Chicken Spaghetti

“What is that?”

He looked on as his little girl pointed at the smorgasbord of meats he prepared for today’s Filipino-style barbecue. “Which one do you mean, love?”

She gingerly picked up a stick that held together a stringy kind of meat. “This one. It looks like spaghetti!”

He smiled as he took it from her and placed it on the grill. “It’s called isaw, little one.” He smiled as her eyes grew wider while she watched him baste the barbecue. “It’s from the inside of a chicken. It’s kind of like chicken spaghetti, but chewier and yummier.”

After fanning at it for a while and with one last swish of his basting brush, he picked up the isaw, content with its doneness. He offered it to the girl with a grin. “Would you want a taste? Careful, it’s hot.”

She nodded and grabbed at the stick. She blew on it for a bit, allowing its steam to dance with the wind and its sauce to drip down unto the grass. With a deep breath, she took a big bite and chewed at the chicken intestines… then spat it right out.

“That’s disgusting, Daddy! It’s so gross,” she cried angrily, throwing the stick to the ground. “It’s not like spaghetti at all!”

He chuckled and picked up the girl, who was near tears. “There, there, love. We’ll get you something better, okay?” He took a grilled hotdog-on-a-stick and handed it to her. “This one won’t taste like spaghetti at all, but you’ll like it.”

She stared at the offering for a while, then carefully took the stick in her hands. She sniffed a bit, nibbled at it, and looked up at her father with shining eyes. She then took another bite with gusto.

He kissed her on the cheek and sat her down, where she happily dug into her treat. Whistling, he placed a couple more sticks on the grill and swiped his basting brush over them.

–
Image source: steemit.com/food/@philippinetrail/isaw-the-best-with-coke
Written as prompted by Day 5 (Chicken) of the 2018 Inktober prompt list: inktober.com/rules
First written October 5, 2018.
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