The Joys of Cooking: Filipino Desserts

Monday, December 29, 2008

Filipino Desserts

Ahh...the good old days. I remember my Mama used to cook us ginataan for dessert. As I type this I imagine her in her "duster" cooking everything from scratch. Indeed, every time I see or eat ginataan made by others, I cannot help but think of Mama. Mama cooked ginataan during rainy days...the warm soupy coconut and the sweet taste of the jackfruit and the chewy sweet yams, bananas, and sweet rice shaped into small balls called "bilo-bilo" were all done perfectly...up to the last bite. This portion is dedicated in memory of my mother.

Ginataan Palarosdos or Bilo-bilo

Ingredients

2 c glutinous rice flour and water
2 big coconut, grated
1 c cubed ubi or gabi
1 c Cubed sweet potato
1 c sliced saba banana
1 1⁄2 c Refined Sugar
1 c sliced jackfruit
1⁄4 c rice flour dissolved in 1/2 c water

Directions:
1. Mix flour and water, form into small balls, then set aside.
2. Extract pure coconut milk by using coconut water.
3. Set aside.
4. Make second extraction by adding 2 cups water to pulp.
5. To second extraction, add sugar, ubi, sweet potato, and banana.
6. Let boil until cooked.
7. Drain fruits.
8. Let coconut milk boil again.
9. When boiling add rice balls and jackfruit.
10. Balls will come up to the surface when cooked.
11. Add rice flour dissolved in water to thicken.
12. Add pure coconut milk and let boil for 1 minute.
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I do not recall my mother cooking palitaw, however, I do recall her always buying this delicious dessert from street vendors. I love listening to the sound of "palitaw, bili na kayo ng palitaw", translated to "palitaw, buy some palitaw". I often made echoing sounds to mimic the way the vendors would do it. Hey, I was a little child then, who could blame me? :) .The street vendors sold them on a "bilao" - "huge woven tray". We used to buy this by the dozens and it is my all time favorite of all the Filipino rice cakes (puto).

Palitaw

Ingredients
Sweet rice flour - about a cup.
3/4 cup water
coconut flakes
Lots of white sugar
Toasted linga (sesame seeds).

Directions
Mix rice flour with water to make dough. Make little balls then flatten. Boil water in a saucepan. Drop flattened dough balls into boiling water. The cakes are cooked when they float. Remove from water, let cool a little bit, roll in combined sugar and toasted sesame seeds and coconut flakes.

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Ube is another dessert that I loved to eat back home in the Philippines. Put butter on top while it is still hot and then bite it. Hmm...yummy, in this case "Yam-my"...I am sure you'll see what I mean.

Steamed Ube Cake

from "Filipino Cuisine," by Gerry G. Gelle, Red Crane Books, 1997

Ingredients
2 cups purple yam, washed, peeled and cubed
2 cups sweet rice flour
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1-1/4 cup coconut milk
4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup grated coconut

Directions
Cover yams with water and boil until tender or soft. Drain and put through a ricer. Mash until smooth.
Mix flour and water in a bowl to form a thick batter. Add sugar and mashed yams. Blend well. Strain to remove lumps. Add coconut milk and the baking powder and mix well.

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Late Bloomer

Every family has one-- a tradition all their own. Passed on from generation to generation. It's interesting that for every wonderful memories that I can think of, they often involve food. Most of the best times I've had growing up were spent in the kitchen. My mother had taught me well. She may not be the best cook in the world, but to me she was and always will be. However, she was not my first cooking teacher.

My adventure in cooking started at a tender age of four, perhaps younger, in our first home in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines. I spent most of my time in the kitchen with my Nanay Epang, my maternal grandmother, who I fondly called Nanay. I remember our "dirty" kitchen outdoors, which was used to cook most of our meals. I believe Nanay was not a big fan of the electric stove that was in our indoor kitchen; therefore, often, come rain or shine, she would cook outdoors. She used wood, sometimes charcoal, to build the fire. I still remember playing with the ashes that accumulated under the three big rocks that were used as support to hold the pots and pans. She would use clay pots to cook viands such as stew, "paksiw na isda" (sour fish) pork "sinigang" (pork sour soup) and a pot made of steel to cook rice. She fried fish and meats as well as sauteed vegetables using a wok.

I stayed with her most of the time because she was the one who watched over me, especially whenever my mother was away due to church responsibilities. In a typical Filipino home, parents of one or both of the couples join them as part of the extended nuclear family. It was my Nanay and Tatay Gorio, my maternal grandfather, who I simply called Tatay, who stayed with us. However, most of what I can remember was my Tatay leaving for long periods. Some say he was a hobo, hopping on trains, going from town to town. My Tatay's adventures should be in a storybook, so I will leave them at that for now.

Going back to my childhood cooking experience with my Nanay, it was through her that I learned how to cook rice. Initially, I was only helping her collect some dried branches and wood to light the wood stove. Then, she would ask me to help her fan the flames using an "abanico" (a fan made of abaca leaves), sometimes a piece of a cardboard box, so the fire would not die. Yep, I was her little helper. This went on everyday, until one day, she decided I can help her cook rice. She showed me how to measure the rice with a cup and then add water directly from the faucet without using a cup. She taught me how to measure water by putting three middle fingers pointing down. She showed me the top of the water should line up with my middle fingers knuckle line. To this date, I still use this method. The rice always cooks right, not raw, not too hard, not sticky-- just right.

I watched her as she took care of other chores near the stove as the rice cooked slowly. I would ask her often if the rice is cooked yet, to which she patiently replied "not yet" for about a hundred times until it finally cooks. I remember always bragging about how I cooked with Nanay at the dinner table.

When I turned 8 years old, when my Nanay has passed away, I became the designated cook come dinnertime, since church functions would often keep my mother out late. I remember cooking rice, fried scrambled eggs and fried eggplants. Also, I guess since was the only girl (my sister has not been born yet) , it was customary to have a girl take on the kitchen chores. Although, I do recall both my "Kuyas" (older brothers) cooking rice and helping in the kitchen as well. Sometimes, I would cook dried fish (tuyo). Then, Mama ( my mother) started teaching me as well until well into my womanhood.

I used to help my mama cook. I remember the talks we had during our kitchen duty times. Usually, I was doing more prep work, like slicing and dicing veggies and meats. Washing fish, ridding them of internal organs. My mama was the "head chef" until the time my Papa retired-- he semmed to have taken the baton. When my mama was in the kitchen, the only food that I was assigned to cook were spaghetti, roasted chicken, macaroni salad and hotdogs. I usually would cook them for our year-end celebration. My mama taught me how to cook "sinigang na baboy" (pork sour soup), afritada, adobo, monggo, and other favorite Filipino foods; however, I managed to either burn them, overcook them, undercook them, etc. There were times foods ended up too bland and, sometimes, too salty. I could never get it right. My mama patiently trained me, but I was not a very good cook back then.

When I was in High School at CEU (all girls school), we have cooking classes in H.E. (Home Economics). I learned how to bake a little and make pineapple and strawberry jams. At least, my family claimed they were okay. I am sure they were just being nice so as not to hurt my feelings...ha-ha. As I reached college, I lived in Baguio City where I was surrounded by some great cooks from my father's side of the family. That was very intimidating. In other words, I avoided the kitchen like a plague come cooking time because I knew I would be teased due to my "bad" cooking.

Anyway, now that I am married and in my early 40s, I have now re-learned and rekindled my passion-- Cooking! Never have I imagined that I would enjoy cooking as much as I do now. I am proud to say, that I am getting better at it...and each day that I try a new recipe is like a welcome challenge for me. I think what ultimately helped me were those memories and lessons that I still remember from years gone by. My Nanay and Mama are both gone now, but I was able to learn cooking later on by remembering what they taught me decades ago.

I would not lie to you when I say, cooking for me is an outlet. However, the joys of cooking also ensure that I feed my family healthy foods , as well as, save a lot of money as opposed to eating out all the time.

Here's to a start of my own family tradition that I hope my daughter will follow suit...of course in her own time, like I did, even as a late bloomer.

Welcome to my cooking blog...I hope you will enjoy the recipes I have collected over the years. You are welcome to comment and send me your recipes so I can try them as well. Cheers!

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Monday, December 29, 2008

Filipino Desserts

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