Maligayang Pasko!
This is the way to wish “Merry Christmas” in the islands of the Philippine archipelago.
The Philippines is the only country in Asia that is predominantly Christian, so Christmas is a very important holiday.
The traditions were introduced by the Spanish colonizers.
Houses are decorated with Christmas lights, Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths, and parol, a lantern symbolizing the star that led the Magi to the nativity scene, is affixed to windows.
With the celebration of the first misa de gallo (or Simbang Gabi), meaning “rooster’s mass,” called so because it takes place at 4 a.m., the 16th of December marks the beginning of the celebrations.
On December 24th the Panunuluyan is staged: a couple, dressed as Joseph and Mary, knocks on the doors of houses searching for lodging and will find it only upon reaching the church, just before the traditional Christmas mass called the Misa de Aguinaldo begins.
The typical Filipino Christmas dinner (Noche Buena) includes: ham, lechon (roast pig), steamed rice, bulalo (a beef dish), leche flan (custard dessert), and fruit salad, hot chocolate, and apples, grapes, oranges.
Areas near main roads and churches are filled with stalls selling various types of hot drinks and traditional sweets, like the Bibingka, a glutinous rice cake (galapong) and coconut milk (or water), traditionally cooked in terracotta pots lined with banana leaves, with a topping of butter, sugar, cheese, or grated coconut and eaten with puto bumbong (a steamed purple rice cake cooked in bamboo tubes).
Traditionally, the glutinous rice was soaked overnight in tapayan jars and allowed to ferment with the addition of a wild yeast called bubod or palm wine tuba.
Subsequently, before being cooked, the rice was ground and reduced to a thick paste using a stone grinder.
In modern versions, rice flour is commonly used.
Find more recipes dedicated to Christmas in the collection “Christmas Around the World”.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Filipino
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 10.58 oz glutinous rice flour
- 3 eggs
- 5.29 oz sugar
- 0.85 cups coconut milk
- 1 packet baking powder
- 5.64 oz butter
- as needed grated cheese (optional)
- 2.47 oz grated coconut (or shredded)
- as needed salt
Preparation
In a bowl, mix the rice flour, a packet of baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
In another larger bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk, add the sugar, and mix well.
Incorporate the melted butter, continuing to mix.
Alternate the addition of flour and coconut milk to the egg mixture, and mix well until the batter is well combined.
Wash and dry the banana leaf, if used, soften the banana leaves by moving them over a hot stove or electric burner.
DO NOT place them over direct heat on the banana leaves or they will burn.
Line a cast-iron pan (one leaf should suffice, but if more are needed, make sure to overlap the leaves so there are no gaps) or divide into individual muffin cups.
Bake in the oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes.
Brush with some melted butter and decorate with sugar, grated coconut, and (optional) grated cheese.
Serve while still warm.
The term Bibingka and its variations:
Bibingka is a general term for galapong-based cakes baked in the oven, just as puto is the general term for galapong-based cakes steamed.
In recent times its meaning has been extended to other native cakes made with other types of flour, such as corn, tapioca, or plain, although they are considered completely separate dishes.
It is a subtype of kakanin (rice cake) in Filipino cuisine.
The Bibingka is also present in Christian communities in eastern Indonesia, the region closest to the Philippines and with the most similar culture.
The variations of bibingka are distinguished only by the type of topping used:
Galapóng is the traditional form of bibingka made with ground and soaked glutinous rice (galapóng), water, and coconut milk. Originally it was only made with water and galapóng.
Malagkít is a moist version of bibingka, typically served sliced in square blocks.
Mandaue (Mandaue type Bibingka) are bibingka from Mandaue, Cebu. It is traditionally made with tubâ (palm wine), giving it a slight acidic aftertaste. Today, tubâ is often replaced by yeast.
Tapioca Cake is made with grated tapioca, coconut milk, and condensed milk. In appearance, it most resembles a pudding. Also known as cassava bibingka or bibingkang kamoteng kahoy.
Salukara, a bibingka variant similar to a pancake from Eastern Samar. It also uses tubâ and is traditionally cooked in pans greased with pork lard.
Sinukat is a type of bibingka cooked in one half of a coconut shell.
Sinukat is a type of bibingka cooked in one half of a coconut shell.
The sweet can be served as a whole cake or as a treat using muffin molds like these silicone ones: HERE.
