Get ready to dive into a sweet ride with these easy-to-make recipes for this Holy Week!
While meat takes a backseat during this time-honored Filipino tradition, we’re here to sugar up your kitchen with a lineup of mouthwatering recipes fit for the whole family. Let’s get cooking!
- Binignit
Every Lenten Season, the Carbon Public Market gets all crowded with shoppers looking for ingredients to cook Binignit. This traditional dish has humble beginnings, originating from farmers who, as devout Catholics, relied on it to stay nourished during Holy Week. Filled with hearty carbs, Binignit is more than just a dish – it’s a Visayan culinary delight perfect for satisfying our cravings, be it served as a snack or as a full meal.
INGREDIENTS
5 cups coconut milk
3 cups water
½ cup white rice
¼ cup pilit / glutinous rice
¼ cup landang / palm flour jelly balls
2 cups ube, cubed
2 cups sweet potato, cubed
2 Saba bananas, sliced
1 cup sago, cooked
1 cup nangka / jackfruit strips
1 cup coconut cream
½ cup brown sugar
HOW TO COOK Binignit
Step 1: Over medium heat, combine the coconut milk and water in a pot and let it simmer gently to avoid curdling.
Step 2: Add both white and pilit, and landang to cook, and stir every 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 3: Add the ube and sweet potato and stir every 15 minutes, until tender.
Step 4: Add the sago, bananas, nangka, cream, and sugar, and continue to cook until all ingredients are tender and the liquid becomes thick and creamy.
Step 5: Serve hot.
- Budbud Pilit
Rectangular and sticky are two descriptions of the simple yet delectable Budbud Pilit, also known as Suman. It’s served alone or with either the ever-tasty sikwate or chocolate drink, or with a sprinkle of sugar.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups pilit / glutinous rice
4 cups fresh coconut milk
1 cup white sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon table salt
young banana leaves, steamed lightly to make it pliable & cut to rectangular 8*6-inch pieces
HOW TO MAKE BUDBUD PILIT
Step 1: Over medium heat, add the coconut milk with the sugar and salt; stir until thoroughly combined.
Step 2: Add the pilit and bring it to a simmer in low heat until the liquid is gone.
Step 3: Remove the cooked pilit rice from the stove and set it aside to cool.
Step 4: Scoop at least 2 tablespoons of the cooked rice into the banana leaf and wrap it up by folding the leaf together.
Step 5: Steam the wrapped rice for 45 minutes or until it’s fully cooked.
- Biko
Making Biko is somehow similar to cooking the Budbud Pilit, but they differ in color, solely because Biko uses brown sugar instead of white. So, you can follow the cooking instructions of Budbud Pilit, and just replace the type of sugar; also, instead of wrapping the rice in individual banana leaves, just use one wide leaf and place the entire thing on a serving pot.
And to make your Biko even more special, add the latik! This is the Visayan term for caramelized sugar. You can use brown sugar and then drizzle it on top of your Biko before serving. Some prefer to serve the Biko cold, while others prefer it warm; it’s all up to you!
The dishes that Filipinos eat during the Lenten Season are colorful and tasty, reflecting our culture. So, what are you waiting for? Head to your kitchen, tie that apron, and get ready for a cooking session for the long weekend now!
