You cannot travel to the Philippines and say you've been bathed in true backpacker blood if you do not try at least five of the Philippines' most favored street dishes. People around the world know about balut, thanks to Fear Factor and TMZ, while others have heard of other aptly-named delicacies like Adidas (chicken feet) and isol (chicken rear end). It is surprising to note, however, that another street favorite, the chicken proven, has not yet gained international notoriety.
Proven or proben, as most locals of Manila, Laguna, and Cagayan de Oro like to call it, is chicken innards marinated, coated in an egg and flour batter, and deep-fried in hot oil.Street vendors cook proven in most street corners and it is not a strange sight to see a small crowd gathered around a proven stall in the afternoons, eating proven with rice before heading home. Proven is traditionally dipped in vinegar or a vinegar and ketchup mixture. Some vendors offer various sauces according to the amount of chili in the sauce. The more chili there is, the hotter the sauce. Vendors also differ in how they serve proven. Some serve the proven on a plate with rice and a small saucer for the sauce, while others skewer three or four balls of proven in one bamboo stick and sell each stick for P5 each.
Since this delicacy is made up of chicken innards, a lot of people, locals and foreigners alike, are often wary about eating proven for fear of accidentally ingesting fresh chicken innards that some absent-minded kitchen boy may have failed to wash out. However, studies have been conducted which show that any traces of bacteria present in fresh chicken entrails are effectively killed in hot boiling oil, so you can feel safe as long as you eat proven while it is still hot. Bacteria can reappear if the proven is left out in the open air after it is cooked.
If you want to be safe, look for local restaurants that serve proven, or only choose those stalls that you know serve good, clean, and cooked chicken entrails. Some high-end restaurants in most Philippine cities that exclusively offer Pinoy dishes offer proven and their versions of other street food delicacies using safer and cleaner cooking techniques. If you want to try out these dishes without the threat of diarrhea, check out local restaurants instead.However, if you are a seasoned traveler and you have tasted other street food delicacies in the past, there is nothing quite like the experience of standing should-to-shoulder with hungry locals and wolfing down one proven stick after another (proven is chock-full of fat, so better stick to 3 sticks max in one sitting.)
