Filipino’s dishes will never be complete without rice. In any occasion or everyday meal, rice is always included especially during lunch and dinner. Some even say they don’t feel full unless they have eaten rice.

There are a lot of ways to cook rice. One way I know is cooking thru a rice cooker, yes! It’s the fastest and easiest way to cook rice. For some, they cook rice in palayok (clay pots) over charcoal or wood. Some even cook rice with pandan leaves, the aroma itself is good enough to eat. During my elementary years, when I was out camping, we have tried to cook rice in a bamboo over open fire.

Cooking rice is a part of Filipino culture. When I visited Bohol, I was surprised to see a different way to cook rice, and they call it Puso’.

Using unopened banana leaves, they make a special weave to a size as big as your palm and place uncooked rice in it. Then in a pan of water, they cook it with several small bundles all at the same time. When cooked, the leaves turned yellow. To eat, simply cut it open to savor the unique flavor of the rice together with your favorite dish or ulam (valiant).

It’s exciting to try something new once in a while. Actually, each serving is smaller than a usual one cup of rice in a restaurant but it’s more filling.