Espesyal Espasol

As I walked around "mercado"(market) one Sunday morning, something caught my attention. Everytime I passed this place, I keep on looking at this small transparent glass beside the table of billiard. Inside this glass is a plate full of a cylinder-shaped Filipino Rice cake which is called Espasol. I bought one to satisfy my curiosity of how it taste like and fulfill my craving for this food.

            My curiosity strikes and I can’t help but ask the owner of this certain food on how to make it and the ingredients needed. Here are the ingredients and the instruction in making an espasol.

           

            Ingredients

3 cups glutinous rice flour, toasted

½ cup sweet rice flour, toasted

2 cups sugar

3 cups coconut milk

1½ cups grated coconut, toasted

1 tsp vanilla essence

           

            Instructions

In a cooking pot, pour-in the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the sugar and stir continuously for 10 minutes.

Put-in the toasted grated coconut and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vanilla essence and toasted rice flour and cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until the mixture becomes really thick while folding.

Remove the mixture from the pot and allow to cool down.

Dust the toasted sweet rice flour in a flat surface.

Divide the mixture into parts and roll over the dusted sweet rice flour until a cylindrical shape is formed.

Slice according to your preference.

Put in a serving plate or wrap in paper or banana leaf.

            How to toast the rice flour

Place a pan large enough to accommodate the rice flour on top of a stove and apply low heat.

Put the rice flour in the pan and allow to toast while continuously mixing until the color turns light brown.

Remove the toasted rice flour from the pan and transfer to a bowl or large container

            This Espasol or Baye-Baye which originated from the province of Laguna is good for snack and "pasalubong". Its different texture when its inside your mouth will surely keeps you on looking for it again and again. Even if its not originally from in Leyte, its delicious taste still meet the taste of the consumer in here.

Jhenel Rhea Augucay