31. FRANCIS MUSNI’S TOP 10 POPULAR FOODS THAT KAPAMPANGANS OFTEN SERVE FOR CHRISTMAS

LORD FRANCIS MUSNI  is not only a connoisseur of good Kapampangan food, but is also a self-trained culinary wiz . When not busy with his work at the Municipal Trial Court in Cities at San Fernando, Francis spends time in his newly customized, old-world style kitchen in his Bacolor home, whipping up classic Kapampangan dishes for family and friends. He hopes to open his “kusina” to visitors soon.  Francis also does consultancy work for the Center for Kapampangan Studies, and is an instructor and museum curator of Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University. He has appeared many times on local and national media as a resource person on various aspects of Kapampangan culture, especially our culinary arts. Currently, he is one of the hosts of “Umpukang Kapampangan” over RW 95.1 FM, a program dedicated to spreading Pampanga’s cultural heritage and its arts. Meanwhile, he shares with us his list of some of the most popular foods that are a part of every Kapampangan’s holiday table every year.

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1. LIGANG PASCU. A soup that is a complete meal in itself. An otherwise regular daily fare becomes a traditional Christmas special when prepared with long, simmered ham bone, beef, pork and chicken with potatoes, cabbage, saguin saba, labanus, pechay, Baguio beans, white onions, and whole pepper corns with generous slices  of sang  (onion leeks). It is a staple on noche buena and media noche that cuts across social classes; it is a great social equalizer. Every Kapampangan home, palatial or humble, has it.

2. ALE. Jam prepared at Christmas time could be gandus (white yam), copis (red monggo bean), bule (kidney beans) and the ubiquitous and color-of-the-season ubi (purple yam). The tedious process begins with harvesting, boiling, mashing and cooking the jam into a rich well-done (malaniad, manangnang).consistency with aid of a trusty heirloom kawa in makeshift earth stove dug from the ground. The best ale should keep for at least 3 days.

3. SUMAN TILI/SUMAN PASCU. This is a delicacy of steamed sticky (lacatan ) rice wrapped in young banana leaves. It used to be available only at Christmas time in the pre-commercial kakanin era. You had to make it, hire someone to do it, or specially order it from someone (by asking to share in her expenses in doing her own and a little extra). It used to be given out as an aguinaldo to family and friends who went "manyiklod" on  Christmas and New Year's Day. Outside of Christmas,  they call them suman tili becuase one had to roll them (tili) like fat cigars. Be careful in buying your lacatan lest it be samutan and you end up with a half  or unevenly cooked (magadtu) suman.

4. CALAME. This is a generic Kapampangan term for rice delicacies shaped in the form of a cake. Calame making in this busy days is a tradition on the verge of extinction. The long and arduous process of making it has discouraged many and has given birth to an industry. Calame can have several names depending on the main ingredient and the place where it comes from. It could be simply calame nasi (literally, rice cake) or it could be calame duman, ubi, culubasa (which is also called bico), patulbad and pituclup (in Sasmuan). Warning: calame, beer and firecrackers are a bad combination.

5. HAMUN. Traditionally, Kapampangans got.their hamun from the.local Chinese store. It was either Hoc Siu, King Sue.or Marca Pato. The best ham was hamon de funda (whole leg ham bone-in and neatly tied in net stocking). The burgeoning sugar industry of the rich sugar planters and landlords preferred imported Virginia ham. Now local ham is produced and is supplied by several popular homegrown meat processing industries. The Kapampangan is likely to expect ham as a Christmas gift from his boss or trading suki. Employees proudly display their hams on the way home from their last day of work or after their Christmas party. As one popular ham brand puts it, the ham is the "star of the noche buena"

6. SUCLATING BATIRUL. Kapampangans will only go for the Chocolate "e". Richly prepared from a ground paste of well roasted cacao and mani ground with a gilingan batu, boiled in a pohia or batidor with gatas damulag added in and frothed rich and creamy with a molinillo, the suclating batirul is to die for. Albeit, the southerners (Ilonggo and Cebuanos) think it is adulterated, the Kapampangan wants his chocolate with peanuts still. The chocolate goes well with duman, suman or a magapuc (brittle) cookie like sanicolas, mamon tostado (sopas) or masa podrida.

7. BARBEQUE. An American vestige that refuses to leave the Kapampangan, each household prides itself with its own homemade pibabaran (marinade). The barbeque is served as one of the viands, a pulutan and a "pipali-pali" the day after.

8. FRUIT SALAD. Another American influence that celebrates the PX tradition of the Kapanpangans. One preferred Ligo as the best brand by far unlike other cheaper commercial Philippine syndicated.brands, which consists mainly of pineapples, papaya and pineapples. Kapampangans stock up on cans.of fruit.cocktail, whipped cream and condense milk as early as October, as grocery shelves go empty by early December.

9. BIBINGCA and PUTU BUMBUNG. Very popular post-Simbang Bengi treats,

10. A BASKET OF IMPORTED  FRUITS.  Not normally purchased on ordinary days,

PHOTO SOURCES:
LIGANG PASCU: Adda Morena Canlas Musni FB page
ALE: Betty Ann Besa-Quirino, http://www.asianinamericamag.com/
SUMAN TILI: Ruston Banal FB page
CALAME: Reyjay Manago FB page
HAMUN: Robby Tantingco FB page
SUCLATING BATIRUL: Insights Magazine, http://chocolatedebatirol.com/

BARBEQUE: Ralf Laurence Bonifacio FB page
FRUIT SALAD: Guagua Pampanga Kabalenan FB page, 
FRUIT BASKET: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wrapped_fruit_basket.jpg
BIBINGCA/ PUTU BUMBUNG: Ivan Henares twitter photo