FOR many Filipinos, Christmas is a present waiting to be opened at the end of the year.
We begin anticipating it as far as the beginning of the ber months: establishments would blast either Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas in Our Hearts or Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas; lanterns and decors would be put out and displayed; and Santa Claus and his reindeers would be ubiquitous in different poses around malls and parks.
But the novelty of Christmas doesn’t end solely on what we see and what we hear. In fact, for most Filipinos, Christmas has a taste: that sweet and cheesy deliciousness of a Puto Bumbong.
Most commonly sold during the Christmas season— especially, along the start of Simbang Gabi—Puto bumbong is a purple rice cake traditionally cooked through steaming in a bamboo tube (bumbong means bamboo tube). It is usually wrapped in a banana leaf and, depending on the version, can be crowned with different toppings ranging from margarine, butter, condensed milk, and cheese. It is sold along the price range of 45 pesos to 90 pesos, depending on the type and amount of toppings you want.
Many Gen Zs also love Puto Bumbong, but they have different opinions on how they like it served.
For 24 -year-old Josh Carlo Ching, the classic take on Puto Bumbong is still the best.
“Masyadong overrated ‘yung bibingka sa ‘kin, ganon. Mas trip ko ‘yung lasa ng puto bumbong. Siguro kasi mas light meal ‘yung puto bumbong kaysa bibingka. Sakto lang siya, hindi masyadong matamis at creamy,” he explained.
On the other hand, 20-year old Anthony Kent Del Mundo from Toronto preferred his Puto Bumbong with sweeter ingredients.
“Parang hindi masarap if you look at it pero, yes, I like it. With leche flan and a lot of cheese,” Anthony said.
Leaving the Philippines last July to migrate to Canada, he regrets not being able to eat the Filipino-made Puto Bumbong, his favorite.
“There’s a place here called Bathurst, where many Filipinos live, and I think they do sell Puto Bumbong there but I haven’t tried it yet. ‘Di ko lang alam kung magiging same ‘yung lasa nila sa nakasanayan ko na Puto Bumbong kasi maraming ingredients na sa Pilipinas lang meron and that’s what make Puto Bumbong special,” he said.
Thankfully, Puto Bumbong is a delicacy that can be replicated in a few simple steps. Although there are native ingredients that might not be available to most of us, there are also a lot of alternatives we can find in our own kitchen cupboards.
For this article, republicasia interviewed one of the longest and most successful Puto Bumbong and Bibingka makers of Malabon— the Original Mario’s Bibingkahan! They taught us how to make both the classic Puto Bumbong and the Puto Bumbong with a modern twist.
Who better to teach us the art of Puto Bumbong than the masters themselves, right?
Ingredients
For the ingredients, we would need the following:
- Glutinous Rice Flour (malagkit)
- Violet Food Color
- Water
- Grated Coconut
- Muscovado Sugar (brown sugar can also be used)
- Butter or margarine
- Banana Leaf
- Grated Cheese (optional)
- Condensed Milk (optional)
- Lansungan (a steamer with protruding metal tubes used to hold bamboo; optional) or a regular steamer and banana leaf shaped into thin containers. If both the bamboo and the banana lead are not an option, you can use aluminum foil instead.
Step-by-Step Procedure
- Grind the glutinous rice flour into a bowl and dry it out.
- Add 1 tsp. of ube coloring
- Add a cup of water (measurement depends but you have to get a dough-like texture)
- Mix all the ingredients together until it turns to dough.
- Grate the glutinous sticky rice
- Prepare your bamboo tubes or cut non-stick aluminum foil into small rectangular pieces to act as our container.
- Grease the bamboo/banana leaf/aluminum container with butter or margarine. Place strips of the grated glutinous rice on them.
- Heat your steamer, then place the containers on them.
- Let it steam for 12 – 15 minutes.
- After steaming, brush the glutinous rice with butter or margarine.
- Add toppings: the muscovado sugar and the grated coconut.
And there, you have it—the classic puto bumbong! If you want to add some modern twist, then you can also use grated cheese and condensed milk to spice up your puto bumbong take. Of course, be sure to watch your sugar as you savor the deliciousness of this Christmas delicacy.
