# Kilawin

Kilawin or Kilawen is a Filipino dish of chopped or sliced meats, poultry, seafood, or vegetables typically eaten as an appetizer before a meal, or as finger food with alcoholic drinks.
Kilawin is commonly associated with the Ilocano dish "kilawen a kalding" (Tagalog: kilawing kambing), lightly grilled goat meat traditionally eaten with papaít, a bittering agent usually of bile or chyme extracted from the internal organs of the animal.
However, for Ilocanos "kilawen" is an intransitive verb for food preparation that encompasses all raw and lightly cooked or cured foods including dishes that would be described as kinilaw. Meanwhile, non-Ilocano Filipinos often refer to kilawin only to meats those that are cooked similar to adobo or paksiw.

## Etymology

The Ilocano term kilawen is a cognate to other dishes of similar origin. Filipino: "kilaw" (or "quilao") and Hiligaynon: "hilao" meaning "to eat (raw)" also include cognates such as kinilaw, kilayen, kinilnat, kulao, kulawo, kelaguen.
Pre-colonial Filipinos often ate their foods raw or rare. Meats, including fish, were typically rinsed or cured in vinegar. Later, the Spanish compared these kilaw dishes similar to adobo. Pedro de San Buenaventura selected the word “adobo” in the 16th century for kilaw which was a mixture of salt, palm vinegar, and chili pepper into which was put meat until it was tenderized.

## Variations

In Northern Luzon, particularly among the Ilocanos, a variety of raw or lightly grilled meats, including beef, carabao, chicken, fish, goat, pork (or boar), shellfish, and venison, are commonly prepared as kilawin or kilawen. Traditionally, these meats were cured using vinegar, specifically sukang Iloko (sugarcane vinegar), 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 (goat) meat and skin marinated in vinegar and seasoned with shallots, ginger, chili, and salt.
* Kilawin a Ipon – Made from fresh ipon (baby anchovies or small fish) marinated in vinegar and seasoned with shallots, ginger, chili, and salt.
* Kudil (Caliente) – 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 (Kappukan) – Raw, rare beef or carabao meat seasoned with papait, shallots, ginger, chili, and salt according to the Glossary of Filipino Food.
Among the Kapampangan people, kilayin uses fully cooked pork, heart, liver, and tripe. A similar dish in Cavite uses fully boiled pig ears known as kulao or kilawin na tainga ng baboy, or tokwa't baboy when mixed with fried tofu cubes. Modern variants of this dish use soy sauce in addition to the other ingredients.

## Risks

In the late 1960s, kilawin consumption of the gudgeon fish contributed to the intestinal capillariasis epidemic where there were 1,884 cases and 110 deaths.