CEBU, Philippines – Bibingka comes in wide variety in different parts of Cebu, but the most popular is the special “Bibingka sa Mandawe,” of Mandaue City.
Bibingka is a soft and spongy rice cake that is partly charred on both the upper surface and on the bottom. It is cooked in an earthen mould, with banana leaf as lining. It is made from pulverized rice, coconut milk, sugar and either yeast or tuba (coconut wine) as baking agent.
In other places, the rice is ground. But “Bibingka sa Mandawe” uses pounded rice, which makes it special. The “bibingkeras” (rice cake makers) of Mandaue explain that grinding produces heat, which partly cooks the rice grain – before the baking itself – and makes the “bibingka” spoil easily. Pounding allows the rice grain “breathe” between strikes, keeping its fresh quality.
Moreover, Mandaue “bibingkeras” stick to the use of “urnohan,” clay moulds, and cooking it by the traditional process of placing burning coal over and below the moulds. The ready “Bibingka sa Mandawe” is usually topped with strips of young coconut meat. It has an added aroma of the partly burnt banana leaf lining.
A piece of “Bibingka sa Mandawe” is large enough for a filling snack of two persons. The delicacy can stand for three to five days without refrigeration. It can be found sold by roadside vendors along the central streets of Mandaue City and, on weekends, at the supermarket section of the shopping malls in Cebu City. It sells at P60 per pack of three pieces. (Reference: www.everythingcebu.com)