I was not able to go home to the province because I had to work on full shift yesterday. If I had not, I could have traveled for four hours yesterday to reach my beautiful mountain hometown, Canlaon City. Right now, I could be sleeping or could have been joining the traditional Good Friday procession. I could have been enjoying the chilly weather that never fails to comfort my fragile skin all the time. But all of those are not wishful thinking.
So what did I do today to get by the very solemn Lenten Season 2011?
I went to my officemates' apartment where we cooked a local specialty called biko. This dish is basically just rice cake mixed in caramel syrup. As a form of fasting, we opted to eat just that for the day (but actually we couldn't help but eat fast food hours after). Although I have tasted this Filipino culinary treat, I truthfully do not have any idea how this is prepared. So I was really surprised to find out that biko is made only out of these:
- Pilit (Glutinous Rice)
- Coconut Milk
- Brown Sugar (an option to use muscovado sugar)
With less than P200.00, you can already get all the ingredients and prepare the kakanin that can be consumed by six to eight people.
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the preparation we had in making the the gastronomic delight!
The coconut milk is boiled.
The regular brown sugar is added once the coconut milk is boiling (in a crazy way).
Stirring. A lot of stirring.
The muscovado sugar is added . . .
. . . which brings the mixture into this colour.
Once the caramel starts to get sticky, the glutinous rice is added . . .
. . . and then mixed . . .
. . . and then tasted. :D
Ah, that was one great biko cooking experience. :) Thank you to my officemates, of course, for the accommodation and cooking fuel, and for your cooking skills as well. :D
Labels: musings
