Native Delicacies: Patupat and Tupig, and Others

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

I am fascinated by the way the patupat basket is woven. So with the preparation of bamboo in tinubong, another delicacy. Tupig is prepared in carefully rolled banana leaves, slowly cooked over live charcoal. Patupat is cooked in sugarcane juice. How is sapin sapin made with its intricate multi-colored layers?

Patupat 

Most delicacies basically have common ingredients of varying proportions: glutinous rice, corn, cane sugar and coconut - all major crops in the country. But what truly gives them the distinct taste and flavor lies in indigenous skill, just like the proverbial green thumb in gardening. This is also true in the culinary world - so with many local crafts.

There are many native delicacies that are part of our tradition and culture, and mainstay of local livelihood. These include bocayo (grated coconut and sugar), suman (rice cake), puto and kutsinta, binagol (gabi cake in coconut shell), kalamay (rice paste in whole coco shell), broas, piyaya (rice flour and molasses), araro (arrowroot flour), ube cake, barquillo, meringue (egg white), cassava cake, pinasugbo, and biscocho.

Then there dried fruits of mango, pineapple, and banana; puree from different fruits; pickles from fruits and vegetables, including bamboo shoot and banana flower (puso ng saging). 
Don't forgot ginatan with tugui, ubi, and sago- with fresh gata (coconut milk) topping. Beat summer with halo halo. It has immediate cooling effect and can keep you going even if you skip a meal, especially if you have some roasted cashew and pili nuts.

And when asking for "sweets", specify. Imagine a sweets stall in Baguio. There are dozens to choose from - from strawberry jam to peanut brittle.

Have you tasted Lola's thick hot chocolate stirred with wooden batidor. Move over Hershey, Nestle, Jollibee.

Don't forget suman sa ibos (rice cake wrapped in buri palm leaf). It makes a perfect pair with sweet carabao mango.

Tupig

Tame a rainy morning with kapeng barako, the strongest coffee in the world.

Follow the trail of freshly baked buko (young coconut) pie! Move over, Grandmother's pie in Red Riding Hood.

The Philippines is indeed a rich country. It is truly a tropical paradise, where the mythical Ceres Basket is always full. ~