You can ask kids from the provinces what a buchi is and they will all tell you it is a delicious snack. It’s one of my favorites when I was still a schoolgirl and I love it until now. As a mom, I prepare it at home sometimes for my family to enjoy this delicious and chewy merienda (Tagalog word for snack). You can also serve it as a dessert but most Filipinos take it during snacktime.
It is very easy to prepare and anyone who has tried frying can do it. I used to think that it is hard to get it perfect. But when I tried it (using my aunt’s recipe), it was exactly how I wanted it to be. Just the same as the buchi that I bought from the school canteen when I was still a little girl.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice (soaked overnight and ground, then wrapped in cheesecloth and hung to drip)
- 1/2 cup mongo
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup water
Cooking Procedure:
- Boil the mongo and mash after cooking. Dissolve 1/3 cup sugar in 1/8 cup water. Add to mashed mongo and cook over moderate heat until dry. Cook then form into balls.
- Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in 2 teaspoons water.
- As soon as the ground rice is dry, add the sugar solution and mash the mixture. Shape into small balls and flatten each small ball of rice dough in the palm. Thin out and wrap over one ball of mongo.
- Fry in deep hot fat until brown. Drain excess oil before serving.