Medical Tourism Philippines

Bibingka is made with rice flour and coconut milk or water. Other ingredients can vary greatly, but the most common secondary ingredients are eggs and milk. The traditional preparation is very time-consuming. A specially made terra cotta container is lined with a single large section of a banana leaf. It is placed over preheated coals and the rice flour and water mixture is poured into it, taking care not to spill it into the container itself. Another piece of banana leaf is added to the top and covered with more preheated coals.

The end result is a soft and spongy large flat cake that is slightly charred on both surfaces and infused with the unique aroma of toasted banana leaves. Toppings are then added, usually consisting of butter/margarine, sugar, cheese, or grated coconut. Other more uncommon toppings include piniping (pounded immature rice grains), pineapple, and salted duck eggs. You can often find a mixture of two or more of these toppings on a single bibingka. Bibingka with sumptuous amounts of toppings (and ingredients) are sometimes called Bibingka Especial.

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Most varieties of bibingka differ only from the type of toppings they use. Bibingka is also used as a general term for desserts cooked in the same manner (especially those containing rice). It originally referred primarily to bibingka galapong, the most common type of bibingka. Bibingka cooked with regular flour instead of rice flour is also simply called bibingka.  Bibingka can also be made with uncommon ingredients, including chocolate.

Bibingka is a traditional Filipino Christmas food. It is usually eaten along with puto bumbong right after the Simbang Gabi ('Midnight mass', the Filipino version of Misa de Gallo). They are sold outside of churches during Christmas season.

As of October 9, 2007, the town of Dingras, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines is expecting a Guinness World Records certification after baking a kilometer-long cassava bibingka made from 1,000 kilos of cassava and eaten by 1,000 residents.

Click here to view the COMPLETE RECIPE. 

Source:en.wikipedia.org

Teaser photo source: europinaypop.com