What does Balut mean? Doja Cat under fire from Filipino fans over popular street food explanation

Balut is the name of rapper and singer Doja Cat’s brand-new single track, which was released on Friday, September 15. As soon as the news of her latest song surfaced on the internet, many fans wondered what the title meant. As per Uproxx, ‘Balut’ refers to a Filipino street food. However, Doja Cat’s explanation of the song has now created a mass outrage online.

“I named the song balut because it signifies a bird that’s being eaten alive. It’s a metaphor for Twitter stans and the death of Twitter toxicity. The beginning of ‘X’ and the end of ‘tweets,'” she wrote on her Instagram Story.

Unfortunately for Doja Cat, her ‘Balut’ explanation upset her Filipino fans, who are now calling her out for wrongfully representing their culture in front of the world. While ‘Balut’ indeed refers to street food from the Philippines, it is not a bird eaten alive but rather refers to a fertilized bird egg, which is first incubated and then steamed, following which it is ready to be consumed.

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Balut actually refers to fertilized and incubated duck eggs

The term ‘balut’ not just refers to bird eggs, but fertilized duck eggs, which are incubated (after the eggs are 5 days old) for a period of 14 to 21 days and is a street delicacy originating in the Philippines but also widely popular across Asia, such as in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

As per the Journal of Ethnic Foods, the name ‘balut’ has been derived from the traditional process of making the dish, as ‘balut’ in the local Filipino language simply means “wrapped.” In fact, during its incubation period, the duck eggs are often kept inside tiny bags and then covered up or in bamboo incubators.

The journal states that after incubation (to the point of hatching), the embryo is still wrapped, and it is in that condition that the duck eggs are steamed or boiled. Once fully prepared, it is directly eaten from the shell. An ideal ‘balut’ usually has four components: embryo, yolk, ‘bato’ or rock, and broth.

Interestingly, eating fertilized eggs can also be traced back to 16th-century China, where the process of ‘balut’ is believed to have first developed to extend the shelf life of eggs. In fact, the method may have been passed on by Chinese traders to the Philippines, while the Filipinos finally found good use of abundant Mallard ducks, locally called "itik,” and thus ‘balut’ the delicacy was born. Since then, ‘balut’ has often been hailed as one of the most popular street foods in the Philippines.

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Doja Cat earns online backlash from Filipino fans over ‘Balut’ misrepresentation

Doja Cat’s latest song, Balut, may be based on the Filipino street food delicacy that she said she consumed recently. However, the Purrr! singer seemed to have misunderstood how the dish is made, as she said that it is a bird eaten alive.

Not only that, but she said that her song Balut was a metaphor for the end of toxicity on Twitter and ushering in the age of X. But Filipino fans did not seem to be impressed by the clarification and slammed her for misrepresenting their culture.

Doja Cat also took to her Instagram Live to share her love for food and how she almost tries out every delicacy, barring a few. About Balut, here’s what she said.

“Balut was good. It reminded me of the liver. It was almost like…a small portion but not high fat…I can taste the vitamins in it. And you know that sh*t’s good for you, immediately.”

She further continued by saying that it was not as “whimsical” as she thought it would be. The rap artist also mentioned how she poured a little bit of vinegar on it and just ate all of it, although her favorite part was “the juice.” She wrapped up by saying that she loved it, but she also knew that not everybody would enjoy it and admitted she didn’t have it the way it was supposed to be eaten.

For those uninitiated, Balut is part of Doja Cat's upcoming album Scarlet, which is scheduled to roll out this Friday, September 22. In fact, a single from the album called Paint the Town Red is already charting at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Meanwhile, the cover of Scarlet, which was recently unveiled, also gathered some heat when fans started to suggest that Doja Cat replace it with something better, such as a fan-designed photo. However, the Grammy winner quickly shut them down by saying that if she listened to everything everyone said, she would be “eating Captain Crunch out of a Solo Cup.” In the wake of the cover controversy, Balut has now also joined the trend.