Bicol express kawaling pinoy

This article is about the Philippine bicol express kawaling pinoy cake. For the Indian pudding, see Bebinca.

1048Bibingka Puto bumbong making Philippines 04. Bibingka is also found in East Timor and Christian communities in eastern Indonesia. The shared origins of bibingka from the Philippines and Indonesia is widely acknowledged especially given that the Indonesian bibingka is from Eastern Indonesia, the regions closest to the Philippines with the most closely related cultures. Southeast Asian bibingka due to the similarity in names. They believe that the Portuguese may have introduced it to Southeast Asia from Goa. Thus it is more likely that the Portuguese introduced the term to Goa from the Philippines, rather than the other way around. Linguist Blust attributes the word ‘bibingka’ as a possible Malay loan attributing a similar dish called Kue bingka.

Bibingka is a traditional Philippine Christmas food. The traditional recipe for bibingka calls for glutinous rice to be soaked in water overnight in tapayan jars to allow it to ferment with the addition of wild yeast called bubod or tuba palm wine. In cooking the bibingka, a shallow terra cotta bowl is lined with a single large section of a banana leaf. The bowl is then placed over preheated coals and the rice flour and water mixture is poured into the banana leaf liner, taking care not to spill it out directly into the bowl itself. Another piece of banana leaf is added to the top and the container is then covered with a flat metal sheet holding more preheated coals. The end result is a soft and spongy large flat cake that is slightly charred on both surfaces and infused with the unique aroma of toasted banana leaves.