00:00In every province of the Philippines, there is a big rice field that is not only full, but also delicious.
00:14Not only do bananas have a heart, but also this tree, which was raised by the Nyug tree, grows in a clear field.
00:24This is called Ambulong in English.
00:30From these trees, you can get a kind of starch, or like glutinous rice, or flour, the main ingredient in the favorite rice of the Tiga Malinaw, suman sa ukaw.
00:50Arjen's family has been doing this for more than two decades.
00:57Early in the morning, they climbed the forest to look for the Ambulong tree.
01:02This is the one we chose because its heart is about to come out.
01:06It means that we can now eat it.
01:09But before they start eating or picking up the rice, Juvie's mother prayed first.
01:17When we were picking up the rice, we heard the sound of a drum.
01:26The skin of the Ambulong tree was cut into four equal pieces.
01:34Until we got the white part of the Ambulong tree, which is called Ogimas.
01:50Once the Ogimas were collected, they were cleaned,
01:59and then ground.
02:06Once the white part of the Ambulong tree is done, it means that the Ambulong tree is done.
02:09We can now remove it.
02:11To cook suman sa ukaw, the nato was mixed with coconut milk and sugar,
02:21wrapped in banana leaves,
02:31and then boiled.
02:33The suman sa ukaw was sold for Php 5 per piece.
02:46When you eat it, it's soft like a jelly.
02:49The coconut flavor and the Ambulong itself is sweet.
02:54But because of the difficulty of collecting the nato, they can only do this once in a while.
03:00In fact, in their place, they only do it once in a while.
03:06If there's a chance that we can harvest the Ambulong tree, we do it right away so that we can sell it.
03:14This grandmother bought it from Sibalong Antique.
03:19It should only be tasted when they make rice, especially those with coconut milk.
03:26Her specialty is Kalalaseng.
03:31It was made by 77-year-old Lola Lidja.
03:35It's very sour.
03:36She calls it Lasang Tubak in Palay.
03:40The presence of Palay is one of the manifestations of why Filipinos are fond of making this kind of rice.
03:49The rice is one cropping a year.
03:52There's what they call Damisag.
03:54They hide the rice.
03:56The rice grains can be used to make sapal.
04:05This is from the sticky rice that has been soaked for a long time.
04:10She will make Tapay or fermented rice.
04:14Seasoned with chili, ginger, and pepper.
04:19Soak the rice in water before cooking it.
04:31Next, crush it with a mortar.
04:42Mix the cooked rice with sugar and crushed tapay.
04:49Wrap it with leaves of gabi and marinate it for a day.
04:57There's a technique to soak the soup so that it won't be wasted.
05:02If you have a lot of people, you can eat a lot of Kalalaseng.
05:06The Mabis believe that this is a medicine for some diseases like rheumatism and cancer.
05:12That's why they don't eat the leaves that are wrapped.
05:17Instead, they soak it in water.
05:20There is a role, right?
05:22Fermented food helps as an anti-inflammatory agent.
05:27The plant inside this has a high dosage of vitamin C.
05:31It helps the body.
05:33In the past, it was sold three times a week.
05:36Now, it's only sold on Tuesdays in the market.
05:42When I was a kid, I used to eat it every day.
05:58At first glance, you might think that these are the same as the ones sold in Batangas.
06:06But when you taste it, it doesn't taste like an egg.
06:10It tastes sweet.
06:12It's made from Balinghoy or Kamoteng Kahoy.
06:16It's a version of Buchi.
06:18But because it's smaller, they call it Buchi-Buchi.
06:23Beth has been making and selling this for more than two decades.
06:27On Sundays, I sell it at Masa Basilica.
06:32The Balinghoy leaves are boiled.
06:36The roots are removed.
06:37It's in the middle of the Kamote.
06:39If you don't like it bitter, you might get sick.
06:44Seasoned to taste.
06:48Ground using a grinder.
06:54Mixed with food coloring.
07:00Rolled up.
07:06And pressed.
07:10It's soft, sweet, and delicious when it's hot.
07:15If you don't eat this, you're not from Batangas.
07:17Because this is the popular rice here.
07:20Because of the sweet Buchi-Buchi,
07:23their sweet love for their mister, Aguinaldo, grew stronger.
07:29When I met my husband, he gave me Buchi instead of flowers and chocolate.
07:35I didn't eat it.
07:37But on the third time Aguinaldo gave him Buchi-Buchi,
07:41he ate it.
07:42It means that he's already answering his former lover.
07:47Because of Buchi-Buchi, we fought for it.
07:51But Beth was exposed in 2000.
07:54Since then, their four children,
07:56after selling their rice, were left alone.
08:00I'm very proud.
08:01It's just that we didn't ask for help.
08:03Most of us are siblings.
08:04We just studied well.
08:07To a country that loves rice,
08:10or rice is life,
08:12I hope we don't forget those who are also full
08:16and we are happy with our traditional rice.
08:25Thank you for watching, Kapuso.
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