I haven't eaten this delicacy until my husband and his family introduced it to me. It is one of the well known delicacy in Ilocos Region. Every time a fellow Ilocanos went for holiday in the Philippines, they will bring some tupig as a paslubong (give away). And no wonder everyone loves it. It absolutely taste delicious.
Saying so, what is really a tupig? Tupig, also known as intemtem or kangkanen, is a Filipino rice cake originating from northwestern Luzon, particularly the regions of Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Ilocos. It is made from ground slightly-fermented soaked glutinous rice (galapong) mixed with coconut milk, muscovado sugar, and young coconut (buko) strips. It is wrapped into a cylindrical form in banana leaves and baked directly on charcoal, with frequent turning. The name tupig means "flattened", in reference to its shape after cooking. It is popularly sold as street food in Pangasinan, particularly during the Christmas season. It is typically eaten with ginger tea (salabat).[1]
Then recently this July 2024, I saw how it was made and I tried it too! I realized that it was very easy to make. So now, I would like this to share it with you.
INGREDIENTS:
- First we need to prepare for our banana leaves. Place the leaves on top of the flame to soften, but avoid burning it. You will know that the leaves is perfectly done when it turns to sharp green and shiny. Do this to all the banana leaves that you are going to use, then wipe it with clean paper towel or cloth on both sides. Cut 15 to 18 cm width and length will depend how long you would like it to be. Note: I also trim the edges to have a better look and maneuver.
- In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Stir until well combined. Note: At times our batter will become watery due to variations of the the coconut milk that we are using. In order to solve this problem, add little by little an extra glutinous rice and coconut sugar until you will achieve a thicker batter and yummy taste. Please see video about the consistency.
- Then, time to wrap the batter with the banana leaves. Get 1 - 2 tablespoon of the batter and spread on the side of the leaf vertically, along with the length of the leaf. Ensure that batter a equally distributed. Note: I learned that putting the batter on the side instead of the center, makes it easier to roll. You can flip both end to prevent the batter from coming out of the leaf. Repeat until all the batter is finish.
- Next, heat our electric grill to a medium heat. If you don't have this appliance, you can use a grilling pan or a flat pan. Once the grilling surface is hot, you can now put the uncook tupig. In my case, I have a electric grill that has a dual heat surface ( top and bottom ), so I don't need to turn it around. All I need is to check if it is cook and not burnt. However, if you are using a single grilling surface or a flat pan you need to flip it over to have an even cook on both sides.
- Check on a regular basis to prevent it from burning. Once cook you will know it by simply pressing the tupig and if it bounce back easily and you will feel that the batter has harden a bit, more or less you tupig is done. Also, you will see that the outside of the leaves are slightly burned.
- Remove from the grilling pan once done. Let it cool down for a little bit and serve it to your family and friends. Surely they will love it as a meryenda (snack). Enjoy!
- I use coconut sugar because it has a lower glycemic index which means that it doesn't raise your blood sugar as much, because it has a little bit of inulin on it which provide a little bit of fiber. [2] However, if you don't have coconut sugar you can use brown sugar or muscuvado sugar as an alternative.
- If you don't have available glutinous flour, but you have a glutinous rice and a blender, you can simply blend the glutinous rice into a smooth glutinous flour.
- Another alternative for a fresh shredded coconut is a sweetened shredded coconut in a bottle. Like what I did, all I have to do is remove the sweet part by rinsing the shredded coconut with water. This is to avoid too much sweet batter mixture.
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