Join the Exciting Patupat Fesival in Pangasinan

Planning a trip? Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and your enjoyment. Travelers know that the destination is a major part in planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into an unfamiliar places, people and culture is paramount.

Expand your horizons and set your sight to the Philippines, an off the beaten path travel site! An undiscovered paradise made of thousands of islands and white sand beaches all around! A tiny dot in the map of the world, and yet a haven for travelers, backpackers, retirees and even passersby.

It offers awesome tourist attractions, magnificent beaches, hot spring resorts, colorful festivals, hundreds of scenic spots and world-class hotels and facilities. Not to mention the tropical climate, the affordable prices as well as the friendly and hospitable, English-speaking people! You will be glad you came, and we’re sure, you WILL come back for more FUN in the Philippines!

PATUPAT FESTIVAL

Photo from: outoftownblog.com

The Pozorrubio Pangasinan celebrated its annual fiesta and this year, it is highlighted with their famous product which is the “Patupat” – a native delicacy made from sticky rice and wrapped in coconut leaves. It is cooked in boiling sugarcane-juice. It is served with melted panocha or pakasiat.

And because their town is known for making patupat, they named their yearly fiesta as “Patupat Festival“. Like other festivities in town, they also celebrated it with full of enjoyable activities, dancing, singing and lots of competition.

To show the unity of the people of Pozorrubio, they prepare the three hundred meters (300m) long table filled with Patupat and they eat together. Read More: asensopangasinan.com

Photo from: kentthetraveler.blogspot.com

What is patupat? Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have similar coconut-leaf-wrapped native delicacies made from sticky rice and wrapped either in banana or coconut leaves. Indonesians wrap the delicacy in carefully-woven packages using selected young coconut leaves (minus the midribs). They call it almost exactly like patupat, but without the first two letters – tupat. The big difference, however, is that it is cooked in boiling water. When the sticky rice is cooked, it is served with melted panocha or pakasiat.

But it is only in Eastern Pangasinan in the Philippines that patupat is prepared and served in all its gourmet glory!

The ubiquitous vendors of Urdaneta City, Manaoag, Binalonan, Villasis and Rosales sell patupat in the bus stations throughout the year. During off-season, however, the quality of patupat suffers because patupat by then is cooked not in boiling sugarcane-juice, but in big pots (not in vats or the taliasi or kawa) using refined red sugar. During the sugarcane season (October to May), patupat as produced and sold in Pangasinan are reportedly the best in the Philippines!

The patupat is entirely different from other native cakes because it is uniquely wrapped. In the preparation of high-quality patupat, there is a need to be careful in making the patupat bag.

The weaving of the patupat bag is, in itself, an art. First, the midribs of the young coconut leaves are removed, then knotted at both ends. The weaves are usually done one overlapping the other, ending with two corners. Later, the knots are removed and then joined to complete the bag. Read More: pozorrubian.wordpress.com

Photo from: asensopangasinan.com

And who doesn’t get drawn into trying one of those attractive sweet sticky rice wrapped in palm leaves that resembles a lady’s purse? They’re called “patupat”. The intricacy and sophistication of confectionery packaging is all embodied in this native delicacy. It is made by weaving the palm leaves to create a hamper and filled with glutinous rice, tight closed and cooked.

Everytime I buy one, I always grumble, it’s one delicious delicacy that made me labor a lot (opening it, removing each strands of leaves caught up in its stickiness) before I could even devour on it, it takes time and the mess! Don’t whine, it’s delicious and worth all the effort. Read More: http://travelingbydefault.blogspot.com/2014/05/patupat-tupig-mangoes-and-other.html

Photo from: saluyot.wordpress.com