functions as an intransitive verb referring broadly to a method of food preparation that includes raw, lightly cooked, grilled, boiled, or cured dishes, encompassing foods that would elsewhere be classified as kinilaw. In contrast, non-Ilocano Filipinos often use the term kilawén more narrowly to describe cooked meat dishes prepared in a vinegar-based style similar to adobo or paksiw.
Etymology
The term kilawin is derived from the Iloco word kiláw, meaning “to eat raw or lightly cooked meat or fish.” The suffix -en indicates a completed action or state, conveying the sense of “prepared in the kilaw style,” i.e., marinated and seasoned with vinegar or citrus juice and ready to eat.Kilawin is linguistically and culturally related to similar dishes found among various Philippine ethnolinguistic groups, including Tagalog, Kapampangan, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon, such as kinilaw, kilayen, kinilnat, kulao, kulawo, and kelaguen. These dishes reflect a longstanding Philippine culinary tradition of consuming fresh or lightly cured meats and seafood, typically preserved or seasoned with vinegar or citrus juices.
Variations
In Northern Luzon, particularly among the Ilocanos, a variety of raw, boiled, lightly grilled meats, including beef, carabao, chicken, fish, goat, pork, shellfish, and venison, are commonly prepared as kilawin or kilawen. Traditionally, these meats were cured using vinegar, specifically sukang Iloko, before consumption. In contemporary practices, the meats are often lightly cooked, typically grilled, before being marinated in vinegar.Citrus juices, such as those from lemons, dayap, or calamansi, are frequently used as alternatives to vinegar. Onions or shallots, along with ginger, are common additions that enhance the dish’s flavor profile. To introduce heat, pepper or chili is often included. These variations highlight the versatility and enduring popularity of kilawin or kilawen within Ilocano cuisine.
Notable varieties of Ilocano kilawin include:
- Kilawin a Kalding – Made from slightly grilled chevon or mutton meat and skin marinated in vinegar and seasoned with shallots, ginger, chili, and salt.
- Kilawin a Ipon – Made from fresh ipon marinated in vinegar and seasoned with shallots, ginger, chili, and salt.
- Kudil – Made from boiled cow or carabao skin, softened, marinated in vinegar, and seasoned with shallots, ginger, chili, and salt.
- Dinakdakan – Grilled pork seasoned with vinegar, shallots, ginger, chili, salt, and pig’s brain.
- Insarabasab – Similar to dinakdakan but without pig’s brain.
- Ata-ata – Raw, rare beef or carabao meat seasoned with papait, shallots, ginger, chili, and salt