Bitso-bitso ni Manang Lori sa Santa Barbara

When non-Ilonggo friends tasted bitso-bitso, I wasn't prepared for the comment that this could be the local version of Krispy Kreme's glazed doughnut. Bitso-bitso is boiled-and-fried rice dough the coated with muscovado caramel, at least for this particular one made by Manang Lori in the town of Santa Barbara.

Though I'm not really privy to the actual recipe of Nang Lori, making bitso-bitso, is quite laborious since it requires three cooking processes aside from choosing the right kind of ingredients. Just like the puto-bingka of Nang Leling where rice flour is also used, it starts with the pilit rice being soaked overnight before it will be ground the next day.

Just like muasi (palitaw) or the bilo-bilo balls (used in making linugaw), the ground rice flour is mixed with regular flour, water, coconut milk and a little bit of sugar and vanilla. When the dough is ready, Mang Lori's bitso-bitso takes a twisted form so that it can "take-in" more sugar coating. It is then boiled and it floats, it is ready to be deep fried. After cooling down and drying up for a few minutes, it then takes a sugar coating after being dipped in a muscovado sugar caramel (with more coconut milk). It is finally cooled for the last time resulting to a glazed coating.

Manang Lori's bitso-bitso has the glaze that it is almost like Krispy Kreme's original glazed doughnut. It has chewy consistency and comes with a burst of flavour from the sugar and caramel but balanced by the plain fried dough.

It sells at PhP5 a piece and if I'm in for a sugar rush, I could take around 5 in just one sitting. But that's once in a while after all, its not everyday I get to taste this wonderful bitso-bitso made by Nang Lori.And I have to take advantage of that. Namit gid!

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FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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