In the nine days leading up to Christmas, Filipinos take part in a nine-day . These dawn masses would traditionally allow farmers to attend service, before they had to till their fields.
At 4:30am, we'd roll out of bed to a chilly December morning – it would be much cooler than Australia's usual 30˚C weather. We'd grab our sweaters, to keep us warm, and attend mass. For many people, the motivation for showing up is religious. But there's another attraction: church vendors would sell , , and outside. is a rice cake uniquely cooked in a clay pot: coals are placed both on top and below the pot, to transform the vessel into an oven. The rice cake is topped with salted egg, white cheese made from , slathered with butter and topped with grated coconut. Puto bumbong is a style of cylindrical purple glutinous rice cake, typically steamed in bamboo tubes and topped with grated coconut and a native brown sugar called panutsa. Salabat is a traditional Filipino ginger tea. While my faith helps motivate me to head to church for these dawn congregations, the fresh, hot bibingka and puto bumbong are pretty strong incentives, too.
Bibingka is traditionally made of galapong: rice soaked overnight and ground by hand in a stone mortar. The galapong is then mixed with coconut milk and sugar, then the batter is poured into clay pots lined with banana leaves. The charcoal above and below the bibingka cooks this rice cake in minutes. When it's almost done, the vendor garnishes it with slices of , a soft cheese Filipinos make from carabao milk, and slivers of salted duck eggs. Some prefer adding grated or cheddar cheese to their bibingka instead of kesong puti. Once the bibingka is fully cooked with coal, it's slathered with butter, a sprinkling of white sugar, and grated coconut. Wash it down with salabat or the thick rich hot Filipinos love.
A highlight of Filipino's long Christmas season. Source: Maida Pineda
Bibingka is cooked with banana leaves – and not just for the aesthetics, either. The leaves prevent the batter from sticking to the clay pot, while adding a subtle flavour and aroma. They also stop the hot coals from overcooking the dish.
While my faith helps motivate me to head to church for these dawn congregations, the fresh, hot bibingka and puto bumbong are pretty strong incentives, too.
Although the dish features two ingredients central to Filipino cooking (rice and coconuts), the origin of bibingka itself isn't clear. The earliest mention of bibingka seems to be from 1751, when a priest named Juan Delgado refers to a rice cake called 'bibinca' that's eaten for breakfast with chocolate. Historians believe that the clay pot used for the dish might have Chinese origins, while the act of milling rice is similar to the ritual of grinding corn to produce tortillas in Mexico, which is also a Spanish colony (like the Philippines).
Bibingkas are sold all year round – in markets, outside church on Sundays, or served at wakes or parties. But it seems more special to eat this rice cake during the Christmas season.
A slice of the festive dessert. Source: Maida Pineda
Here in Australia, a few Catholic churches with Filipino communities practice , the nine-day masses before Christmas. I can’t promise there will be bibingka, but here’s a recipe you can make in your own home. You can use ingredients sourced from an Asian grocery and if you don't have a coal-fired clay pot to bake it, a regular oven will do just fine.
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Bibingka
Filipinos celebrates the stretching over three months. Whether you're a Filipino living abroad and feeling homesick during this period, or someone keen to try bibingka for the first time, here’s a recipe for the festive dessert.
Serves 5
Ingredients
- Banana leaves
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for serving
- 3 tbsp melted butter, plus extra for serving
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 salted duck egg, sliced (optional)
- 2 pieces bocconcini, or soft cheese of your choice
- ¼ cup grated coconut to garnish
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
- Wash and gently dry banana leaves. Hold each leaf over a gas stove, about 10 cm away from the stove, to gently warm. If you don't have a gas stove, you can use a candle's flame instead. Do not allow the flames to directly touch the leaves. Under this gentle heat, the leaves will soften, making them pliable for lining the cake pan. This process also draws out a distinct aroma and flavour from the leaves. Line a 21 cm cake pan, or five 10 cm mini cake pans, with the leaves. Make sure the bottom and sides are all covered with leaves, so the bibingka won’t stick to the pan. Reserve some leaves for finishing the bibingka and set the pan aside.
- Mix rice flour, glutinous flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter, coconut milk and eggs. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour batter into either a 21 cm cake pan or five 10 cm mini cake pans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Add the sliced duck egg and cheese. Add extra banana leaves to the top of the bibingka, to prevent it from overcooking. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Note: if you're making the bibingka in a 21 cm cake pan, it will take longer to cook and will require more time in the oven.
- Use a toothpick to see if the bibingka is cooked. If the toothpick comes out dry, this means the bibingka is done and you can remove it from the oven. Slather the bibingka with butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. You may add grated coconut. Serve hot.
Note
- These ingredients are available in most Asian groceries. Banana leaves are sold in frozen in Asian groceries and some markets sell fresh versions.
