Christmas in the Philippines is wonderful. The country celebrates it with so much gusto, whether in food, decoration or in customs and traditions. As a pre-dominantly Catholic country, customs and traditions have gone on being passed from generation to generation. I am now living in London but I took with me the tradition of Noche Buena and Media Noche which my English family and friends enjoy and appreciate.

Anyway Christmas in the Philippines reminds me of a staple of Puto Bungbong and salabat, a mild sweetened ginger tea.

Puto Bongbong
Photo by PH Morton

Puto bungbong is delicious eaten with generous spread of margarine and with lots of freshly and finely grated coconut and vanilla sugar. This is served from a banana leaf.

Midnight masses also known as Misa de Gallo or Simbang gabi, are celebrated in the Philippines commencing the night of 16 December and culminating on the night of 24th December. After attending the mass, my family would stop at one of those portable carts cooking and selling the puto bungbong and salabat tea nearby a church. It was such a treat eating and drinking something delicious and hot on a cool night. It does get cold in December in Manila at night.

I miss puto bungbong and would have love to recreate or cook it myself here in London but I don’t know where to get the paraphernalia of bamboo tubes and special steamer. If anyone can point me to the right direction where to get them, it would be very much appreciated, or if anyone has any advice on cooking puto bungbong using another utensil, I would be most grateful also.

Anyway to those who are lucky enough to have the proper or suitable cooking implements here is the recipe. Thanks.

Photo from www.dubaichronicle.com

This recipe if from www.pinoyrecipe.com

Puto Bumbong Ingredients:
Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice
2 tsp purple food color (ube)
2 cups water
panutsa (sugar cane sweet) or mascuvado (raw sugar)

Utensils:

knife
muslin cloth
sifter or strainer
bamboo tube (bumbong)
steamer for making puto

Puto Bumbong Cooking Instructions:

Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.
Grind the soaked rice. (see bibingka how)
Mix food color while the glutinous rice is being ground.
Wrap the ground glutinous rice on a piece of muslin cloth and place it in a strainer to drain excess liquid. Another technique in draining excess liquid is by pressing a heavy object that has been placed over the muslin cloth.
Once the ground rice has slightly dried, rub it against the screen of a strainer to produce coarse grained rice flour.
The rice flour for making puto bumbong is now ready to cook. Fill each bamboo tube (bumbong) with just enough glutinous rice and put them into the steamer. See to it that the steamer contains boiling water.
Steam rice flour in the bamboo tubes for 10 minutes.
Once cooked, shake out the contents of each bamboo tube or remove the cooked glutinous rice from the bumbong with the help of a knife.
Spread butter on the puto bumbong and place a small piece of panutsa (sugar cane sweets) or 1 tbsp. of mascuvado (raw Sugar)
Add a small amount of grated coconut before serving.

Read more: http://www.pinoyrecipe.net/filipino-puto-bumbong-recipe/#ixzz1fTYFlmni