''Sayongsong'' is a traditional

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

steamed

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

from

Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...

and other areas of the

Caraga Region Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. The region was created through ...

of northeastern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

, as well as the southeastern

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

(

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

) where it is known as ''sarungsong'' or ''alisuso''. It is distinctively served in cone-shaped

banana leaves The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

. ''Sayongsong'' is a type of ''

puto Puto may refer to: * Puto, a Spanish profanity * Puto (film), a 1987 Filipino teen fantasy comedy * Puto (food), a Filipino food * Puto (genus), a genus of scale insects * Puto (song), by Mexican band Molotov * Puto (TV series), a 2021 Filipin ...

''. ''Sayongsong'' is can be time-consuming to make. It is made with equal parts of

glutinous rice Glutinous rice ('' Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low a ...

and regular rice. It traditionally uses ''pirurotong'', a native deep purple glutinous rice, which gives it a striking blue to purple color, but other types of glutinous rice can also be used. The rice mixture is soaked for around 20 minutes. Roasted peanuts (surigao version) or grated young coconut (Visayas version) are then added and the whole mixture is ground into a smooth paste known as ''

galapóng Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

''. Coconut milk sweetened with sugar is boiled separately for around 10 minutes then filtered and mixed with the ''galapóng''. The ''galapóng'' is then cooked in a pan while constantly stirring. When it becomes very thick in consistency, a bit of

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

juice is spritzed on the mixture. It is then allowed to cool and then poured into greased banana leaves shaped into a cone. The cones are then steamed for an additional 20 minutes. The dish can be modified by adding other ingredients, like chocolate or strips of young coconut meat. The texture of ''sayongsong'' is very soft, reminiscent of both ''

kalamay ''Kalamay'' (also spelled ''Calamay'', literally "sugar"), is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine ...

'' and ''

''. ''Sayongsong'' has a short shelf life and spoils after around a day, though it can be preserved for another day if chilled and placed in an airtight container. In

, ''sarungsong'' can also be cooked in shaved bamboo tubes that are then peeled open to eat.

References

{{Filipino food Philippine desserts Philippine rice dishes Foods containing coconut Rice cakes Vegetarian dishes of the Philippines

See also

References