By Jenny Ortuoste
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) aired today on the ‘Filipino Food Month’ (FFM) Facebook page the eighth episode of a webinar series showcasing Filipino food from around the regions.
This episode shows how to cook the famous cassava roll from Marinduque, a delicacy that has put the province on the country’s culinary map.
The sweet treat’s ingredients include grated cassava (balinghoy), cassava starch, coconut cream (gata), sugar, vanilla extract, cooking oil, condensed milk, salt, food coloring, and margarine (for greasing clean banana leaves).
The ingredients are blended and cooked over a low to medium flame in a pan with continuous stirring until set. The mixture is then spread onto a greased banana leaf, rolled, and cut.
The episode was produced in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)-MiMaRoPa (Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan).
The webinar series is among the government’s activities for April, which has been declared Filipino Food Month by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 469.
The month-long festival’s aim is to “promote, preserve, and ensure the transmission of vast Filipino culinary traditions to the present and future generations, as well as to provide support to farmers, fisher folks, and to the rest of the agricultural and aquacultural communities,” according to information on the FFM Facebook page.
This annual event is spearheaded by the DA, NCCA, and the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement.
ATI is the Department of Agriculture’s arm that provides extension services for farmers, fisherfolks, students, senior citizens, differently abled persons, and other members of the public.