Kakaning Pinoy (Rice Cakes of the Philippines)

Kakanin is the Filipino word generally referring to local rice cakes. Kakanin are delicacies made of glutinous/sticky rice, root crops such as cassava, sweet potato, and are usually mixed with other ingredients including coconut milk, sugar, nuts, and other ingredients. Rice cakes in the Philippines are usually wrapped in banana or coconut/palm leaves.

If you are following me on Instagram, you'll see that I love eating rice cakes (I don't care if they are big tons of carbs). I like trying rice cakes wherever I go so I can compare their tastes. Back in college, I've also made a short feature about kakanin found in Baguio for a class requirement.

This post will feature the different rice cake delicacies of the Philippines.

Tagalogs call this "palitao", however, in Cagayan, we call it dila-dila, most probably because of its elongated shape similar to a tongue (dila means tongue). This delicacy is made of glutinous rice in flattened shape, lightly fried, and then dipped into a grated coconut and white sugar. This is one of my all-time favorites.

Bilo-bilo, also referred to as ginataang halo-halo by the Tagalogs, pinalatta in Ibanag and tambo-tambo in Ilocano, are small balled sticky rice with thick soup also made of sticky rice and coconut milk with other ingredients including banana (saba), langka, tapioca pearls, ube, sweet potato, etc. This delicacy requires more time to prepare. I remember helping the elders when I was young in balling sticky rice. Mas masarap kumain pag pinaghirapan, right?

"Andito na yung palitaw!"
"Bakit yung sa'kin walang bilo-bilo?"
"Meron pero tig-isa lang."
"Ginataan ang tawag namin dito."
"Tambo-tambong naman sa'min." "Bilo-bilo sa'min. Kasi binibilog mo 'to eh."
"Ginataang halo-halo, kasi halo-halong sahog."
"Ikaw, ano'ng tawag niyo dyan?"
"Pinalatta. At mas marami din sa'min yung bilig bilog kesa sa ibang ingredients. Mahal siguro ang sticky rice dito." Mangan! Kuman! Mari kita makan!

Tinubung. In my hometown in Cagayan, tinubung is among the things that signifies Christmas. Tinubung is a delicacy made from ground sticky rice with coconut milk, sugar, nuts or raisins and is cooked in low fire inside a bamboo. This food is served only during the Christmas holidays, although there are times that it is sold in the market even it is not Christmas. If other places in the Philippines have their puto-bumbong, we have this and bibingka in Ilocano-Ibanag world.

Moron. Giniling na malagkit na may tsokolate sa loob. Ground sticky rice with a chocolate filling, cooked wrapped in banana leaves.

Cassava cake

Balisungsung of Bicol

Carioca

A colleague brought this for us to try, a suman with luya (ginger). She says it's the Visayan version. The ginger is supposedly pantanggal-suya. It was my first time to try this, it is good.

Puto-pao galing Bulacan.

Isa pang uri ng kakanin galing din ng Bulacan. Nilagay ko lang yung mangga.