Bibingka

'' (carabao cheese) The origin of the name is unknown. The linguist Robert Blust hypothesizes that it was originally a loanword, likely from Malay kue bingka|[kue] bingka (a similar but different dish). However, the consistent partial reduplication of the word (bibingka) in most Philippine languages, is unexplained. In Macau and Portuguese Goa, there exist also a cake called Bebinca. Bibingka is the name used for the dish in most languages of the Philippines, including Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Bikol, Maranao, and Mansaka. It is also known as bingka in Cebuano and Hiligaynon, bingka or bingkah in Aklanon, and vivingka in Ivatan. ==Description==

Bibingka is a traditional Christmas food in Philippine cuisine. It is usually eaten along with puto bumbóng as a snack after attending the nine-day Simbang Gabi ('Night mass', the Filipino version of Misa de Gallo). Preparation In the traditional recipe for bibingka glutinous rice is soaked in water overnight in tapayan jars to ferment with wild yeast called bubod or tuba palm wine, then ground with a millstone or gilingang bato into a batter called galapong. The fermentation provide a faint aftertaste to the product. To save time, modern versions sometimes use regular rice flour or Japanese mochiko flour in place of galapong. Other ingredients can also vary greatly, but the most common secondary ingredients are eggs and milk. Bibingka is cooked over coals in a shallow banana leaf-lined terra cotta bowl into which the rice flour mixture is poured. It is topped with sliced duck egg and cheese, covered with more banana leaf, and then with a metal sheet holding more coals. The result is a soft and spongy large flat cake that is slightly charred on both surfaces and infused with the aroma of toasted banana leaves. Additional toppings are then added, such as butter, sugar, cheese, or grated coconut. More modern preparation of the dessert makes use of metal cake pans and purpose-built multi-tiered standing electric ovens. Mass-produced bibingka in Philippine bakeries are also made using tin molds that give them a crenulated edge similar to large puto or puto mamon (cupcakes). ==Variants==

Bibingka is also used as a general term for desserts made with flour and baked in the same manner. The term can be loosely translated to "[rice] cake". It originally referred primarily to bibingka galapong, the most common type of bibingka made with rice flour. Other native Philippine cakes have also sometimes been called bibingka. These may use other kinds of flour, such as corn flour, cassava flour, or plain flour, and are usually considered separate dishes altogether. • Buko bibingka - Bibingka baked with slivers of young coconut flesh (buko). • Cassava cake is made from grated cassava (instead of rice), coconut milk, and condensed milk. It is the most similar to pudding in appearance. Also known as 'cassava bibingka or bibingkang kamoteng kahoy'''''. :*'Cassava buko bibingka''' - a variant of cassava cake that adds young coconut (buko'') to the recipe. :*'Pineapple cassava bibingka''''' - a variant of cassava cake that adds crushed pineapple chunks. :*'Royal bibingka''''' - a variant of cassava cake from Vigan, Ilocos Sur shaped like cupcakes with a cheese and margarine topping. • 'Durian bibingka''' - Bibingka'' baked with durian flesh. A specialty of the Davao Region in Mindanao. • Salukara, a pancake-like variant of bibingka from Eastern Samar. It also uses tubâ and is traditionally cooked in pans greased with pork lard. • Sinukat a type of bibingka baked in half of a coconut shell. File:Bibingka with its usual toppings.jpg|Bibingka topped with cheese, grated coconut, and muscovado sugar File:Bibingka, Manila - 7th day- Trip to Tagaytay.jpg|Bibingka from Tagaytay, Cavite File:Philippine Dessert Bibingka.jpg|Bibingkang malagkit, a moist version of bibingka File:Bibingka (Philippines).jpg|Bibingka from Mindanao File:Cassava cake (Philippines) - Bibingkang kamoteng kahoy 01.jpg|Bibingkang kamoteng kahoy, better known as cassava cake, a variant made from cassava File:Bibingka with cheese (Philippines).jpg|Bibingka with cheese toppings File:Bibingkoy in Cavite City Public Market.jpg|Bibingkoy in Cavite City File:Ferinos Bibingka1.jpg|Ferino's Bibingka (since 1938) File:Royal Bibingka.jpg|Royal Bibingka from Vigan City, Ilocos Sur File:Iloilo Native Bibingka.jpg| Another rendition of Bibingka in Iloilo City ==In Eastern Indonesia==

, Indonesia Bibingka or bingka is also popular in Indonesia, particularly among Christian-majority areas in northern Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands, both of which were former colonies of the Portuguese Empire and are geographically close to the southern Philippines. It is prepared almost identically to Philippine bibingka. In the provinces of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo, bibingka is usually made with rice or cassava flour and coconut milk with shredded coconut baked inside. In the Maluku Islands, bibingka is spiced and sweetened with brown sugar or sweet meat floss. It is also traditionally cooked in clay pots lined with banana, pandan, or nipa leaves. As in the Philippines, it is also usually eaten during the Christmas season. A pancake-like variant of bibingka was introduced to the Chinese Indonesian communities of East Java during the Dutch colonial period. Known as wingko, wiwingka, or bibika, it became popular throughout the island of Java. Variants • Bibingka kelapa or bibingka santan, Indonesian bibingka made from rice flour and coconut milk, topped with jackfruit or coconut • Bibingka kelapa, Indonesian bibingka made from rice flour and coconut milk, topped with jackfruit or coconut • Bibingka abon, made from rice flour and coconut milk, topped with meat floss • Bibingka ubi telo, made from ube or cassava flour and coconut milk • Bibingka nanas or wingko nanas, made from ube or cassava flour and coconut milk with pineapple ==See also==