The many hands that make kakanin

Oh, what a sight it was. Over a hundred kinds of kakanin, in every conceivable color, shape, and size, gathered at the Glass House of the New World Hotel. There were old favorites, some I had not eaten in years, and many that simply had us asking, “What is that?”

Kakanin literally comes from all corners of the Philippines, some flown in from the provinces. When they couldn’t come, their makers did—bringing ingredients from home and preparing them right there for us.

For an afternoon, we had an extraordinary gathering of Philippine kakanin before us.

“A historic event for snack foods”

This is what we had hoped for with the Philippine Heritage Kitchen’s Kakanin Festival: to gather and celebrate this wonderful part of our food culture.

Respected guardian of our culinary heritage, historian, and writer Felice Prudente Sta. Maria puts it best. She called kakanin “likely a historic event for snack foods,” adding that the variety “may have been the first of its kind.”

How could you look at such a glorious array and not be in awe? Rice, malagkit, corn, cassava, coconut, carabao’s milk, sugar in all its many forms. And look at what we do with them: steamed, grilled, baked, wrapped in all sorts of leaves, or even cooked inside bamboo over fire.

Wow, Philippines. How rich and abundant we truly are!

The hands that shape them

I glanced toward the artisans who make them. There were the older makers, their hands working almost by instinct. No measuring. They knew by sight and feel how to wrap, when it was ready.

Happily, there were younger hands, too—the next generation, already making what had been passed on to them. This is how food traditions live on: one generation makes it, the next learns it, and eventually, hands it down to another.

We certainly love our kakanin, but the craft of making it is slowly dying. What a loss it would be if one day there were no more makers and none left for us to eat. And so, what better way to keep the tradition alive than to cook it? Make kakanin. Enjoy it. Share the recipe. Pass it on… For the love of our food and the traditions that make us Filipino.

So, in that same spirit, I am passing on a few of their recipes to you.

Binungey

Region 1

Recipe by chef Ryan Cortez

A Pangasinan kakanin of malagkit and coconut milk cooked inside bamboo over charcoal, giving it a wonderful smoky, toasted flavor.

Ingredients

2 cups malagkit

2 cups kakang gata

3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar or muscovado

1/4 tsp salt

Young coconut strips, optional

Fresh bamboo tubes and banana leaves

Procedure

1. Wash and soak malagkit for at least 1 hour, then drain.

2. Half cook rice with 1 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, and salt until the liquid is absorbed.

3. Mix remaining coconut milk with sugar. Line bamboo with wilted banana leaf, then fill three-fourths full with rice.

4. Add young coconut, if using, and sweetened coconut milk to cover.

5. Leave about 2 inches at the top and seal with banana leaves.

6. Lean bamboo over low to medium charcoal and cook 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours, turning every 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Charring is part of the flavor. It’s ready when you no longer hear liquid when the bamboo is shaken and you can smell toasted coconut and bamboo.

8. Rest 15 to 20 minutes, then carefully split open the bamboo and serve.

Inutak

Pateros

Recipe from Casa Zaragoza

Dinorado and malagkit are ground into galapong, cooked with coconut milk, finished with kakang gata, and broiled until beautifully scorched. Even better served warm with ice cream.

Makes 5 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 mature coconuts, grated

6 cups water

2 cups dinorado rice

2 cups malagkit

2 cups sugar

Cheese, ube, mango, or mantecado ice cream, to serve

Procedure

1. Extract the first coconut cream or kakang gata from the grated coconut, then set aside. Add 2 cups water to the same coconut and squeeze again for the second extraction.

2. Combine both kinds of rice with the remaining 4 cups water. Soak 30 minutes, then blend finely into galapong.

3. Cook the galapong with the second coconut milk and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick and smooth.

4. Transfer to oven-proof dishes and spread a thin layer of kakang gata on top.

5. Broil 12 to 15 minutes, until beautifully scorched.

6. Serve warm with your choice of ice cream.

Binaki

Bukidnon

Recipe by Linda Tasani and Jocelyn Ones

Binaki is Bukidnon’s steamed corn cake, made from freshly grated corn and cooked in its own husk. Binaki comes from “baki-baki,” referring to a corn husk pouch shaped like a frog.

Ingredients

3 kg fresh corn, grated

300 g white sugar

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup condensed milk

8 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

Corn husks, for wrapping

Procedures

1. Carefully remove the corn husks and wash well; reserve for wrapping.

2. Grate the corn kernels and scrape the cobs to get all their juices. Blend until smooth.

3. Mix corn with sugar, condensed milk, melted butter, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Lightly butter the inside of the corn husks. Fill with the corn mixture, fold and tie securely.

5. Steam over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until set.

6. Serve warm, traditionally with coffee, tea, or sikwate.

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