Pinapaitan
| Alternative names | Papaítan, Sangkutsar |
|---|---|
| Type | Stew, Soup |
| Course | Main course, Appetizer |
| Place of origin | Philippines |
| Region or state | Ilocos region |
| Associated cuisine | Filipino cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Goat, cow, or carabao meat; offal (liver, intestines, kidneys); and bile or cud |
| Ingredients generally used | Ginger, shallots (or onions), garlic, and chili peppers |
| Variations | Sinanglao, Kinigtot, Kappukan (Ata-ata) |
| Similar dishes | Sapie (柠檬撒), Niu Bie Tang (牛瘪汤), Nam Pia (Nặm pịa), Kaleskes |
Pinapaitan, also known as papaítan or sangkutsar, is a Filipino stew characterized by its distinctive bitter, savory, and slightly sour flavor with a rich, earthy profile. It is traditionally prepared using ginger, meat and offal such as the liver, heart, kidneys, and intestines of goat, cow, or carabao. The dish’s signature bitterness comes from bile, chyme, or cud extracted from the gallbladder of these animals; in some preparations, traces of bile may also be present in the abomasum (the fourth stomach), where digestion occurs, contributing to the bitter taste. Pinapaitan originated in the Ilocos Region of northwestern Luzon, Philippines. It is commonly served as a main dish, a breakfast meal, or pulutan (food consumed with alcoholic beverages), and is often eaten with steammed rice.
Pinapaitan has numerous regional variations, some of which use calamansi or other bittering agents as substitutes for bile. The dish is often compared to sinanglao (also spelled sinanglaw), another Filipino-Ilocano innard soup, as both share similar ingredients and cooking methods; however, sinanglao does not include pait (bile). Pinapaitan is also comparable to other Ilocano dishes such as ata-ata, kinigtot, imbaliktad, and kappukan, which similarly use pait and comparable ingredients but differ in preparation and cooking techniques.