Kanen, Palamis, tan Mirindal: A survey of local kakanin, desserts, and other snacks

The Philippines is a land of more than a thousand kinds of kakanin. This shouldn’t be a surprise for an archipelago of 7,000-plus islands blessed with almost 200 ethnolinguistic groups growing lots of coconut trees, sugarcane, and other fine sweet things. Here, even spaghetti is made sweetish that Italians are routinely shocked.

Bayambang town is, of course, no different from the rest of the country. Even though people have been health-conscious of late, ‘carbo-loading’ -- through the ever-reliable rush from sugary treats -- remains a feature of the local diet.

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In the 1970s, these were what one saw in the public market:

Biko type

The rice-based ones included a type of sugarless biko (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and a pinch of salt) called inangit (the brown sugar was sprinkled later, just before eating it), inkiwal (basically biko or inangit with sugar), 

Inangit vs Inkiwal 

Inangit (also called pigar-pigar) is glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with a little salt -- no sugar added. It is toasted on both sides by manually flipping it from th wok. The wok is lined with banana leaves to prevent the rice cake from burning and to make the flipping easy. The crunchy, fragrant galor (toasted top part) is a much coveted part of this simple dish. 

Inkiwal, on the other hand, is glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, a little salt, and white or brown sugar. It is stirred and stirred (thus the root word kiwal) in the wok until the perfect consistency is reached. Unlike the inangit, inkiwal is not necessarily toasted. Anise seeds may also be added

Inangit and inkiwal are often used as ritual food, offered at the family altar as "atang" for the dead. Eating the atang is forbidden, or one falls ill of dementia or develops a mouth that is twisted on one side, or so it is believed.

Patupat or inkaldit was biko-type rice cake wrapped in a pyramidal pouch made of a woven coconut leaves. 

A favorite to this day is latik, which is biko topped with latik or coconut-and-sugar reduction.

Use of tapong or ground rice

There was the unda-unday (palitaw), bicho-bicho or bitso-bitso (carioca), buchi or butsi, tikoy, and the kulambo, which is a kind of white tikoy that is extra-gooey when newly cooked.

Puto varieties

There was the common cupcake-shaped puto with keso on top, the bite-size puto from Calasiao, kutsinta, a purple kind of puto (but apparently no yeast was used in making it), the bilao-sized puton belas (or is it puto lasong, to refer to the large pan-type earthenware it is cooked in) that is sliced rhomboidally in pieces (which may be unique to the town), and another puto (made of ground non-glutinous rice) that is toasted on the top (making it a cross between puto and bibingka, which may also be unique to the town).

There was also the bibingka, but it was traditionally sold only during the Christmas season, particularly after the ‘Simbang Gabi’ dawn masses.

Suman

There was, of course, suman, mostly suman sa lihiya wrapped either conically in green banana leaves (balisongsong style) or in coconut leaves. And then there was the toasted, banana leaf-wrapped tupig, a fragrant addictive treat.

Others

Gipang or candied puffed pinipig were sold for use as halo-halo topping. It is said to be a local specialty that originated in Brgy. Amanperez.

Alcohol-tinged sweet binuburan (fermented rice) was also sold but meant to be eaten first thing in the morning, reputedly as protection against stomachache. 

Corn snacks

The corn-based ones included the squiggly tibok-tibok (made of cornstarch and carabao's milk then topped with coconut milk curds) and corn polvoron. Grilled corn on a stick was sold, but the corn used was a white glutinous variety that had a unique smoky flavor.

Cassava snacks

The cassava-based ones included suman a kamoteng kahoy, a version of nilupak that looks like the kundandit, which is basically nilupak with ground corn. This is markedly different from the nilupak made at home using manual lasong which is mostly of pounded boiled cassava, boiled semi-unripe or half-ripe (described as gubal in Pangasinan or manibalang in Tagalog) saba, grated coconut, sugar and margarine.

Kundandit (also called dinekdek) is boiled then pounded kamoteng kahoy (cassava) mixed with toasted finely ground corn and brown sugar. 

Nilupak is cassava that is boiled and then pounded with shredded coconut and white sugar. Boiled unripe saba may be added in, pounded together into the mix.

According to Iluminada J. Mabanglo, topping both cakes with a dab of margarine is a recent modification.

Notably, Manaoag's version of kundandit described elsewhere appears to be different. Today, Bayambang's versions of commercial kundandit and nilupak are also dusted with white sugar and toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

At home, people made cassava cake that is a lot finer in quality from its commercial version.

Sugarcane snacks

The sugarcane-based ones included sinakob (panocha, with or without peanuts), meringue, and the sickeningly sweet and ultra-viscous pulitipot.

Other sweets, desserts, and snacks

A silag (buri) sugar-based sweet is called pakasyat. The sweet sap that is drunk is called sinamit.

Other offerings included banana cue, turon, and non-sweet snacks included binatog and other basically boiled stuff: cassava, saba, peanuts, tuge, sago, apuler. There was, of course, singkamas and unas or tubo (sugarcane). Then there were places that sold halo-halo.

These were what stalls sold to pupils in school:  jugs full of ‘juice’ varieties called palamig (samalamig in Tagalog) in general: pineapple, buko, melon, sago’t gulaman. There was also the ice scramble called iskrambol. And there were lots of rattan fruit, which apparently many patronized despite its extreme sourness. A lone vendor made brisk sales out of popcorn. Ambulant peddlers sold cassava pudding, which is a fat stick of pudding wrapped in transparent plastic wrapper; tibok-tibok wrapped in plastic; pink cotton candy; sorbetes in yellow (cheese), ube, white, and pink colors; iced treats on sticks such as popsicles of different kinds, iced buko, and iced munggo (red beans); and a dark yellow and leathery version of hot cake that former locals say is hard to replicate in America (their theory is it must be the flour).

At home, people had many other options. There was coco jam called katiba. When they extracted coconut oil without sugar, all that was left is the reduction called ganusal, which was used as topping for biko. They also resorted to champorado, lilot balatong, ginataang mais, tambo-tambong (or kineler), or ginataan a bayawas if they preferred something hot or warm. Inlubi (of two or three kinds) was strictly made only during All Souls Day. There were also the aforementioned versions of nilupak and cassava cake.

Without these, folks reverted to fresh fruits in season, chiefly banana (mostly tundal or on special occasions, the pricier lakatan) and mango, pineapple (eaten with a pinch of salt), melon (there were two kinds: the big oval one and the round cantaloupe), or watermelon. Other fruits traditionally consumed hereabouts included the following: atis, chesa, siniguelas (sarguelas), duhat (called lumboy, best shaken in salt), langka, kamias (pias), santol (pantol), chico, caimito, guyabano, sampaloc (called salomagi when sour and kalangakang when sweet), camachile (kamantiles) and to a lesser extent, such exoticisms (or less preferred types) as mabolo, kasuy, balimbing (granate), granada (pomegranate), aratiles, caramay, anonas, and the citruses: dalandan, dalanghita, calamansi (as juice), dalayap (as juice), lukban (pomelo), perante (from Nueva Vizcaya). Interestingly, only the gundol (kundol) was candied (if it wasn't cooked as vegetable dish like upo).

The coconut fruit embryo called pala-pala was a much-welcome cottony treat when it turned up.

During special occasions like christenings and weddings, people made these at home: leche flan, gulaman, cassava cake, and assorted versions of macaroni salad, fruit salad, and buko salad.

In the neighborhood garita or sari-sari store (variety/convenience store), there were kendin labos (literally, naked candies or without wrappers), tira-tira, belekoy, taeng kabayo (!), kropek, chicharon, bocayo, bocarillo (brown-red and white varieties), pop rice, fish crackers, pastillas that came in milk, cheese, and ube flavors, macapuno candy bar wrapped in waxed paper, and that smash-hit invention of macapuno balls rolled in sugar, tenga (a cookie that was hard to bite but that's its selling point), to name a few -- all unbranded. The only brand names at the time that were most popular at the corner store were some random cornick brands, Bazooka Joe bubble gum plus another brand, Sugus nougat type of candy, the hard candies (Kendi Mint, White Rabbit, Lipps, and a Coca Cola-tasting brand -- Storck would come much later), the soft and sweetish Marie biscuits, and the salted and tasty Lobo biscuits (more of crackers), which the little children adored.

At the Estacion na Tren, the traveler was peddled with so many things that are left unmentioned above, from boiled quail eggs, balut, balut penoy to big mamon loaves

Bakeries sold a limited number of pastries, cookies, breads, and crackers -- those common to the rest of the country including hopiang baboy, hopiang hapon, tenga, matsakaw, ogoy-ogoy, shingaling, 'apa' (actually barquillos), and a host of nameless cookies. But there was a time -- around 1970s -- when there was only one panaderia in town, which sold only one item: a makunat or tough version of pan de sal, sold by a Chinese immigrant named Kuga (Qu Ga?).

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Fast forward to 2019, that is, about 50 years after, the landscape of kakanins and sweets -- or snacks in general -- has noticeably changed. In the public market, there are now sapin-sapin (such as that made by Lydia Calicdan of Amanperez), a non-translucent version of pichi-pichi topped with grated coconut (like the one being sold by Linda Fajardo of Estacion/Zone 7 -- she also sells masikoy), what they call latik a deremen, toasted puton belas, which is a cross between a puto and a bibingka (but without a riser), and kahoy a latik (kamoteng kahoy topped with latik). Inlubi is often for sale even when it's not yet November.

In homes, there is ube halaya, maja, or maja mais, and during Christmas, the refrigerator cake called mango float (sometimes canned peach slices may also be used). Of course, the most popular fresh fruits in season remain omnipresent, but the unpopular ones seem to be missing, but there's a noticeable appearance of the new: lanzones, rambutan, even durian and marang (sold in a Telbang fruit stand).

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Sadly, gone missing from the scene are the following items: pulitipot, sago, apuler, kulambo, corn polvoron, kendin labos, tira-tira, belekoy, taeng kabayo, bocayo, bocarillo. (Old-timers also talked about a tira-tira type of coconut candy that was wrapped in rolled coupon bond -- their version of 'chocolate' at the time.)

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But with the extinctions come new introductions: akay-akay from I don’t know where (most likely Bulacan or Cavite), puto bumbong, fried macaroni, puseg-puseg (intestine chicharon), isaw in its manifold types, chichacorn from Paoay, and the latest craze as of this writing, mango float slushie... An ambulant vendor, April Joy Cestina, sells the following items on top of the usual: agar-agar (a cold milky green gulaman drink), battered and fried chicken crops (which is delicious), and lumpiang isaw.

White corn is displaced by a yellowish variety mottled with purple ears. The choice of citruses is dominated by ponkan and, on Christmastime, kyat-kyat, while flooding the market are Fuji apples and a variety of grapes. Occasionally, one can find such surprises as Chinese pomelo, persimmon, dragonfruit, Korean pears, and so on. Being planted in private homes and farms are tambis, rambutan, mulberry and who knows what else is out there.

The native eats also face competition from foreign influences, including pearl shake and milk tea from Taiwan -- of course, together with all the offerings of fast-food franchises.

Moreover, sari-sari stores and grocery shelves are, of course, laden with so many things branded, from 3-in-1 coffees to Fudgie bar type of cake bars in various flavors, chocolates, and candies of all
sorts.

Bakeries, of course, sell all sorts of new sweet pastries, cookies and breads.

The arrival of groceries, supermarkets, chain stores and the malls has further expanded the repertoire of local choices, exposing natives to formerly exotic regional and international fare.

The intensity of sweetness may have toned down through the years, but the appetite, or addiction, for sugar rush remains. But with the homogenization that results from a globalized economy comes the pressing danger of displacement of native goods. Like introduced species that turn out to be invasive, outside influences may either be indigenized or else endanger, if not eliminate, the native fare, and we know how this does not bode well for our sense of identity and cultural pride.

IN PICTURES:

The yellow thing is our version of nilupak and the brown thing is called kundandit, which I discovered is (still) being made in nearby Manaoag town.

We call this tapong, a cross between puto and bibingka. Its blandness is its own appeal because it has unique, er, character. It should be called ricebread.

We call this gipang, a hybrid between puff/pop rice, pinipig, and deremen. The result is a wonderful combination of flavors and consistency: chewy and crunchy at the same time, and smoky and sweet too.

·      Gipang is essentially puffed deremen (glutinous rice that is toasted at immature stage, giving it a smoky flavor, traditionally cooked on All Saint's Day as the rice cake called inlubi), then fried and shaped into blocks. Reminiscent of pinipig but not flattened into flakes, this greenish-gray crunchy sweet treat is often used as topping in halo-halo or eaten as is.

I have almost totally forgotten this cookie until fate brought me back to it. My father reminded me what it is called: sampaguita. He couldn't explain the why behind the curious name. In its humble look and simple taste, it is as addictive as it used to be, but this I heard is made in Dagupan City.

There's also pakasyat, which is like the panutsa or muscovado from the silag or buri palm tree but quite different. It could easily be mistaken for a smallish tablea. Its sweetness is blunted by a bitter edge. Pakasyat is even made more interesting by an additional quality: its delicate melt-in-your-mouth trait.

Close-up:

And these rediscoveries are just from the public market of Bayambang, except for the sampaguita cookies, which the ambulant vendors said were from Dagupan.

This is organic lemongrass juice made by Edgard Guevarra of GEO Farm, an organic farm (among others) in Brgy. Mangayao. It is sweetened using muscovado sugar. The concoction also contains gotu kola and mint extracts.

The cassava pudding here has been formed into a floral shape. And the inlubi has become available all-year round. Twenty-five years ago, the black kakanin is cooked only on All Saints' Day (November 1), and preparing it another time of the year was a gruesome thought.

They have also combined latik and inlubi, calling it latik a deremen. A dangerous proposition to diabetics.

Calasiao puto has become rainbow-colored. To be more accurate, there is an ube, strawberry, pandan, and cheese flavor, or to be really accurate, purple, pink, light green, and yellow-colored putolets. As to whether they have the right taste, well...

Best to eat the original puto(lets) with cheese like Chiz Wiz. But the kids sure would love the multi-color miniature putos.

Twenty-five years ago, this white-and-purple variety of corn could not be found here.

About four years ago, a local TV travel show on Isabela, reputedly the corn belt of the Philippines, featured purple corn for the first time, so this new variety must have come from there.

Bayambang itself is called "the corn belt of Pangasinan" and may be a potential rival to Isabela's corn-producing towns.

Now when will rainbow-color corn reach this place?

A group of entrepreneurs in Brgy. Sancagulis invented a no-fish cracker called rice cracker -- a piece of good news to vegetarians. It comes in original, spicy, and curly and non-curly varieties. It is quite a tasty, if messy, snack.

This is what they call potato onion twist, an addicting, though oily, cracker, and we have yet to hunt down its local manufacturer.

The following item per se is not really a new discovery here, but the fact that a darn good sapin-sapin could be found in one's own hometown is good news. There are only 3 layers, though, unlike Dolor's, which has five or six.

At the public market, they call this latik ya kahoy (or latik a kahoy), which literally means "cassava cake in sugarcane reduction." It is reportedly cooked like a bibingka, i.e., grilled with glowing charcoals placed on top of a tin pan, thus explaining the epidermal caramelization, so it may be called bibingkang (kamoteng) kahoy as well. It is surprisingly delicious and soft, almost like cassava pudding, which I assume is oven-baked, but a tad harder than cassava cake, which is a steamed affair. 

If an old-timer can still discover new things in this corner of the Philippines, you can just imagine what goes on unreported in the rest of the archipelago.