Bibingka Galapong

Living in Manila for quite some time exposed and integrated me to various cultures, primarily language. If you're a pure Manileña, language barrier is your major concern cause your friends may talk behind your back  (mostly in a nice/ funny/ joking way). On the other hand, it will be a realization that similiraties abound these different cultures yet expressed in several ways and again language is evident.

The word of the day is Galapong. It is a tagalog word for milled glutinous rice. Some called it as rice flour others defined it as glutinous rice powder. In the province, we simply call it giniling na malagkit (glutinous rice) or giniling na bigas (for white rice flour). The common denominator is that-- it is from rice and in a powdered form.

Got cravings for another native delicacy and as i was researching for the recipe, i came across bibingka. I'm used to bibingka with grainy texture, sweet and cooked in banana leaves topped with shaved fresh coconut but sometimes food photo are looking appetizing that you may want to explore it. So today, i am trying this bibingka galapong made of rice but not regular white rice but glutinous rice, which made me thinking the texture could be different from the one's I am used to but let me give it a try. 

Indeed I was right,  this is more of a smooth sticky side than the grainy, soft bibingka. It's texture is a hybrid of maja blanca and cassava cake: smooth, sticky and soft.  But not bad to have though, here is the recipe i reinvented--


BIBINGKA GALAPONG
makes 2 round 7" pie pan

1 1/2 c glutinous rice powder
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 tbsp baking soda
200 ml (1 packet) coconut cream
2 whole big eggs 
1/3 c caster sugar
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh banana leaves ( cured by passing over an open flame) and cut about 9" in diameter so when lined on a pan should cover the whole pan with extra.

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees.
1. In a big bowl, put rice and baking powder. Using a whisk, mix to combine.
2. Add water and coconut milk. Mix to combine.
3. In a mini blender, add eggs and blend or whisk then slowly add sugar, pulse to mix and then add butter. This process is to get a frothy texture of egg mixture.
4. Pour this frothy mixture  into the bowl of rice.
5. Add in vanilla.
6. Lined the pie pan with banana leaf and brush with melted butter.

7. Pour the mixture into the pan until a little less full.
8. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 mins. 
9. When tested and toothpick comes out clean, it's done.
10. Remove from oven brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle it with cheese.
11. Serve hot with coffee or tea.

Lotus Glutinous Rice (Lo Mai Gai)

My kids love the movie Coco that after watching it they've been singing "Remember Me" at any time. They specifically mentioned Nov 2 as the feast of 'Dia de Muertos" a holiday in Mexico celebrating the "Day of the Dead." Although they have no cravings on the mexican tamales, or calavares de azucal nor calabaza en dulce, we have customized the food in commemorating our loved ones -- thru something sticky, savoury, symbolic and cold. Which is why we had glutinous rice, dumpling and mango lemonade. Sticky, colourful deli and delicious. And becuase it was the kids special requests... they have to share the effort.  Paige is the chef and Kai is the moral support this time... So let me share this sticky rice made simple and easy as compared to the real tedious preparations--

Lotus Glutinous Rice
makes 3 parcels

Rice
2 c Glutinous Rice, washed and soaked  in plain water for at least 20-30 mins., then set aside. You do this first before you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

1 tbsp tbsp Oyster Sauce

1 tbsp Light Soy sauce

1/2 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

1 head (single head) or about 1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp Olive Oil

200 ml water

Chicken Marinade

1 pc boneless chicken breast (about 200g), small cubes sliced

1 pc lean pork (about 200 g), thinly sliced

1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce

1/2 tbsp Dark  Soya Sauce

 tbsp Shao xing wine (chinese wine)

1 tbsp  Corn Starch

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

***Slice the meat as directed and place in a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken while you continue to prepare the other ingredients.

For Sautéing

2 tbsp Olive oil

I single head Garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp Dried shrimps (if you don't have this it's ok)

1 1/2 tbsp Fried shallots ( if you don't have this its' still ok)

Slices of mushroom ( your preferential amount) if you are using whole shitake mushroom, then 3 pcs of shitake- one pc for each parcel.

>>> Other ingredients that you can add which i didn't as per request of kids not to include these..

3 half inch slices of chinese sausage

3 pcs of whole salted egg yolks

3 cubes of turnips

Wrapping:

3 pcs of lotus leaf (thoroughy washed, and rinsed with warm water), set side

How to do it?--

Place oil in the wok over a medium heat, when hot enough add garlic and stir fry.

Add marinated meat and stir fry.

Add dried shrimps and mushrooms. This time you can add the other ingredients >>.

Stir fry for few minutes.

Remove from heat  and transfer in a bowl and set aside.

In the same wok, without cleaning this up, add the oil.

When hot, add garlic and stir fry until slightly brown.

Then add  glutinous rice and stir.

Add the sauces and lastly add water.

Sauté until the rice absorbed all the water.

When done, remove from heat and set aside.

Assembly:

Divide your cooked glutinous rice into 3 and each part divide into half.

Open 1 pc of lotus leaf, cut if you need to, just make 1 sheet out of it.

Then brush the center of the leaf with oil the, where you will place the rice.

Place 1/6 of cooked glutinous rice on the center of the leaf.

Then top it with 1/3 of the cooked meat.

Then cover it with 1/6 of the cooked glutinous rice.

Fold the right leaf over your rice. Followed by the left leaf.

Then fold the leaf in front of you over the rice and finished it up with folding the back leaf

over the rice towards you....Your finish product is a wrap that looks like a parcel.

Secure with kitchen twine and ready to steam.

Steam for one and a half hour (1 1/2 hr). 

I used the electric steamer for less monitoring.

(You can use the traditional bamboo steamer to make it authentic)

Serve steaming hot with caution.

 

UBE (Purple Yam) DODOL

After the customary pastil... now here comes my long overdue Dodol... they are supposed to come together when i made pastil but my ingredients were not complete so dodol has to wait until now☺️😋, finally. 

I used to eat “Dudul, Dudol or Dodol” way back in my younger years when my Mamang brought me to several “Kanduli(s) ”(a Maguindanaon  term for traditional salu-salu accompanied by rituals and prayers) or thanksgivings, weddings or even simple celebrations of birthdays in our muslim communities. Dodol is one of my favorite delicacies prepared for those special occasions. A purple sticky delicacy made of milled purple glutinous rice and jaggery (palm) sugar, i can't remember our local name for this special brown sugar used for local delicacies. Anyways...

While cooking this delicacy, I interestingly realized that dodol is just before my nose all this time. Several years of craving food from places we've been to blinded us of the opportunities to explore, learn and integrate with the local food similar to what we had before and one of that is Dodol. 

Dodol is a very sticky, thick and sweet delicacy made of glutinous rice and sugar (palm sugar specifically called jaggery). It is commonly found in Southeast and South Asia and is very popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and even south India. In Muslim Communities, this Dodol is served in festivals and families take pride in making it. So it's one of those occasions of creating or renewing the bonds between families over a huge wok and a long laddle.  So, this dodol is just right in front of me all the time and i have not noticed it because it is wrapped in a thin plastic and comes in deep brown (original), green (pandan) and light brown (durian) colours and flavours.

All this time i have been craving for the dodol wrapped in banana leaves that look like a "suman" log and to my surprise recently, the dodol in the province becomes less and less popular and now comes wrapped in a thin plastic too. Things changed. 

In my desperation, i have decided to look for recipe and make it according to my preferences... purple and wrap in banana leaves. The only challenge i have is that-- i don't have the milled (powdered) black glutinous rice available in the market so I made my own --- purple one! ;-) 


 UBE DODOL
makes about 6 (half ft)  logs 

Ingredients:

200 g palm sugar
1/2 c fine or caster sugar
1/2 c water
1 tsp ube flavouring 

Place everything in the pan and warm under low heat to dissolve the sugar granules. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix to dissolve the following:

1 c powdered glutinous rice
1 tbsp rice flour
2 steri pack coconut cream (200 ml each)
1/2 c water
Add drops of violet coloring according to your color preference. More drops means more intense purple color.

Then pour the mixture in the cooled sugar  then strain. When done, place in the non-stick pot and cook over medium heat with constant stirring. This will only take you about less than 10 minutes. Cooking is done when you can scoop the entire mixture with the laddle/ spoon.

Remove from the heat and cool.
RTU.

You can either wrap it in greased banana leaves, or place it in a greased container. Your choice.