Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine a warm bowl of sweet stew sitting in front of you. The aroma wafts up to your nose and tickles your senses. As you indulge in the sweet and thick texture of Cebu’s binignit, you may start to wonder: What is its origin, and who brought it to life? And more importantly, how do you make the best binignit?
But really, does it matter? When food is this delicious, it transcends time and place. And yet, for those curious minds, Boboi Costas, the founder of Grassroots Travel, has shed some light on the history of this particular delicacy — binignit.
Costas is often cited regarding how Filipinos have long been preparing food with root crops and fruits even before the Spanish colonization. He proposed that eating binignit could even predate Catholicism and the observance of Lent.
Carbon Night Market
When Cenita Villoria, 59, and Marina Rojo, 69, were asked about it, they stopped and thought hard about the question. In the glare of night bulbs hanging above taro roots or gabi and the famed landang of Carcar, Consolacion and Liloan at the Carbon market, their gazes started to drift.
Moments later, they fondly remembered how binignit was first taught by their mothers and grandmothers.
An heirloom recipe; each a declaration of a mother’s love lived across generations.
“Every Holy Week, we prepare and enjoy eating binignit. That has been our tradition ever since. It’s become a part of life,” Nanay Cenita shared.
For Nanay Marina, she made sure to teach her children all about it. Since her recipe is the one she learned from her grandmother and parents, she said she also made sure her children know how to make their own.
Nanay Cenita’s children have gone to different parts of the country; some of them to Zamboanga where her husband comes from. Despite being in different regions, Nanay Cenita said that her children still make binignit wherever they may be.
Recipes to share
Binignit has become a cultural staple and when you ask for a recipe, you will not get a one-size-fits-all recipe.
Each way of cooking is distinct from the other, forged and formed through generations and hands of mothers and fathers cooking for their kids during the lenten season and even outside of it.
We went on to ask Marina and Cenita for their recipes and, perhaps, some secrets that they can share to make binignit even more special.
Nanay Marina sticks to the classic and she adds that making binignit does not have to be complicated at all.
First off, boil water, then add the camote, bananas and gabi. When they are soft enough, add the ingredient that makes Cebuano binignit a binignit: landang.
Two colors of landang are found in Carbon market, the red one from Carcar City in the south and the white landang from the northern towns of Consolacion and Liloan. Nanay Marina said that this ingredient comes from Buli trees.
After adding landang (any variety of your preference), you mix and stir until it becomes the thick and sticky stew that we know. You may then add “kamay,” according to taste.
“It’s pretty simple. Just set everything to boil. When it starts to boil, stir everything and add a little sugar,” Nanay Marina said.
Her secret to her special binignit? She adds jackfruit and vanilla to her recipe, something that makes her own iteration of the classic stew special.
Meanwhile, Nanay Cenita is conscious of the order of her ingredients.
You first add the gabi, then add landang until the mix becomes sticky enough.
The camote and bananas follow, then you add the coconut milk. In squeezing the coconut milk, you separate the “first squeeze” from the second squeeze. Nanay Cenita said that this makes all the difference when you use them; a creamier and tastier binignit waits for you at the end.
Colourful sago balls that make binignit not just a feast for the stomach but also a feast for the eyes are optional, Cenita said. Admittedly, the bright sago pearls do give life to the stew, she added.
Her special ingredient is milk. Evaporated milk, condensed milk, whatever milk is available, she said. Then add extra landang according to your taste and this ties everything together.
Tradition and history
One can find recipes online, tutorials are on YouTube and Facebook, but there is a soul to the recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation.
After all this time, why binignit?
Even in the pandemic-restricted days of the past, Cenita and Marina recalled that people still surged to the markets. Photos of crowded stalls even made it to the news pages.
There really is no stopping the Cebuanos from the comfort of binignit during the Lenten season.
As far as she can remember, Nanay Marina said that there is no specific moment when she could say binignit started for her. In their household, binignit has always been there and even until now, it still is.
She hovers on a guess, saying that it could be a way for fasting and abstinence during Good Friday. No pork or meat, no rice, but a good bowl of binignit can be just as filling.
She does not remember a specific reason that her lolos and lolas shared to them, but for as long as she can remember, binignit was served on their tables in Holy Week — warm and inviting, a bowl of comfort and love.
Hours before closing up their humble stalls in Carbon Night Market, the exhaustion in the faces of Cenita and Marina was evident. Nanay Cenita was finishing up her dinner at the back of her stall, while Nanay Marina was resting, arranging her products, with the sound of cars and life abuzz in the background.
Still, a sudden surge of joy burst forth as they recalled their own recipes of binignit. Memories flooded their minds and realized that, perhaps, binignit is more than just a staple food during Holy Week. It was a living piece of their family’s history.
There is something astonishing about the way a little soup can become a symbol of something much greater. Binignit speaks of tradition, of family, of culture and of love — served in a warm hearty bowl.