Nurture my Culture

Passport & Plate - Memories of My Floating Palate

Philippines | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Tasteful Characters:
2 kilos glutinous (sticky) rice
5 strips of Pandan leaves
4 cups water for Pandan leaves
5 cups water for glutinous circles
1 whole coconut
Mascovado sugar to taste

Trick of the Trade:
Manual Stone Grinder
Cheese Cloth

 

How to prepare this recipe
1) Add boiling water to the glutinous rice
2) Wash the glutinous rice three times, replacing the water on each wash
3) Drain the glutinous rice on the final wash
4) Boil 4 cups of water on a separate casserole
5) Add the Pandan leaves to the boiling water
6) Add the Pandan broth to the glutinous rice
7) Grind the glutinous rice using the stone grinder. Make sure to add the Pandan broth alongside the glutinous rice. At the end of the grinder prepare a cheese cloth that will serve as the strainer of the refined glutinous rice.
8) Remove the cheesecloth underneath the grinder and tie the cheese cloth locking in the refined glutinous rice.
9) Place the tied cheesecloth with the glutinous rice inside, under the upper stone of the stone grinder to press down the water with the glutinous rice.
10) Once the refined glutinous rice is fully drained, it will form a dough-like structure
11) And then it is the fun part! Mold the dough in a ball and then flatten the ball.
12) Boil the 5 cups of water
13) Add in the flatten glutinous rice
14) Wait for it to float
15) Add shredded coconut and Mascovado sugar
16) ENJOY!

 

The story behind this recipe
During New Year, in the place where I grew up, food is synonymous to auspicious. It is a must to have round fruits on your dining table. A cup of salt and pre-cooked rice are also requirements for a better luck in the year to come. The star of the show during New Year is yet to arrive, because according to grandmother, it has to be cooked at exactly midnight, the palutang.

Palutang is a Filipino word meaning “to float.” It is a Filipino tradition to include palutang in the New Year’s Noche Buena menu to bring good luck, as the floating motion of the flatten glutinous balls are metaphoric to the upward motion of luck in the year to come.

With the leadership of my grandmother, the females in our family gather to prepare the palutang. The process starts from grinding the glutinous rice using a revolving stone grinder. The grinding is a team effort as one has to take the role of rotating the upper stone and the other has to approximate the proper timing on which to drop the rice on to a tiny hole directing to the grinder. When the rice is refined it will be strained using a cheese cloth. The dough-like chunk will be placed under a heavy stone for minutes for it to harden. While the chunk of the refined glutinous rice hardens, the story about the past year overflows, some heart-warming, while most are tummy-sickening funny. Aspirations about the year to come are also shared. Traversing with the good vibes is the best stage of the process, molding the dough to flatten balls. Here three generations seem to merge into one as all are taken aback childhood memories of playing with clay. Some can do a perfect circle while some only has capability to make horrendous ones, nonetheless, this leads to an hour of laughter. After which the circles are dipped into boiling water until floated. Then the entire family, along gathers around to enjoy our simple feast with the hope of good luck.

The palutang is literally sticky and symbolically sticks us together as family.