A taste of Filipino Christmas
I am truly sorry for not being able to post the past weeeeeekkkkssss (yes it was that long). J I have been teaching preschool kids these past weeks so I was tired and busy. But the long wait is now over….
If you ask me what is a symbol of Filipino Christmas I could say the parol (star lantern) or the belen (manger), but if you ask me what food symbolizes Filipino Christmas… I would say bibingka and puto bumbong. There are no direct English translations for these yummy Filipino Christmas sweet. It might just be called rice cakes but in the Philippines there are various types of rice cakes. These two particular rice cakes are mostly available only on Christmas.
Bibingka is made from rice flour topped with salted eggs, butter, and toasted coconut. While puto bumbong is made from a sticky type of rice called pirurutong, this makes the puto bumbong purple. It is then cooked in bamboo tubes by steam.
A few weeks ago I was able to eat puto bumbong from Via Mare. This was after going around the mall looking for Christmas decors. Eating this made me feel that it was Christmas already because traditionally puto bumbong would be sold alongside bibngka every simbang gabi (Christmas night mass). It was freshly made when I ate it. It was topped with toasted coconut and brown sugar. Oh boy did it taste good! It was warm and sweet… such a perfect treat J.
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| bibingka |
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| the purutong being placed in the bamboo tube |
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| off to be steamed |
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| finished product :) |
So if ever you find yourself in the Philippines during Christmas don’t forget to try puto bumbong and bibingka. J
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Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J
