Most Filipinos are known for their warm hospitality. Whether guests are expected or show up out of the blue, we’ll go the extra mile just to make them feel welcome even if it means borrowing money from the neighborhood store just to serve them something nice. It’s even common for some to buy new chairs, plates, or glasses just for the occasion.😅 That’s how much some Filipinos value their visitors. Though crazy, but kind of heartwarming too 😄
For this blog, I want to share one of our most memorable family and friends gatherings. This time, the venue is our house, which made it even more special. Since I took a cookery course back in Grade 9, I was given the big responsibility of preparing all the dishes. Yep, I was the head chef for the day 😂
Our guests were mostly my parents’ closest friends who also share our faith. If you've read my earlier blog posts, you might remember the family friend whose spouse is Korean; they're the owners of K-Town Cheongdam in Bogo. They joined us, too, along with several others. We had various visitors, so I had to cook a variety of dishes to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. It was just a simple day, yet a memorable one. Now, for today's blog, I'm gonna show you some of the foods (but not all😅) I have prepared for our guest.
These are some of the recipes I cook for the guests:
Biko (Filipino Rice Cake)
Biko is a traditional Filipino sticky rice cake that’s commonly served during gatherings and special occasions. So my mom and dad made sure to buy all the ingredients needed for this recipe. By the way, Biko is a type of kakanin, a general term for Filipino rice-based delicacies. The star of the dish, of course, is glutinous rice. In our place, we call it pelet or malagkit.
The first thing I did was extract coconut milk (gata) twice. I set aside the first batch of the extracted coconut milk for the making of latik later on. So I use the second batch of coconut milk I extracted, then mixed it with the glutinous rice to cook it until it was nice and tender. Some use water for the cooking of the rice, but I prefer I use gata (or extracted coconut milk).
While the rice is cooking, I combine the coconut milk with brown sugar and salt in a separate pot over the stove. I then cook it over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens into a smooth, sticky mixture.
Once the rice was done, I added it to the thickened coconut mixture (or latik), stirring everything together to make sure all the flavors melded and the rice absorbed the sweet, creamy texture. I cooked it a bit longer to let the excess liquid evaporate, but also being careful not to overcook it.
And finally… tada! The Biko was ready to eat. Hahaha..... But I yeah guys... I forgot to take a picture of the final cooked biko I made because I was too busy entertaining the visitors after this tiring activity, haha. But overall, I can say that they found it delicious because they said so😅. I feel like cramming it all because you know the visitors were coming and we only have 1 butane. So I feel like I need to make it faster, that's why I forgot to take a picture of some of the details. But it's okay, at least I have presented something 😅 so you know that I still have time for blogging even though my schedule was hectic hahah. You should try this recipe as well in your homes too because it is delicious... super.
Budbud
I’m not entirely sure if what we call budbud is the same as the more commonly known suman in other parts of the Philippines, but one thing I do know for sure is that it’s another well-loved Filipino delicacy. Just like biko, the main ingredient is also malagkit or glutinous rice, which gives it that sticky, chewy texture we all crave in traditional kakanin.
I started by washing the pelet (that’s what we call glutinous rice in our area) several times until the water ran mostly clear. This step is pretty important because it helps remove excess starch and any impurities, making the rice cleaner and less gummy when cooked. Once rinsed and drained, I then transferred it to a big pot and poured in enough coconut milk to soak the grains, and added just a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness, and a generous amount of sugar, adjusting it according to taste. There’s no exact measurement when it comes to these ingredients, so just add and adjust as you go, the way most Filipino home cooks do. But actually, the process of cooking Budbud is the same as cooking Biko.
While cooking, I had to keep stirring it constantly so that the mixture would not stick to the bottom of the pot. This part requires some patience and arm strength, haha. At first, it was easy enough, just gentle stirs as the rice slowly absorbed the coconut milk. But as it thickened and the grains began to stick together, I had to stir more strongly and frequently to make sure it didn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot, as I have said😅. It became trickier as the mixture got denser and stickier. I then lowered the heat to keep it manageable and avoid overcooking it, especially because once the mixture burned, it would be very hard to remove from the pot, hahaha.
Traditionally, Filipinos cover the mixture or cooked budbud with banana leaves for a few minutes, then wrap it individually in wilted banana leaves to serve. But since we were only preparing it for a simple family gathering, we skipped the wrapping part and served it as is.
Spaghetti
Honestly, this is my absolute favorite dish to cook, it's always a favorite food in our family. We all love it (though, of course, we also love budbud and biko).
First things first, I got all the ingredients ready. I had planned to use condensed milk for that sweet touch, but my parents forgot to buy it, so I just worked with what we had. We still had cheese, which was great, but I have to admit that spaghetti with condensed milk, together with cheese, is just on another level of delicious.
Once everything was prepped, I boiled water in a pot (and added a pinch of salt) and added the pasta. Meanwhile, I heated another pan to sauté garlic, onions, corn beef, and hot dogs in oil. After a while, I added the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer until it was all ready to go.
When the pasta was cooked, I strained it and combined it with the sauce I’d made. And then as simple as that haha. It was so tasty, you guys. Seriously, you have to try it haha.
Simple Adobo
For the adobo, we kept it simple, guys. Even though our visitors are pretty well-off, they were okay to eat whatever we cooked as long as it was delicious, haha. It doesn’t matter how fancy the meal is as long as it’s home-cooked and full of flavor, it’s good to go😉
Now, we all know that adobo is all about the meat, so that’s where we started. For the marinade, I used lemons for that yummy taste, fish sauce (patis) to add a savory depth, vinegar for the signature adobo flavor, and of course, a bit of chili (siling labuyo) for some spice. Then, of course, I added a pinch of salt and vinegar to give it that extra flavor.
Once I had everything mixed, I left the meat in the fridge to marinate for a while. I find that letting it sit helps the flavors seep into the meat, making it more delicious when it’s cooked. After a bit of time, I got to work on the cooking part. It was a pretty straightforward process, just a normal sautéing.
There were still plenty of other things I prepared like popcorn, groupics (I’m honestly not sure if I’m spelling that right), sinabawang manok (chicken soup), and a few more dishes that added variety to the table. But I think I’ll end the list here for now because my fingers are getting tired from all the typing, haha, and I think I’ve said enough to give you a good picture of how much love and effort went into that day.
Also, our Korean family friend brought along some homemade kimchi. It would’ve been great to share a photo of it, but I got caught up in the excitement and forgot to take one. Still, it was such a nice addition to the table and everyone appreciated it, especially those K-drama lovers haha.
So yeah, the entire gathering was truly memorable. It wasn’t just about the food (though that was definitely a highlight), but about the people and their jokes, of course, aha. It reminded me how precious these simple moments are, and how food really brings us all together.
So now you know, guys, if you ever need someone to cook for your next get-together, you already know who to call. You might just want to hire me as your chef, haha🤣
That was all for this blog, and once again, this is @rufajane.
