CEBU CITY, Philippines — When was the last time you had puto balanghoy?
This steamed cassava cake is traditionally made in the Visayas region using basic ingredients such as cassava, brown sugar and grated coconut.
Puto balanghoy is enjoyed with sikwate (hot chocolate made of cacao beans) or coffee.
At the Punta Princesa Public Market, puto balanghoy is sold at an affordable price of P10 each.
There are several versions of this provincial delicacy but the basic procedures include combining grated cassava (water squeezed dry) with brown sugar and grated coconut.
The mixture is placed in a mould or coconut shell and covered with banana leaves and steamed for 20 to 30 minutes until it is cooked.
Puto balanghoy is often topped with caramelized brown sugar. A modern version combines coconut cream and condensed milk in a sauce pan and cooked over medium heat before its poured on top of the cooked puto and sprinkled with desiccated coconut.
A decadent topping is the bukhayo or coconut meat strips simmered in brown or muscovado sugar.
What’s your favorite provincial delicacy? / celr