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by Philipina A. Marcelo
A few days ago, a former research student of mine texted me to ask one of the most delicious of questions, albeit jokingly, "Ma'am, gusto n'yo po ng tupig?" He was vacationing with his family and "pigging out" on tupig... and thought about the acuteness of my "foodieness". Naturally, I said 'yes' - not jokingly - and 'shamelessly' (hehe...) asked if he could bring me some... which he did... but not after I made a few "insinuations" about how my patience is being challenged these days as he has not cleaned up the mess in the lab from his last experiments... five months ago! ;) Yeah, I know how to flex "authority muscle" when food is concerned! Haha...
Tupig (or ingkalot for the Pangasinenses) is one of those irrisistible North Luzon snacks/desserts made by mixing ground sticky rice and grated young coconut meat in freshly squeezed coconut milk (from grated mature coconut meat) mixed with molasses. A little sugar is added to the mix to taste. The resulting batter is scooped in small amounts (about 50 grams), rolled and wrapped in heated banana leaves, and then cooked slowly over live charcoal. You know the tupig is ready when the air is filled with the sweet and rich aroma from the mingling of rice and coconut, and the incredibly fragrant aroma from the burnt banana leaves.
The truth is there's not much to say about tupig, except... it is sooooo good! I will let the photos speak for themselves. Try not to drool too much... uhm, ahem, good luck! ;)
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| Wrapped in banana leaves... and cooked over live charcoal. |
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| Unwrapping the goodness... get your foodie senses ready. |
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| Foodie goodness... unwrapped! |
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| Take a bite... fork not required! :) |
Good-uh? Oooh, yeah! :)
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