Tuslob Buwa
In our native language (Cebuano), the word “tuslob” literally translates to “to dip” and the “buwa” or “bula” translates to “bubble/s”. Contrary to my initial impression from incorporating both words together, it does not involve dipping in soap bubbles whatsoever. This is actually a dish with pig brain as a main ingredient. So how is dipping in bubbles related to pig brain?
One order of tuslob buwa consists of pig brain, sauces and spices, and compact hanging rice. The sauce is just vinegar and soy sauce. This also comes with the equipment to cook them in, so customers usually cook the tuslob buwa themselves.
You start by sauteing the spices together, it’s usually pre-mixed by the restaurant, so you can just pour it all in the pan with cooking oil.
After that, pour the pig’s brain into the pan and season to your liking.
The texture of pig’s brain is very odd; it’s semi-solid and viscous and becomes more liquid from the sauces. When it reaches the boiling point, it creates bubbles, hence “buwa”. To eat it, you take a compacted hanging rice and use the “buwa” as a dipping sauce, hence “tuslob”.
How does it taste?
I have been very stubborn when it comes to trying tuslob buwa, so this was my first time tasting it and before I tasted it, the recurring question in my head is, “how does it taste?”. It was a surprising discovery for me that it basically tastes like nothing. Absolutely nothing- given you don’t add sauce to it. When you add sauce to it and dip the rice in, it just tastes like fatty, viscous, soy sauce. It wasn’t bad at all. It was actually good, almost therapeutic like comfort food. With the ingredients provided, it leans more toward the salty side. It’s a classic Filipino taste: anything that tastes good with rice. Overall, I think it’s very modifiable because there is no specific way to cook it as long as you can dip rice in it.
So, how does it taste? It’s up to you. The better question is, “but did you die?”. “But did you die?” is the tagline of the tuslob buwa restaurant we ate in.
Big Brain
BIg Brain is the name of the restaurant we ate in, it is found in Kasambagan, Cebu City. They have a lot of seating, but the place can be full especially at night time. From their branding, we thought it’s exclusively pig’s brain, but they also offer other dishes. The place was nice, it was clean, and the service was good. We ordered a tuslob buwa set and a sisig. A tuslob buwa set is good for two people and the buwa is unlimited, so if you run out of pig brains, you can ask for more for free.
Final Thoughts
I grew up climbing trees and jumping off of cliffs, and now, I ate pig’s brain. The point is, I didn’t die and what doesn’t kill you is worth trying. I was happy that I finally tried it, and now, I am more open to trying new things- as long as it won’t kill me.
Beyond facing my fear, I am grateful to learn from the cultural aspect of this experience. Food holds so much weight in Filipino cuisine and I am glad that all those years of developing a certain technique of how this dish should be done, it is passed on to me and I get to be a part of it.
Thank you for taking time to read my blog. Have you tried tuslob buwa? Are you willing to try it? Let me know!