Ah, Christmas is just around the corner and we would never let this jovial time pass. No wonder many of us are on diet in January.
The birth of our Savior is a feast, so this merrymaking season calls for parties and titillating food.
An interesting part of Pinoy Christmas menu is some of these tasty meals come in pairs.
1. Puto bumbong and bibingka. Made of sweet rice, puto bumbong is a purple-colored dessert cooked in hollow bamboo tubes placed on a special steamer-cooker. It is served with margarine, sugar, and coconut. Its partner, bibingka, is made of rice flour and coconut milk. It is baked in layers and topped with butter and sugar.
2. Ham and bread. Filipinos are fond of sweet-tasting food. That’s why our Christmas hams are either encrusted with brown sugar or blanketed with a syrupy glaze. It tastes good with white bread bought from our favorite bakery or supermarket.
3. Ube halaya and leche flan. Sweeten up the Christmas Eve with these two delightful desserts. Ube halaya is made of boiled and mashed purple yam. The latter is a velvety custard made from egg yolks steamed in a small baking pan and has a rich caramelized topping perfect for the festive mood.
4. Rice and any viand. As a rice-loving country, Filipinos will never miss serving rice on the dining table—whatever the occasion might be. And yes! This goes well with any viand available on hand.