bibingká

A type of kakanin (rice-based delicacy) that uses radiant heat from charcoal embers to steam and broil the cakes simultaneously, traditionally using portable clay ovens.

To make bibingka, a batter made of ground rice cooked in coconut milk and sweetened with sugar is poured into circular tins or earthen pots lined with banana leaves.

A popular Christmas treat, bibingka is often topped with freshly grated coconut, salted eggs and/or kesong puti (fresh water buffalo cheese).

Regional bibingka specialties abound Places claiming aim to particularly special bibingkas include: • Ilocos Norte, where bibingka is a sticky, dense rice cake, topped with peanuts and broiled to a crisp • Manila, where the fluffy “extra super special" bibingkas made from pure galapong (rice dough) are a mainstay at the venerable Ferino’s Bibingka • Cainta, Rizal, which lays claim to being the birthplace of bibingka, though its local interpretation consists of clumped grains of rice (as opposed to rice flour) topped with coconut jam • Mandaue, a city adjacent to Cebu in the Visayas Region, where spongy Mandaue bibingkas, baked in the traditional “inurno” method with terra cotta ovens, are a true point of pride for locals; also, tuba (palm wine) was once an ingredient in their bibingka

Other points of interest • Bibingka on The Kitchn! • “Waffingka”, anyone? • Check The Bibingka Vendor by celebrated sculpturist Napoleon Abueva • Five minutes in the lives of Carbon Market vendors

Primary information translated from the wonderful community behind Sagisag Kultura, a cultural research and awareness project by the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).