PUTO BUMBONG FOR CHRISTMAS

Puto Bumbong is a type of puto or rice cake named after the bamboo tube in which it is steamed. It is unusual among puto, being sticky and having a long thin shape and purple color. The elongated shape results from the method of cooking while its color comes from the violet pirurutong rice it is made of. It is served with grated coconut and brown sugar. Along with  bibingka , it is often served outside churches around Christmastime.

Yes, puto bumbong is such a favorite in the Philippines that Filipinos think of Christmas in the colors of not just red and green but also purple!
Puto bumbong, along with other favorite Filipino Christmas foods like bibingka, tsokolate and salabat, are sold right outside the many Catholic churches in the Philippines from December 16 to 24 each year, when many Filipinos attend the nine-day Christmas dawn masses that start as early as 3 o’clock in the morning.

Improvised Way of Preparing Puto Bumbong

Filipinos living outside of the Philippines make puto bumbong with just strainers, aluminum foil-covered heavy-duty paper like cardboard, and pots filled with water.
Since this improvised way does not make use of bamboo tubes, then the shape of the end-product is naturally not cylindrical but rather cup-like.
Still, the taste is absolutely the same as the puto bumbong prepared in bamboo tubes.
Here is a trouble-free and non-traditional puto bumbong recipe that does not need a lansungan.

Ingredients for Making Puto Bumbong

• banana leaves – cut into 2 square pieces
• coconut meat – fresh and grated; 2 tablespoons
• margarine or butter – 1 tablespoon
• muscovado sugar or panutsa(sugar cane sweet) – 2 tablespoons
• pandan leaves – 1 stalk
• pirurutong or purple-brown aromatic sticky rice – ½ cup
• white sticky rice – 1 cup
• water – about 4 cups

 
Instructions for Making Puto Bumbong

• Get the moist rice mixture from the muslin or cheese cloth and place it in a large-sized mixing bowl.
• Crush the rice mixture by hand until its texture becomes consistent.
• Place pandan leaves into a pot.
• Pour water into the pot.
• Place the heavy-duty paper covered with aluminum foil on the lid of the pot.
• Apply butter or margarine on the small-sized strainer.
• Fill the small-sized strainer with the rice mixture.
• Fit the small-sized strainer into the hole at the middle of the heavy-duty paper.
• Cover the pot and let the mixture steam for 60 seconds or up to two minutes.
• Scoop out the steamed rice cake and place on banana leaves.
• Flavor the rice cake with muscovado sugar or panutsa, butter or margarine, and grated meat of fresh coconuts.

Voila! Your puto bumbong is ready to eat. Have a merry Christmas!