Espasol!

After some weeks of food blog hiatus and reconstruction, I finally had the time to continue my passion. For those who doesn't know, it was Finals Week for us who took summer classes. That's what kept me busy and hindered me to do what I loved. 

Espasol is a cylinder-shaped Filipino rice cake originating from the province of Laguna. It is made from rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened coconut strips, dusted with toasted rice flour. That is according to Wikipedia. Espasol is a common delicacy here in the Philippines. My usual experience for this is when my parents go to the market in Palo during the Tabo (Saturday Open Market) and buys some home. I bought this Espasol on our school vendor , Manang. She told me that it was Espasol and not Nilupak, they just shaped it like a disc.

Discrepancies

Pardon me if I'd have a wrong post about this, but Espasol is very similar to the local Nilupak. Nilupak is actually made of mashed plantain and is of round, disc-like shape. In Leyte however, Espasol is commonly called Lupak (or Nilupak) and is also dusted with toasted rice flour. When both products are finished, the only visible difference is the shape. 

Recipe

Ingredients,

• 4 Cups Sticky Rice (Locally known as Malagkit)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. of Banana Flavoring (Vanilla Extract)
• 3 1/2 Cups Coconut Milk
• 2 Cups White sugar
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt.

Procedure,
1. Toast malagkit until golden brown. Cool and pound until it is powdery. Set aside half a cup for dusting.
2. Cook the coconut milk, vanilla, sugar, and the toasted malagkit in a pan or double broiler. Continuously stir the mixture over low heat. When you see spots of oil separating from the mixture, it's done and you may now remove from heat. It would look more like of a dough.
3. Sprinkle flour on a wooden board so you can place the mixture over it without it sticking on the board. Roll it over with a rolling pin.
4. Divide into strips and shape it into cylinders.
6. You sat aside half a cup of the toasted sticky rice, now sprinkle it on a plate or board then roll the cylinder Espasol over it.

7. Enjoy!