I've finally tasted this again in my January 2009 visit to my hometown, Cebu City. I can't remember when I ate something like this, but my guess is probably more than 3 years has passed.
This is what we fondly call "puso" a.k.a. "hanging rice". Well, am not going into details of how its produced, but I will point you to a link which explains it.
This kind of food is something I've only seen in Cebu..hmm....okay... maybe some places may have gone into it, but suffice to say its not something that is very prevalent in Makati or Manila.
As the first paragraph of the link I will put here goes:
"Hanging rice" is the English term Cebuanos apply to something called puso, which is, essentially, boiled rice.
But leaving it at that is like dismissing fettuccine as noodles. Puso is rice, yes, but it is more than that; puso is an integral part of the barbecue culture of Cebu, and I would go so far as to call it an art. Puso is to the Cebuano what the baguette is to the Parisian, or the bagel is to the New Yorker. This page is my wholy inadequate tribute to puso.
- taken from http://www.wayblima.com/cebu-food-puso.html so do please check it out as it explains the art of our ubiquitous staple (at least in Cebu)...the lowly but hardy "puso".
and for fellow Filipinos...sorry about the title, but it was really...ehem..pun intended...hehehe...
i miss puso and barbecue...
ReplyDeleteactually, I do too *sigh*
ReplyDeletebarbecue is plentiful here in Luzon anyway..so pwede sa Ineng's...
however I wish I could make the containers...wouldn't it be fun to try it out...
Again we have the same in Malaysia and its known as ketupat. A name that's firmly more down to earth.Recipe has been posted in OneASEAN some time ago.
ReplyDeletemaybe i should go to cebu and taste this puso...
ReplyDeletehello kat and thanks for sharing..kumusta na?
Hi Cat. Thanks for sharing the photos (pero mas thanks kung may sharing ka rin ng "puso" from Cebu, hehehehe).
ReplyDeleteparang suman sa palaspas ito sa Laguna siguro... sarap!
ReplyDeleteaww.. akala ko kung anong puso hihihihi.
ReplyDeletekala ko yung puso na ng pusa eh!
ReplyDeleteyou ought to try visiting Cebu the next time you fly over here..
ReplyDeletehow you doing? ako ..ganon pa rin..suffering from hunger pangs...*wink*
thanks for the info Roger...yeah, I just googled it..am happy as it would be something familiar to eat if ever I come to Malaysia...the way its weaved in our town though looks different from how its portrayed in this picture..but am sure both are delicious..the leaves do add some fragrance to the rice
ReplyDeleteay naku Tochie...the only sharing I can think ko of puso sa Cebu will be one where we can sit down and eat it with lechon..but only if we are both in Cebu *wink*
ReplyDeletesuman sa palaspas? hmm...actually Oselle, its just plain rice...I don't know if there was glutinous rice used in the puso sa cebu...or if it was ever cooked with some other stuff like what I read is happening with other countries' versions *grin*
ReplyDeleteoy ha...yung puso sa amin can have different meanings..coz the spelling could also mean yung poso (ng tubig) HLH!
ReplyDeletethanks kathy..i will try to visit cebu ....ok naman medyo sad pa rin..too many things happened na malungkot..but i'll be fine with so many friends like you ..ha ha ha.ako miss ko na rin ang food s pinas lalu ng homecook ni nanay kaya tumaba ako..
ReplyDeleteoo, kapag lutuin ni inay...iba talaga dating...
ReplyDeleteI feel easier that the passage has time has resulted in some little ease for you...
Nkakataba ang dating.. :)..hello Kat..
ReplyDeleteLilipas din ang lungkot Kat.we hope na magkaroon naman ng saya sa aming family.. :)
expect that there will be some happiness coming your way Val, and it will happen :-)
ReplyDeletethanks Kath.. :)..have a great evening and pls.take care
ReplyDeletethanks Val for dropping by..hope you have a wonderful weekend..
ReplyDeleteI come from the Torres Strait, which is a group of islands that lie between the tip of Australia (Cape York) and Papua New Guinea. While we are part of Australia, we are related physically and culturally to Papua New Guinea. In the 19th century, we had many sailors from Asia including the Philippines and the Pacific who migrated to the Torres Strait, married into Island families and introduced a lot of the food styles from their homeland. We have a similar rice dish in coconut leaves that we call Poso. I had always thought it was introduced to the Torres Strait from the Pacific Islands, but given the name and the style of weaving, now see that it originated from the Philippines and most likely Cebu. In the Torres Strait, we add tinned meat (tinned corned beef) mixed with finely chopped onions after the washed but still uncooked rice has been poured into the poso. We also cook the poso in coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteAnother dish that I have discovered which originated from the Phillipines is a pork blood stew. I know it is from the Phillipines because the name we use, dinuguan, is the same name I believe that is used in the Phillipines for the same dish. Mmmmm, talk of dinuguan and poso is makin me hungry. While I can make the poso container for the rice, I haven't yet made dinuguan - a challenge for the future depending on if I can get the blood.
ReplyDeletethis is interesting variation...hmm..its not been done here though...but that kind of mix makes me think actually of the rice balls (onigiri) of Japan...I had attended a short class which taught us how to do it and ham and some slices of cheese were mixed into the rice before it was shaped...its different in the sense the rice was already cooked...
ReplyDeleteI think there are some parts of the Philippines wherein the poso may be cooked in coconut milk...that would give it extra flavor..
hi Mixie...
ReplyDeleteah yes, the "dinuguan" or as we call it in Cebu "dugo-dugo" (blood-blood)...
the best I've ever tasted was from those street stalls..esp if it was spicy...
its good to also pair the poso with dinuguan....the dryness being offset by sopping it in the stew...of course not all peeps might be comfortable with eating pigs blood..haha!
ah wait...isn't there something also in Europe like this...I'm sure I read it somewhere...
btw, you are lucky you can make the poso container...I can't :-(
Wow, thanks for dropping by Mixie...hope I can visit that part of the world one of these years...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments cuh888. I had googled "poso" trying to trace the origin of the dish and came across your site. I've been trying to load a photograph of poso from the Torres Strait - will keep on trying. Very interesting culture in the Torres Strait - even though we are Melanesian, we have very strong influences culturally and particularly food because of the SE Asian and Pacific cultures that intermarried with Islanders - strong Filipino backgrounds to some families, Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese and Japanes, but also from islands in the Pacific such as Samoa, Fiji, New Caladonia, Rotuma and Niue.
ReplyDeletenow that is definitely something to look forward to - the cuisine which resulted from all these influences...
ReplyDeletewhat are the top 3 "national food" would you attribute to the Torres Strait?
OK, Now I really know how ILift looks like. Mukha ngang very refreshing. Yung hanging rice is quite interesting din. Para ba yang suman sa ibos? I've never seen that one before. Sa Cebu nga lang available sabi mo nga.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing me here.
Wow, Cat. I checked the link on how to make Puso. Very very interesting. I have got to try that when I go and visit Cebu next time. Iba nga yan compared to suman sa Ibos. The art of weaving the palm leaves is what intrigued me as to how fast, uniformed and precise they make them. I guess, any barbecue would be fitting for the puso, di ba?
ReplyDeleteha? suman? no, its just rice....instead of rice from pot...its that way, then you peel the leaf wrapper off..and munch on it paired with barbecue, grilled fish etc.
ReplyDeletewe usually use hanging rice like if we go to the beach...and sino pa bang magluluto ng rice no? just buy from your friendly vendor the poosoh and voila...pagdating sa beach, pair it with lechon, vinegared seaweed, pork chop etc. or kung anong grill mo...burp na..
they weave the rice containers very quickly...I've seen some in action...parang tinulugan lang...
ReplyDeleteback in the good ole days a Php1 poosoh was quite big..e ngayon need mo Php 2 e 2 bites lang yata...LOL
we used to joke before that rice was unwashed kapag from poosoh kinakain (coz you don't rinse the rice like when you cook it in a pot, you just pour it inside the wrapper...
ReplyDeletehehe..there's a lot of suman around also but its just wrapped banana leaves...eto naman e galing sa coconut leaf...
any viand I suppose can be paired with the puso but for me the best sya if paris with grilled meat...
I just realized that after I looked at the link. Ang galing naman. Now, this reminds me of when we used to cook rice in a palayok, we line up the bottom and sides with banana leaves. So flavorful. That one you can eat with almost anything, not just BBQ or grilled stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of palm leaves do they use for the Puso?
Honga, it was mentioned they do it in seconds. If you blink, you'll miss it.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is the sign of the times. It is called Downsizing:-(
Unwashed rice is OK naman. Once naluto patay na ang mga germs di ba? Yung suman sa Ibos, coconut leaves ang gamit. The rest are young banana leaves. I can just imagine that any dish (viand) will be suitable with Puso or Pooosoh.
ReplyDeletesiguro yung medyo older...wawa naman ang coconut tree if tinangalan nila ng bagong leaves...come to think of it...am now imagining coconut trees na bald...eeek...
ReplyDeleteyes, nakakita nga rin ako spaghetti and puso...LOL
ReplyDeletepancit and puso...
ice cream and puso..ah..teka..mali...
No worries, Cat. Coconut trees' leaves are abundant:-)
ReplyDeleteAnything under the sun is OK with me Cat.
ReplyDeletecge, if mapunta ka sa Cebu, dalhin ka dito banda para ma-immerse mo sarili mo sa mga kain common folk :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I really would like to do. Go where the locals go. Those are actually the best places where you can get the best foods. Cge, I will definitely let you and Loy know.
ReplyDeletetama, pero magbaon ka lang ng imodium just in case ..hehehe...
ReplyDeleteand for greasy foods din...kc baka magrebel yung stomach mo sa lechon, pork chop, lechon kawali, chicharon atbp nakakapampabata...
Sige, besides Imodium, mag dadala na rin ako ng Lipitor...LOL
ReplyDelete