CHRISTMAS is my favorite holiday because it evokes wonderful memories. As a young girl growing up in Biñan, Laguna, I know Christmas was just around the corner because of the nippy air of the early morning. I had so much fun helping my sisters hang red and green mini-bells made out of papel de Japon and shiny colorful balls on our Christmas tree. Children from the neighborhood sang carols while shaking tambourines made from tansans. With almost a generation between us, my elder sisters would prompt me to write a letter to Santa Claus. And as promised by them, I would find the doll I wanted under the tree on Christmas Eve. It was magical. Our house sat right beside the church, and I loved hearing the clanging of bells calling the townsfolk to attend the misa de gallo. At the church patio, vendors sold pospas, bibingkang galapong with slices of itlog na maalat and kesong puti, puto bumbong made with pirurutong (purple rice), sinukmane…oh how the aroma would reach my room. Nothing expresses our family’s joy more than the Noche Buena table laden with a sumptuous feast after the Misa de Aguinaldo midnight Mass.
I wish you all a blessed Christmas. Feliz Navidad!
‘SUMAN SA LIHIA’ ON A STICK WITH ‘TSOKOLATE EH!’
500g malagkit, sungsong variety
2 tbsp lihia (lye)
Put malagkit in a bowl and add water to cover. Soak forat least three hours. Drain well in a strainer.
Mix malagkit with lihia. Prepare banana leaf wrappers (butuan variety is the best) by passing through an open fire. Shape a piece of banana leaf into a cone. Fill with two tablespoons of malagkit mixture and form into a triangle parcel. Secure with a string. Repeat procedure. Arrange in a stock pot and fill with water to cover by two inches. Put a heavy weight to prevent the parcels from floating.
Cook covered over medium heat for about two-and-a-half hours or until cooked. Add water as necessary to keep suman immersed in water always as it cooks. Take out and allow to cool.
Unwrap suman, pierce two to three pieces with a stick and arrange on a dessert plate with coco jam. Serve with tsokolate eh!
Coco jam:
Mix four cups of coconut milk (first and second extraction from two big coconuts) with two cups well-packed brown sugar in a skillet. Over medium heat, keep stirring to prevent the coconut milk from curdling. Cook until slightly thick.
‘TSOKOLATE EH!’
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Hershey’s Cocoa Powder, well packed
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 cups water
1/2 cup full-cream evaporated milk
3 tbsp butter
Mix cocoa, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Bring water to a boil then lower the heat. Add cocoa mixture stirring constantly until well blended. Increase the heat and when bubbles start to appear, add milk and butter. Transfer to a batidor and whisk until bubbly. Serve in a demi-tazze.
‘EMBUTIDO’
1/2 kilo ground pork shoulder (kasim)
1/4 kilo ham, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 piece El Rey Chorizo de Bilbao
1/4 cup pickle relish
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
2 tbsp capers
1/2 cup grated quezo de bola
1/2 cup raisins
5 large eggs
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup soft butter
Leaf lard (sinsal):
Mix all the ingredients and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Wrap two cups of embutido mixture in leaf lard. Roll to 8-inch length. Repeat procedure.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Bake in a pan lined with aluminum foil for one hour. Brush embutido with pan drippings. Bake further for 40 minutes preferably brushing with drippings as often as possible.
Cover with foil if it browns too soon. Bake until golden brown.
Editha Singian / Photo by Michael Anthony Sagaran