It’s Christmas everywhere and in the Philippines no other treat says Christmas more than this rice cake.  It’s available year round in most places.  During the Christmas season, churches everywhere will have vendors setting up shop in the wee hours of the morning.  These vendors will be selling  bibingka or puto bumbong and cooking them right in their stalls.  The Catholic faithful who hear the early morning novena mass before Christmas all flock to these stalls for their bibingka.  It makes a perfect breakfast with your coffee or hot cocoa.

The best way to cook these cakes is in shallow pans made of clay  lined with banana leaves set up over hot coals with more live coals on a movable tin cover to cook the top.  My version is oven-baked for convenience.  This was my first time to make this and I was not all that impressed by how it turned out.  When I took it to my mom’s for merienda however, they all liked it.  Youngest Sister even said the only thing missing was the distinct smell when you cook something over live coals….something we always called “charcoal smell.”

The toppings may not be readily available.  The salted duck’s eggs can be homemade but it will take a couple of weeks to cure.  The Filipino quesong puti is similar to the Mexican queso fresco or queso blanco.  The Philippine version uses carabao’s milk and thus,  richer.  As for the coconut milk, there’s nothing like fresh since it has a natural sweetness you can’t get from canned coconut milk.  If you are in a pinch, use cow’s milk or the canned/powdered coconut milk.

Here are the ingredients:

2 c. Jasmine or other fragrant long grain rice variety

2 c. water

4 eggs

3/4 to 1 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter

1 c. coconut milk

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

sliced salted duck’s eggs

sliced quesong puti

Soak rice overnight in the water to soften the grains.  Put grains in a food processor and grind on high until fine.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare two 8-inch round pans by lining with banana leaves that have been wiped clean and heated over an open flame to make it flexible.

Beat eggs, sugar and butter until frothy.  Add the rest of the ingredients, not including duck’s egg and cheese.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and top with eggs and cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean.

Serve with freshly grated coconut meat.

This is a rice stick everyone in the Philippines knows. Filipinos like eating this with ripe mangoes, specifically, Philippine mangoes and none of the “manila” mangoes sold in the US. As every Filipino who has traveled outside the country will tell you – nothing beats Philippine mangoes for flavor and texture. And this Suman sa Ibos is perfect with our mangoes. This is salty and not sweet at all, a good contrast to a sweet mango.

The Thais also eat their mangoes with a sticky rice dish that is similar to Suman sa Ibos. But they don’t make it into rice sticks like we do.

When I was thinking of a recipe for the Lasang Pinoy 20th Edition which is about wrapped foods or Binalot, I thought of this suman immediately.

Our yaya or nanny (every family had one in those days in the Philippines) whom we called “Nana” taught me how to do the wrap when I was just a little girl of about 8 or 9 years old. I kept pestering her when they were making a huge batch of suman with my grandmother supervising everything. To keep me out of her way, she showed me how to wrap the suman and made me practise without the filling of rice and coconut cream. The first photograph here is the first one I’ve done in years. This is empty though, just a test suman.

The wrapper is young coconut leaves that haven’t completely opened and turned green even. I had my trusty laundrywoman source the leaves for me and she came with a whole bunch of leaves already cut from the long stem it comes out of. I looked at it sitting in the counter of the dirty kitchen and thought to myself, “What in the world am I going to do with all of that?!”

After my ordeal…excuse me…my interesting experience of making the real thing, I realized just how difficult it is. Like the muruecos I did earlier, I’d rather buy this from now on…confident that I gave it a try once and succeeded. Well, partially anyway. It was edible but it was too skinny! And it will probably take a thousand more sumans to make it perfectly plump the way I remember the ones Nana made. I’m not in the suman business so I’m happy.

Here are more photos of the actual rice sticks I made with REAL filling. It’s a simple mix of 1 c. sticky rice, 1 c. pure coconut cream and a tablespoon of rock salt.

There they are – all 5 of them.  Yes, just FIVE.  I didn’t have the heart to ruin it all by making skinny ones like these.  For a first attemp, they were okay, don’t you think?  You might be wondering what happened to all that rice.  Well, with some sugar added, I turned it into a lazy person’s rice cake called biko.  Hahahha!

Anyway, I boiled all five of them in the second extraction of coconut mixed with about 3 cups of water. It took me a full 2 hours before I was sure they were done. Then I noticed they didn’t plump up like I was hoping they would so I didn’t bother to take a photo and carted all of them to Youngest Sister who said they were perfectly done and the grains I used were first-rate, but she did note how skinny they were and how she wished there was more.

On that note, I shall end my pathetic suman story.

Muruecos is the name of a common rice stick or suman as Filipinos call it. It was supposedly my grandmother’s favorite suman. I like it too and featuring it for Lasang Pinoy 20th Edition, Binalot made the effort certainly worthwhile.

Again, this was my first time to try this recipe. By the way, I used white sugar instead of brown. I had this thought the dark latik will make a great contrast with the white sticky rice. You be the judge. I asked my mother how it was made but got no details like proportions and cooking time. We never made this at home even when my grandmother, who instructed rather than cooked, was around. So this was really a huge task for me to undertake. Actually, for all the work that goes into this, I’d rather buy this next time. It didn’t turn out bad …look at the evidence….errrr…I mean photo!

And honestly, I don’t know how suman artisans make any profit. The cooking time alone will eat up any gains. Then there’s the wrapping…how on earth they make a perfect suman each and every time certainly boggles the mind.

The wrapper is a young banana leaf. To prepare the leaf, wipe it down with a clean damp cloth to remove any debris. Pass the whole leaf over an open flame to make it easier to handle. A hot clothes iron will also do the job. Cut into rectangles about 4×12 inches.
So here’s the recipe:

2 c. sticky rice

2 c. pure coconut milk

1 c. white or brown sugar (brown sugar is used for the original Suman Muruecos)

1/4 tsp. salt

4 c. coconut milk from second extraction

latik

1 young banana leaf, prepared as described above
Start by washing the sticky rice over running water. Strain to remove excess water. Soak the rice in a bowl with the pure coconut milk. Season with the sugar and salt. Adjust to your taste. Cover and leave in refrigerator at least 4 hours.

Lay out a piece of your banana leaf wrap on a small flat tray, wrong side up. Put 1 1/2 tablespoon of the soaked rice on one end. Top with latik as shown in photo.

Then take the leaf on the end where the rice is, move the rice over an inch and fold over the leaf once to secure it. Make sure the rice grains don’t run off as you fold all the way to the end. You can do this by folding one side, then lifting and repeating for the other side. When you have folded the whole leave over your rice stick, fold the sides so the ends meet in the center of your rice stick.

Take two of the sticks and tie it loosely back to back with a strand of banana leaf. Place this in a stock pot and continue wrapping until all your rice and wrap is used up. Cover the wrapped rice rice sticks with the coconut cream. If this doesn’t cover the  rice sticks, add more water to your pot.

Cover and bring to a boil. Allow this to simmer for 2 hours.

This is a recipe I picked up after coming from a 3-month Bangkok work assignment several years ago.  The photo was taken just before the final stir, aftet I just threw in the scallions, diced tomato and scrambled egg strips. 

The street food of Bangkok fascinated me of course.  The little soi where our office housed their foreign employees was just behind Bumrungrad Hospital, before it became famously world-class.  The street had several little motels, restaurants and several food hawkers selling, fried rice, pork hocks simmering in a sweet brown sauce, grilled seafood, mango salads, fresh fruits with sugar and chili powder…and so much more….which I all tried BTW.

This particular fried rice recipe I call Bangkok Fried Rice because it isn’t your usual Thai Fried Rice with aromatic herbs.  It’s rather plain compared to other Thai recipes, but I love the mix of chili paste and shrimp paste coupled with the fresh tomato thrown in at the last minute of this fried rice.  Tomato is not your usual fried rice ingredient and it worked wonderfully here.

After about a couple of weeks of landing in Bangkok, I had to refrain from my favorite street foods.  A co-woker from Singapore brought me to a restaurant that served clams which I didn’t recognize.  He called it blood clams or something and assured me they were good.  The following day, I was too sick to even see straight.  It was terrible and there’s nothing worse than getting sick in a foreign land all by yourself.

Good thing Bumrungrad Hospital was right across the street so I hauled myself to their emergency room and was told to stay overnight as they stuck needles in my arm.  Somehow reassuringly, my doctor was not surprised I had food poisoning and just told me to take it easy on the street food and gave me some pills and a prescription.  And so my street food bonanza in Bangkok ended.  Errr….well, suspended till further notice anyway.

Before this medical drama unfolded, I was a happy customer of this one lady who stationed herself right by the gate of the condominium where I was staying.  For the first couple of weeks, I ordered my fried rice from her. In fact, I got so addicted to her cooking I had fried rice for lunch almost daily.  I’d have chicken one day, beef the next then pork…but always from this same lady.  I would watch her cooking until it felt like I was making it myself.   When I got home to the Philippines, I tried this on my family and they just loved it. 

So here’s my recipe, using approximate portions:

4 c. cooked cold jasmine rice, tossed and separated with your moistened fingers

1 tbsp. light olive oil

1 lb. ground or thinly-sliced pork tenderloin

1 small onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, crushed and peeled

2 tbsp. fish sauce

4 tbsps. Thai Chili-Garlic Paste

3 tbsps. shrimp paste (Lee Kum Kee is always reliable)

1 tsp. Chinese wine

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. oyster sauce or Indonesian kecap manis

1 small carrot, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 c. shredded cabbage

salt to taste

1/2 c. frozen peas

2 green onions, sliced fine

1 med. tomato, diced

1 scrambled egg, cut in strips

Heat a large wok over high heat.  Add oil and when surface starts rippling after half a minute add the pork and stir fry a minute. 

Add the next 8 ingredients and stir fry till pork is cooked, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Then add the carrots and cabbage, stir fry another 2 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. 

Add the rice and stir until it’s evenly coated with the pan juices.  Stir fry about 3 minutes, correcting the seasoning as you mix.  Now add the tomatoes, scallions and egg strips and give it one last stir.  Turn off heat and serve immediately while tomatoes are still firm.

This is a common way of preparing rice in the Philippines.  Sinangag, as we call it, is great for breakfast with virtually anything you can  fry.    I made this to go with the dried fish I posted about the yesterday. 

We use plenty of garlic…a perfect way to wake you up if you  think about it.  Between all that  garlic and the dried fish….mmmmm… *Light Bulb Moment* - that’s why perfumes and colognes are so popular back home!  LOL!  Just kidding….Filipinos won’t back down from any dish because of its smell.

As with any fried rice, you start with some cold, cooked plain white rice.  Most Filipino households will always cook more rice than is needed for dinner precisely because you’ll have enough for re-cooking at breakfast the next day.  In the Philippines, most people do eat rice for all three meals. 

This wasn’t the case for us when we were growing up.  For some reason, I remember we always had pan de sal and oatmeal at the breakfast table.  Unlike some kids I knew then, I liked my oatmeal. In fact, I always hoped there was leftover oatmeal and even looked forward to coming home from school and raiding the refrigerator for that cold oatmeal that turned into a solid mass.

So, how do you make Garlic Fried Rice?

Start by heating a large wok over high heat and adding a tablespoon or two cooking oil.  If you have just cooked some eggs and bacon or fried fish, or tapa or something…use the same wok and oil to cook your garlic rice.

When the oil in the pan starts to ripple, add 3-5 mashed garlic cloves and stir.  Just before it starts turning brown (some prefer it browned, I don’t),  add 4 cups of cooked, cold rice and stir fry.  Add some salt to taste and MSG if you’re not sensitive about it.  Keep stirring for about 8 minutes or until the rice doesn’t stick to the pan and to each other. 

Now for a little secret….cover your wok and bring down the heat to low.  I like to think of this step as “reviving” the rice grains and find it does make a difference.  Keep it covered for about 3 minutes and then stir again.

Serve hot.

Think about this…Fried Rice is probably the most unique dish that comes out of your kitchen.  What’s in your fried rice all depends on what’s in your refrigerator and that will differ from household to household and even from time to time…because we never have all the same leftovers.

This is a Shrimp Fried Rice I made easily with some frozen shrimps I have sitting in my freezer.  Since it’s only Spouse who can eat them, that one bag I bought last week is still more than half full. Fried Rice is just about the easiest, most satisfying meal any dummy in the kitchen can prepare.  There are a few things to remember when cooking good fried rice…they’re not secrets at all so I’ll gladly repeat them here.

Shrimp Fried Rice

2 c. cold cooked long-grain rice (jasmine rice is always good)

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tbsps. corn oil 

1 small white onion, minced

2-3  tbsps. diced red bell pepper

1/4 c. frozen peas, thawed

about 15 pcs. medium shrimped, shelled

4 tbsps. light soy sauce (more depending on taste)

sliced green onions

First of all, separate the grains of rice with your fingers dipped in warm water.  Always start with cold rice.  Set aside.

In a well-seasoned wok set over high heat,  heat the oil until it ripples.  Add the egg and cook quickly for about a minute or two.  Slice and set aside.

In the same wok, add the onions and cook till translucent, just a minute or two.  Add the bell pepper and cook another minute or two.  Add the shrimp and peas and cook just a minute.  Add the rice and the soy sauce.  Mix thouroughly while cooking over high heat.  If it gets too hot, lower the heat to a comfortable temperature.  The hotter your fire, the faster you have to mix.  Check for seasonings.

Now add the green onions and the sliced scrambled egg and turn off heat.  Serve immediately. 

This is the kind of Arroz Valenciana typical of the Philippine. It has the Valencian influence although the original only uses a tomato and not tomato sauce, rabbit, which is not commonly eaten in the Philippines, saffron and pimenton and no fish sauce and Chorizo de Bilbao which is de rigueur for the Filipino version.  And one important difference, we pre-cook the rice before adding it to the saucy meat base.  But we call it Arroz Valenciana and this was common party fare when I was growing up.

I tried to make this the way my mother made it but it was too late when I realized I was out of frozen peas and green beans!  I hate to say it, but it will have to do for now….this is what we called “Orange Rice” when I was a kid.

Arroz Valenciana ala Manila

1. c. short-grain rice cooked in 1.5 c. water

2 tbsp. regular olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed

1 small white onion, diced

1/2 lb. pork meat

1/2 lb. chicken thighs

1 Chorizo de Bilbao, sliced thin

2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 small can tomato sauce

1 c. water

2 small red potaoes, peeled and quartered

2 med. carrots, peeled and cut in 1 in. dice

10-15 green olives

1 medium red bell pepper, cut in 1 in. dice

1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, cut in 1 in. dice (optional)

1/2 medium green bell pepper,  cut in 1 in. dice

1/4 frozen peas/green beans cut in 1 in. slices

salt and pepper to taste

1 boiled egg

Heat a wok over medium high heat and add the oil.  Add garlic and cook till almost brown. Add onions and cook until it’s translucent.  Add the meats and the sausage and cook till the red from the meats is gone.  Add fish sauce and cook till it sizzles and starts browning at the bottom.

Add the tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and lower heat to medium low.  Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add potato and carrots. Cover and cook another 8-10 minutes or until potato is tender.  At this point, taste and season.

Add bell peppers and frozen peas. Cover and cook another 3 minutes.   Add more water if it gets too dry.  Transfer the cooked rice to the wok and stir well, tasting and adjusting as you go along.  Cover and allow to steam about 3 more minutes to allow flavors to mix.

Transfer to a dish, top with slices of boiled egg. Serve immediately.

Here’s another Cuban-style Arroz con Pollo recipe, second in a series I said in a previous post I would undertake for this blog. Between this recipe and the first one, I prefer this one for flavor. Although, I think I’ll marry the two recipes and come up with a better one that will be for keeps…until the next best recipe I find anyway!

Arroz con Pollo 2: Cubano-Style

2 lbs. chicken pieces

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Sofrito and Broth:

1 tbsp. Annato oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small tomato, seeded and diced

1.5 c. water

1/2 c. dry white wine

2/3 c. beer

1/4 tsp. annato seeds

1/2 tbsp. tomato paste

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lb. Arborio rice

Sliced red pimientos for garnish

green peas for garnish

Wash the chicken and blot dry with a paper towel.  Marinate the chicken in the next 4 ingredients for 20-30 minutes.

Heat oil in a large heatproof casserole or a pot with a heavy bottom. Brown the chicken pieces all over.  Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour out all but a tablespoon.

In the same pan, add the onion, bell pepper and garlic, cook over medium heat until soft but not brown.  Add tomato and cook a minute longer. Return the chicken to the pot and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the water, wine, beer, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, place annato seeds in a small saucepan with 1/4 c. of the cooking liquid. Simmer about 5 minutes. Strain into the chicken mixture.

Thoroughly wash the rice and drain off the water. With the chicken boiling, stir in the washed rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. If it starts to dry out, add more liquid. If it gets too soupy, cook uncovered during the last 10-15 minutes.

Add the pimientos and peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking.