A Taste of Christmas
By Ellen Joy Anastacio
December 2004

Whenever we Filipinos think of Christmas, the thought of food never seems to be too far away. Suman, hamon, quezo de bola, bibingka, puto bumbong, halaya..these make me immediately think of Christmas. What's the walk home from Simbang Gabi like without holding a package of sweet smelling puto bumbong and delectable bibingka?

So if you're longing for traditional Filipino Christmas treats, here are some recipes that you may want to try out just in time for the holidays. Enjoy!

• Bibingka
• Puto Bumbong
• Ube Halaya
• Suman
• Salabat
• Tsokolate

Bibingka
2 cups rice
1 ½ cups water
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shredded fresh coconut
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
Banana leaf for lining baking dish.

Soak 2 cups of rice in 1 ½ cup of water overnight. Blend in blender on liquefy until smooth. Combine mixture with sugar, coconut, baking powder, eggs and butter.

Line two pie dishes with banana leaf. Pour mixture into pie dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated hot oven at 375° for 30 minutes.

Remove foil. Brush melted butter on top of bibingka. Top with salted egg if desired.

Bake for another 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.

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Puto Bumbong
1 cup ordinary glutinous rice
3 tbsp pirurutong (purple glutinous rice, also called black sticky rice)
2 cups water
grated coconut
margarine
sugar

Soak the ordinary glutinous rice and pirurutong in water for 3-4 hours then grind together until you get a fine mixture. Wrap mixture in cheesecloth, place in colander, and put weight over it to hasten drying. When mixture is dry, pass through a sieve.

Fill greased bamboo puto tubes 3/4 full with dry mixture (fill lightly - do not pack!) and steam into puto bumboo steamer (small bamboo tubes attached to a steamer). When the mixture turns dark purple, remove from the tube by shaking off.

Serve hot with grated coconut, sugar, and margarine.

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Ube Halaya
2 lb. Ube (purple yam)
250 g sugar
1 cup sugar (or as desired)
1 can condensed milk
2 cups coconut milk
butter

Boil ube until soft tender. Cut into cubes. Grind in a food processor with sugar and coconut milk.

Transfer to a sauce pan, add the condensed milk and cook over a low fire, stirring continuously. Continue stirring until the mixture turns into a thick paste and separates from the pan.

Transfer to a shallow platter and allow to cool. Serve with butter spread on top.

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Suman
2 cups of sweet rice
1 ½ coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Banana leaf cut to 5" wide for wrapping

Wash sweet rice and soak in water overnight. Drain sweet rice and combine with coconut milk, and salt in pan. Bring to a boil and keep boiling until dry.

Divide into 12 pieces and wrap in banana leaves. Tie each pair of wrapped pieces together with the folded ends are facing each other.

Boil water then put suman in. Water should cover the suman. After 1 hour, check if rice is soft. If rice is soft, suman is cooked.

Dip rice filling in sugar for taste while serving.

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Salabat (Ginger Tea)
1/2 lb. fresh Ginger, sliced
5 cups Water
1 cup Brown Sugar

Boil the ginger slices, water, and brown sugar together in a saucepan for about 30 minutes - or longer, depending on the strength of the ginger tea desired. Add more water if the tea is too strong. Strain the tea into a teapot and serve hot.

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Tsokolate
18.6-ounce pack chocolate containing 6 tablets (recommended brand is Ibarra, which can be purchased at Hispanic food stores). Substitute: 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 cups milk
6 egg yolks

Boil the milk in a large saucepan. Cut chocolate tablets into small pieces. Stir in the chocolate tablets, reducing the heat to low, simmering and stirring until the chocolate is liquefied.

Slightly beat the egg yolks in a separate mixing bowl. Add a little egg yolk to temper the mixture, then whisk the rest of the egg yolks into the hot milk mixture. Beat the whole mixture over low heat until frothy. Serve hot.

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