Christmas celebration is more fun in the Philippines. After all, it is the season of family gatherings, school reunions, office parties, and going to churches. It is even more fun when it comes to eating.
One food that is always present in the table during the Christmas season is adobo. When the Spanish invaded the Philippines in the late 16th century, they encountered a cooking process that involved stewing with vinegar. The Spanish referred to this method as adobo due to its superficial similarity to the Spanish adobo. The Filipino adobo is an entirely separate method of preparing food and is distinct from the Spanish marinade. The Filipino adobo has taken on many variations in terms of cooking style, the three basic ingredients remain: garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar.
As mouth-watering as the adobo is the letson, which originated from the Spanish term lechón. It refers to a suckling pig that is roasted. A national dish in the country, it features a whole roasted pig cooked over charcoal. Although letson is prepared throughout the year for any special occasion, during festivals, and the holidays, eating it is more memorable during the Nativity.
But there’s one food that people always eat during the holidays: biko. It is a rice cake made from malagkit (glutinous rice), coconut milk, sugar, and topped with latik or caramel topping. Biko is really good with hot tsokolate (chocolate) drink.
As popular as the biko is the puto, a kind of steamed rice cake. It is eaten as is or with butter and/or grated fresh coconut or as accompaniment to a number of savory dishes for breakfast (most notably, with dinuguan).
There are several variations of puto. There’s puto bumbong, which is traditionally made from a special variety of heirloom sticky or glutinous rice called pirurutong. It is served topped with butter or margarine and shredded coconut mixed with sugar.
Then, there’s puto maya, a mixture of glutinous violet rice (called tapol) soaked in water, drained and then poured into a steamer to steam for 30 minutes. This rice mixture is then combined with coconut milk, salt, sugar and ginger juice and placed back into the steamer for another 25-30 minutes.
Another type of rice cake that is commonly eaten during Christmas season is bibingka. It has a soft spongy texture similar to puto. It is eaten hot or warm and is slightly sweet with a taste very similar to rice pudding. The top and bottom surfaces (including the traditional banana leaf lining) are also usually charred, adding to the flavor.
Generally, bibingka is eaten along with puto bumbong right after the simbang gabi (“Midnight mass”). They are sold outside of churches during Christmas season.
Suman – also known as budbod among the Bisaya-speaking areas – is another rice cake that originates from the Philippines. It is made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and often steamed in banana leaves. It is served wrapped in buri palm or banana leaves and usually eaten sprinkled with sugar.
When I was still younger, my mother used to serve palitaw and niluyang (also known as nilupak) during Christmas season. In palitaw, sugar and glutinous rice are mixed together and formed into like a cookie. It is dropped into the boiling water. Once it floats, it’s already cooked. To serve, it is dipped into a sugar and coconut mixture.
In niluyang, matured and not yet ripe bananas are boiled in the pan. Once cooked, the bananas are peeled and placed in a mortar and pestle. Sugar and grated coconut are also placed and all ingredients are mixed by grinding them together.
Christmas is not Christmas without fruits. Topping the list is mango. After all, the Philippines has the sweetest mango around the world.
Other fruits present in the table during the Christmas season are: banana, mangosteen, apple, oranges, pummelo, rambutan, pineapple, watermelon, and lanzones.
And, yes, don’t forget the buko salad.
Happy eating!