Soup Number Five, variously spelled Soup No. 5 or Soup #5, is a soup made from bull's testes[1][2] or penis.[3] The dish originates from Filipino cuisine. It is believed to have aphrodisiac properties.[3]
Soup Number Five
Alternative names
Lansiao
Type
Soup
Place of origin
Philippines
Main ingredients
Bull's testes
Regional appellation
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Cebu's variant of Soup Number Five is called lansiao or lanciao[4] and is a popular street dish. Its name "lansiao" was adapted from Chinese descendants who speak Hokkien, of which Hokkien Chinese: 𡳞鳥; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lǎn-chiáu refers to the male's genitals.
Soup Number Five is also known as Remember Me (usually shortened to RM) in Cagayan de Oro. The name originates from the name of a restaurant specializing in Soup Number Five. The name has become the most common name for Soup Number Five in Mindanao, supplanting its other names in the northern regions of the Philippines.[5][6][7]
There is no known culinary recipe specifically for a "penis snake". The term "penis snake" is a media nickname for the Atretochoana eiselti, a species of limbless amphibian (caecilian), not an actual snake, and it is not a common food item.
However, in certain traditional Chinese medicine contexts, the actual dried penis and testes of a snake ("Penis et testis Serpentis") may be used as an ingredient in capsules or powders, often combined with other ingredients like male silkworm moth powder, goji berries, and various herbs for purported health benefits.
Additionally, recipes exist for dishes using the actual penises of other animals, such as the trending bull penis soup in China and Malaysia.
Recipe for Trending Bull Penis Soup
A recipe for bull penis soup, a local dish in Malaysia known for its peppery and curry-like broth, involves several steps:
Soak a large bull penis in white vinegar for three hours.
Prepare the penis by cutting it up and squeezing out any internal substance, then rinsing it thoroughly in clean water.
Blanch the penis in boiling water with scallion, ginger, and cooking wine for ten minutes.
Cut the blanched penis open with a cleaver, remove any internal tube-like material, and make several cuts on one side.
Blanch for an additional five minutes.
Simmer the blanched penis in a clay pot for 81 minutes with more scallion, ginger, cooking wine, and water.
Add Chinese red dates and cook for another ten minutes.
Season with salt and chicken seasoning, then add goji berries to finish.
The resulting dish is described as having a chewy, gelatinous, and rubbery texture that takes on the flavor of the broth.
