How Proud We Are To Be Filipinos and My Bibingka Recipe

Two weeks ago, Clarise told me that she really wants our family to participate in her school's Multicultural Day presentation. She said she wants to share our culture to her classmates and schoolmates so that they will know that she is proud to be from the Philippines. I am truly so amazed of her eagerness to join the said event. Being able to instill into our children the love for our native country is one thing that Ryan and I always try to do, and I am glad that we're seeing good results. Clarise speaks Tagalog (a dialect in the Philippines' Metro Manila area and Region IV where our national language, Filipino was based from) quite well and we can see in her that she's always proud to tell anyone that she's a Filipino. She's even teaching her friends some easy Tagalog words. Cherlin, on the other hand, is doing her best to learn Tagalog. She tries very hard not to forget saying "po" & "opo" (words that are use to show respect when talking to older people). The other day, she said "Mahal po kita, Mommy" which means "I love you, Mommy", and she seemed very proud of herself for being able to say it. Just like Clarise, she was so excited about participating in the Multicultural Day. She helped me prepare our display boards. She tried to find stuff she got from the Philippines when we last went home in 2007, and she gave them to me saying "These will be good proof that we are from the Philippines, Mommy!". It really feels good to see that the love for the Philippines has grown in our daughters' hearts.

Yesterday gave us another meaningful experience as our family once again represented the Philippines. It was our second time to do this...but first time at Robertson Elementary since we moved here in Little Elm last year. Though we didn't have that much visual display to show, just being there to share about WHAT THE PHILIPPINES IS" and "WHO WE, FILIPINOS ARE" is something to be proud of. The presentation was done during the day so all the students from K-5 were there to learn about our culture. Wearing our Pilipinas shirts, we gladly showed more than 600 students how proud we are to be Filipinos. My whole family truly takes pride in taking part in such activities because it's a very good opportunity to show other people the Philippine Culture, which many Filipinos are not willing to do. To many, the Philippines is nothing but a third world country who's progress has always been impeded by graft and corruption. There are even some who won't even admit that they are Filipinos, as though the Philippines was struck by a plague that they don’t want to be associated with. There are some who would just keep on speaking in English even if you start talking to them in Filipino. Others would usually give you a litany of why they do not like to go back, like pollution, traffic, poor roads, poverty, etc. 

There's just one thing I can say about this: No matter where we go and no matter how much we try to adapt ourselves to other culture, nothing can change the fact that we are Filipinos. So instead of being ashamed about it, why not do something to make others see that the Philippines is not just a poor country in Asia, but a very beautiful one with wonderful people and a very rich heritage. Sino pa ba ang magmamahal sa Pilipinas kundi tayong mga Pilipino (Who else will love the Philippines but us Filipinos)? As for my family, we may not be in the Philippines but there's one thing that won't ever change: We are from the Philippines, and we are proud to be Filipinos!

I want to share with all of you some pictures from yesterday's Multicultural Day at Robertson Elementary. Included in our display are the following:

* A display board showing some facts about the Philippines: National Symbols, President and Vice President, Philippine Map, Currency, Famous People, Filipino Traits, etc.

 * Wooden ref magnets, key chains, bracelets and necklaces with pictures showing the Philippine forests:

* My necklaces and earrings made from shells with pictures showing the beautiful El Nido Resort in Palawan:

* Islands Souvenir shirts and some bags and fans made in the Philippines:

 * And of course, my Filipino recipe books!

Clarise proudly joined in the national costume fashion show wearing the "saya" (Philippine traditional dress) which one of our friends let her borrow. 

We also brought Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino Egg Rolls) and Bibingka (Rice Cake) to share with the teachers, which they loved so much! I've shared the Filipino Egg Rolls recipe before. If you want to check the recipe, click here.

Bibingka is a type of rice cake native to the Philippines. This is traditionally made from galapong (milled glutinous rice), coconut milk, margarine, and sugar. During dawn masses on Christmas season, side street vendors are a common sight preparing and selling this delicious rice cake.

The traditional way of cooking Bibingka is unique and quite time consuming. The mixture is poured on a clay pot lined with pre-cut banana leaf. A special clay oven known as “Bibingka oven” is needed to bake this rice cake. The clay pot is placed between the layers of the Bibingka oven and lit charcoals are placed below and above the clay pot to evenly cook the mixture.

The way I cook my bibingka is an alternative to the traditional one. Instead of rice flour, I use all purpose flour. I've tried using rice flour before but I really like the texture of the one made from all purpose flour better so I prefer using it. Since I don’t have clay pots around and it is impossible to find Bibingka ovens in our local Home Depot, I used ordinary cake pans and my kitchen oven instead. I usually make my bibingka in rectangular pans like this:

But to make it look more like the real bibingka I thought of using my flower molds instead. I only have 12 of them, so I used an ordinary  muffin pan for the rest. It was a hit!

*I'm sharing this on Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen, Foodie Friday, and Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home.

Prep Time: ~15 mins               Cook Time: ~35 mins                Yield: 24 pcs.             

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ cup milk
• ½  cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup finely grated cheese
•  8 oz. Cream cheese

For topping:

• 4 Tbsp sugar
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• ½ cup grated cheese

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 cupcake pans or 24 pcs. oven safe puto molds.

2. Mix topping ingredients (except grated cheddar cheese) in a small bowl . Set aside.

3. Sift flour & baking powder into a large bowl. Add milk, butter, eggs, sugar and grated cheese. Using a wire whisk, mix until well combined. 

4.Pour mix into the pan or molds.

5. Slice cream cheese, put on top and cover with mixture.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is fluffy.

7. Remove from oven and brush bibingka with topping mixture. 

8. Return to oven. Lower heat to  325F and bake until top is all bubbly, about 10-12 minutes.

9. Top with cheddar cheese just after removing from oven.
10. Allow to cool down a bit and serve!