Puto Bumbong

Puto Bumbong is a type of Puto or Rice Cake named after the bamboo tube.  It is unusual among puto, being sticky and having a long thin shape and purple color.  Traditionally it is made of glutinous rice, soaked in salted water and dried overnight.  Pour in bamboo tubes or Bumbong and then steamed until done.  It is served with grated coconut, raw sugar and pinipig!

1  cup glutinous rice

2  teaspoons purple food color (ube)

2  cups water

Panutsa ( sugar cane sweet) or Mascuvado (raw sugar)

pinipig

• Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.
• Grind the soaked rice.
• Mix food color while the glutinous rice is being ground.
• Wrap the ground glutinous rice on a piece of muslin cloth and place it in a strainer to drain excess liquid. Another technique in draining excess liquid is by pressing a heavy object that has been placed over the muslin cloth.
• Once the ground rice has slightly dried, rub it against the screen of a strainer to produce coarse grained rice flour.
• The rice flour for making puto bumbong is now ready to cook.
• Fill each bamboo tube (bumbong) with just enough glutinous rice and put them into the steamer. See to it that the steamer contains boiling water.
• Steam rice flour in the bamboo tubes for 10 minutes.
• Once cooked, shake out the contents of each bamboo tube or remove the cooked glutinous rice from the bumbong with the help of a knife.
• Spread butter on the puto bumbong and place a small piece of panutsa (sugar cane sweets) or 1 tbsp. of mascuvado (raw Sugar)
• Add a small amount of grated coconut and pinipig before serving.