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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Biko with latik

@ mirandablue
My family doesn't celebrate All Souls' Day but like most Filipino families, we cook some native delicacies on or before November 1st.  When we were kids, my aunts and I had fun experimenting on kalamay (rice cake), espasol (we call it bayi-bayi), but-ong (glutinous rice wrapped in cone-shaped banana leaf and cooked in coconut milk), ibos (glutinous rice wrapped in woven coconut leaves and cooked in coconut milk), muasi (or palitaw--steamed ground glutinous rice topped with roasted sesame seeds and muscuvado).  Those were the days when glutinous rice was inexpensive and we had free supply from my grandfather.

My all-time All Souls' Day comfort food is Biko with latik (a residue of coconut milk).  About a week before All Souls' Day, I start having Biko cravings.  The aroma of boiling coconut cream gives me warm, fuzzy feelings---it brings me back to childhood with my grandfather slaving away in the kitchen cooking his favorite rice cake.  We seldom find my grandfather in the kitchen, it was my grandmother's domain. The only day Lolo was in the kitchen was during kalag-kalag, or All Souls' Day.  His ratio was 1:1 and his biko could stay fresh for a week without refrigeration. It is easy to cook but one needs powerful biceps to mix it.

@ mirandablue
I wanted to do my grandfather's biko and I needed sung-sung rice, an aromatic, glutinous rice.  And the price was shocking!  A few months ago, sung-sung was P72 a kilo---now it's P110 a kilo!  A tip from my mother:  malagkit rice should be new, laon is not good. But how should I know if it's new or not?  Leave it to the experts. So far, with sung-sung, I was never disappointed with quality and texture.  I also got muscovado sugar and mature coconut.  

Cook glutinous rice and set aside.  Cook undiluted coconut cream in low heat to extract oil and latik.  Latik should be golden brown.
@ mirandablue
@ mirandablue
Mix in the cooked glutinous rice, mix well.  Blend the muscovado sugar into the mixture.  Calamansi leaves were added to balance the sweetness and add a bit of zest.  Cooking biko on All Souls' Day somehow connects me to members of my family who already passed on. And it's my way of remembering Lolo, a foodie and a kind gentleman with a big heart.

@ mirandablue








Posted for Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

30 comments:

  1. we had biko din last all saint's day, bigay ng kapitbahay. ngayon ko lang narinig yang muscovado sugar. regular sugar lang kase ginagamit ng kapitbahay namin. siguro mas masarap ang biko kapag iyan ang ginamit.

    belated happy birthday nga pala! wishing you all the best in life!

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  2. wow, no doubt this is yummy, my all-time favorite...nakakatakam talaga! happy Friday po! :)

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  3. My daughter and husband love that sis, minsan gumagawa ako ng sweet rice but not as good as biko, okay na rin kesa wala hehehe.

    Spice Up Your Life

    Psst. Nostalgia time..

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  4. Awww...you remind me of my cousin who can make the Best Biko with Latik I've ever tasted! Yum!

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  5. hmmm.... sarap naman n'yan!

    happy weekend!

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  6. sarap naman ng Biko :-); miss k na to eh...

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  7. oooh...one of my fave native delicacies! the one that i liked the most was made by my mom's family in Leyte...they added anise seeds. i noticed that they added that ingredient to most of their snacks..including some types of biscuits. lol.

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  8. oh mama mia! been a long time na din akong d nakakain nang biko....salap!

    thanks for dropping by...glad to be here again!

    btw, we have a similar leaf-shape plate...eehhehe!

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  9. abaw.. Luna, nakadumdum ko sa nanay ko ... kung kalag-kalag ... this yummy can't be absent.. the kalamansi leaf leaves such a nostalgic aroma.. aroma of heyday home...

    thanks for the drop sis...

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  10. masarap yan at namiss ko yan! feels like home, hmmm.. ang bango pa nyan!i wanna try ate, parang madali lang sa kwento mo, hehhe.. goodluck sakin

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  11. all-time favorite dito samin yan. my mom used to cook the best (for me) biko, so makunat (our term) and the latik's a little more brown than the usual...
    u might wanna check it http://buhayngpromdi.blogspot.com/2010/11/ang-mga-magpuputo.html
    thanks girl. enjoy ur weekend

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  12. wow. masarap yan..biko reminds me that Christmas is almost near..we usually serve that during Christmas

    noobfoodie.com

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  13. Wow, that looks delicious. The music has added an extra flavour to your blog. Loved it!

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  14. Your biko creation looks great Luna! It made me remember that my late father really loved this kakanin and ate it like there's no tomorrow!

    P.S. have you tried a black biko? One with anise seeds and a sweet gooey syrup you put on top for that extra added sweetness? :)

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  15. whooo i luv that!!! and the leftover latik usually goes to my pandesal. pure bliss!

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  16. My late maternal grandmother cooks the best biko (in my opinion). I miss eating that.

    my Food Friday post
    my Food Trip Friday post

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  17. The biko looks yummy and I love your leaf-shaped dish...

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  18. I miss this food! I should make one this weekend...great for meryenda =)

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  19. PAgklami ani oi.. Hehe.. Nagkaon pud mi ani sa Kalag2x.. :D

    Uhhhmmm hey... Wondering if you could attach my Christmas Card in any of your future posts. By doing so, you get a chance to win a Brandnew Blackberry phone from the number 1 Pinoy-owned website in the Philippines... (Even if you're not in the Phils right now for as long as you have a Philippine address.)

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  20. biko!!! :D one of my fave kakanins...

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  21. what a yummy biko...i love rice cake din

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  22. wow! cooked just the way it should be. I can smell the good smell of a fresh of pilit rice. :)

    i was on a travel during the kalag kalag so di kami nakakain ng biko.

    i love ur leaf server.

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  23. Nakakagutom naman yan!

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  24. i just had biko last night from a party nearby and i still have some in my fridge. i still like it even if it's cold already. just perfect for my coffee.. =) love your biko.. yummmy

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  25. Oh my,dear LM!Na-miss ko tuloy ang biko ng madir ko--her biko may not good as yours,masarap pa ring kainin. I don't make biko here kasi ako lang ang kakain kaya I've been drooling for biko for years na!Love that!!!

    Have a nice week ahead^_^

    and oh,birthday mo ba?Happy Birthday po!Best wishes^_^

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