What is Adidas

Adidas is the cheeky Filipino street-food name for grilled chicken feet, one of the most popular skewered snacks sold from sidewalk grills across the Philippines. Marinated, skewered, and charred over hot coals, these little feet are chewy, savoury, and best eaten with a tangy vinegar dip. Named with typical Filipino humour after the famous shoe brand, adidas is a beloved fixture of the country’s grilled street-food scene.

This guide explains what adidas is, where its playful name comes from, its history, how it is prepared and eaten, and its place in Filipino food culture.

What adidas is

Adidas is grilled chicken feet, cleaned, declawed, marinated, threaded onto bamboo skewers, and cooked over charcoal until smoky and slightly crisp at the edges. The feet are mostly skin, cartilage, and tendon, giving them a distinctive chewy, gelatinous texture that fans love. They are a classic member of the Filipino ihaw-ihaw, or grilled street food, family, sold cheaply from roadside grills, usually a few pesos per stick.

Where the name comes from

The name is pure Filipino wit. Chicken feet, with their three splayed toes, playfully call to mind the three stripes of the Adidas logo, and since feet wear shoes, the joke writes itself. So vendors dubbed the snack “adidas.” It sits in a whole tradition of nicknamed street food where offal skewers are christened after brands and objects, a humour that makes eating adventurous cuts feel fun and familiar rather than daunting.

A snack born of thrift

Adidas, like its street-food cousins, rose to popularity out of necessity. When a severe economic crisis hit the Philippines in the 1970s, the cheaper, often-discarded parts of the chicken, including the feet, became an affordable source of food. Resourceful vendors, unwilling to let anything go to waste, turned these humble parts into tasty, inexpensive snacks. What began as a way to stretch a peso became a genuine favourite, showing the Filipino gift for making something delicious out of very little.

How adidas is made

Preparing adidas takes patience. The chicken feet are first cleaned thoroughly and the claws trimmed off. They are often boiled or blanched to tenderise them, then marinated in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar or calamansi, garlic, and pepper to build flavour. The feet are skewered several to a stick and grilled over charcoal, brushed with a soy or annatto baste, until the skin chars and turns smoky. The slow grilling gives them their signature sticky, chewy bite.

How it is eaten

Adidas is finger food in the truest sense. You nibble the skin, cartilage, and tendon off the tiny bones, dunking each skewer into a sharp spiced vinegar with onions, garlic, and chili that cuts the richness. It is a much-loved pulutan, the snack that pairs with cold drinks among friends, and an everyday treat for students and workers. Eating adidas is as much about the sociable, hands-on ritual as it is about the flavour.

Part of a colourful street-food family

Adidas is never the only thing on the grill. It shares the coals with a whole cast of nicknamed skewers: isaw (grilled intestines), betamax (grilled blood cubes), “walkman” (pig’s ears), “helmet” (chicken head), and “IUD” (chicken intestines). Together they make up the vibrant, sociable world of Filipino street eating, cheap, boldly named, and full of the humour and resourcefulness that define Filipino food culture.

Nutrition and why people love it

Chicken feet might seem like an odd thing to eat, but there is good reason adidas has stayed popular for decades. Beyond being cheap, it offers real texture and even some nutritional value.

• Rich in collagen, the protein prized for skin and joint health, which is why chicken feet are eaten across much of Asia.
• Very affordable, a filling snack for just a few pesos a stick.
• Chewy and satisfying, with a sticky, gelatinous bite that fans find moreish.
• Smoky and flavourful, soaking up the marinade and char beautifully on the grill.

For many Filipinos, the appeal is as much about the experience as the food. Eating adidas is hands-on and sociable, a snack shared over drinks and conversation, and a small everyday pleasure tied to the sights and smells of the neighbourhood grill.

Where to find adidas

Like its street-food cousins, adidas belongs to the world of the roadside grill rather than the restaurant. It is easy to find once the evening cooking fires are lit.

• Sidewalk grill stalls in towns and cities, busiest in the late afternoon and evening.
• Around schools and workplaces, a favourite cheap bite for students and workers.
• Markets, plazas, and fiestas, sold beside isaw, betamax, and other skewers.

The golden rule is the same everywhere: choose a busy stall with a hot grill and quick turnover. Fresh, well-charred adidas from a popular vendor is both tastier and safer than something that has been sitting around.

Cooking adidas at home

Adventurous home cooks can make adidas too, and the effort pays off in flavour. A little preparation makes the feet tender and safe to enjoy.

1. Clean thoroughly and trim off the claws before cooking.
2. Boil or blanch the feet first to tenderise them and cut cooking time on the grill.
3. Marinate well in soy sauce, vinegar or calamansi, garlic, and pepper for a few hours.
4. Skewer and grill over charcoal, basting as you go, until the skin chars and turns smoky.
5. Serve with spiced vinegar for dipping, the classic partner to every Filipino grilled skewer.

A snack worth trying

Adidas is one of those foods that rewards a little courage. Newcomers may hesitate at the sight of grilled chicken feet, but those who give it a fair try often find themselves reaching for a second skewer. The trick is to eat it the way locals do: hot off the grill, dipped generously in tangy spiced vinegar, nibbling the skin and cartilage from the little bones with your fingers. Beyond the flavour, the pleasure is in the ritual, the smoky air, the shared stall, and the unhurried conversation that comes with it. For visitors wanting to taste the Philippines as Filipinos actually live it, adidas is an honest and memorable place to begin.

Adidas and the spirit of Filipino street food

More than a snack, adidas embodies the whole ethos of Filipino street eating: waste nothing, spend little, and turn the humblest ingredient into something worth gathering around. Born from thrift, named with a grin, and grilled fresh on countless corners each evening, it reflects a culture that meets hard times with humour and finds real joy in simple, shared food. To love adidas is to appreciate the ingenuity and warmth that make the Philippines’ grilled street food so unforgettable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is adidas (the food)?

Adidas is the Filipino street-food name for grilled chicken feet, marinated and skewered on bamboo, cooked over charcoal, and eaten with a spiced vinegar dip.

Why is it called adidas?

It is a joke: chicken feet wear no shoes, so vendors named the grilled feet after the Adidas shoe brand, part of the playful Filipino habit of nicknaming street food.

What does adidas taste like?

It is smoky and savoury with a chewy, gelatinous texture from the skin and cartilage. The vinegar dip adds a bright, tangy contrast.

Is grilled chicken feet safe to eat?

Yes, when cleaned well, cooked through, and bought from a clean, busy stall. Chicken feet are rich in collagen and a popular snack across Asia.

Conclusion

Adidas captures everything lovable about Filipino street food: thrift, humour, and bold flavour on a bamboo stick. Named with a wink after a shoe brand and grilled fresh on every busy corner, these little chicken feet turn a humble ingredient into a smoky, chewy, sociable treat that keeps Filipinos coming back to the grill.