Budbud or suman, also known as sticky rice cakes or glutinous rice cakes are quite famous all over the island.

To be honest, this delicacy can be very filling and as it is a high-carbohydrate snack. The good part is, it is very healthy. Budbud is actually glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk. In Leyte, there is a variant of this Budbud known as moron. It is not pronounced as mo-ron, rather it’s pronounced as moo-rohn. And it is absolutely divine!

Budbod is almost always wrapped in banana leaves cause they say that it brings the best taste out of the food.

There are various recipes for the Budbud, depending upon the region. The most popular version includes coconut milk and salt. Others are served with brown sugar, grated coconut, coconut jam, peanut butter and melted chocolate. Budbud is most popular during the Christmas season and you will find people often pairing it with hot chocolate and sweet mango slices.

During Lenten Season, Budbud makes a comeback. It is also quite popular during fiestas as well.

If you want to know how to cook Budbud, let’s start with the ingredients:

- glutinous rice (malagkit)

- coconut milk

- sugar

- a pinch of salt

- banana leaves (make sure they are clean)

How to cook:

Mix 5 cups of coconut milk, ½ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan. Then add the washed malagkit rice. Make sure you drain the rice completely though. Use a strainer for this. Cook the mixture in medium flame. Stir continuously for 15 to 20 minutes.

You will then notice the rice becoming soft and the liquid reducing. Keep on stirring so that the rice will not stick to the pan.

Once cooked., place 3 tablespoons of the mixture into cut banana leaves and wrap them. Fold over the edges so that mixture does not spill.

Place the wrapped mixture on a steamer and let it steam for 30 minutes.

Let cool.

Now you can enjoy your Budbud with hot chocolate and mango slices.