Sampelut

Dr. Vianney Marie C. MANDAPAT

When I was a child, we used have our cousins live with us during the summer breaks. My maternal grandmother used to cook native Filipino food for merienda, including palitaw, inangit, suman, lelut mais, but the most frequently prepared dish is SAMPELOT. My lola, with the assistance from my mother or aunt would prepare the ingredients while sharing various stories or watching telenovelas. Sometimes the children would also participate in precooking preparations, particularly in making the glutinous rice balls.

I was not formally taught on how to cook this dish. The cooking of this dish became familiar by watching how it was done by my elders.

MABALACAT

Sampelut

Suam Mais

POT 8-10 AVERAGE 5 HOURS

1 kilo malagkit rice (Glutinous rice) 3 cups water 6 pcs medium sized saging saba (saba banana) 3-4 pcs medium sized kamote (sweet potato) ¼ kilo sago (tapioca) 2 coconuts, grated 2 cups Langka (jackfruit) meat 2 cups white sugar

Unlike the more recent and convenient way of preparing sampelot with canned coconut milk and glutinous rice dough made with glutinous rice flour mixed with water, the more traditional way of preparing sampelot ingredients was learned from my grandmother.

The glutinous rice has to be soaked in water overnight. The soaked glutinous rice is brought in the market the next day for grinding to make it into a sticky dough which we roll into 1cm balls by placing a pinch of dough in between the palms and making a circular motion to roll the dough. We used to prepare the coconut milk by also grinding mature coconut meat and mashing the coconut shreds with a cup of water and using a “katsa” cloth as filter to separate the “gata” from the coconut shreds. This gata ng niyog is used to

Soak the malagkit rice in water overnight before grinding to become the sticky dough. Roll small bits of dough between two palms to make 1cm dough balls. Set aside. Cut banana and kamote into small square cubes approx. 1-1.5 cms. Mix 3 cups of water with grated coconut, mash and strain with cheesecloth or katsa to separate coconut milk (gata) from the meat. In a large pot, mix the coconut milk (gata) with the diced kamote and banana, bring to a boil. Once the mixture starts boiling, add sugar and bilo-bilo and sago. Let boil continuously until all the ingredients are cooked and the bilo bilo floated on top.

This may be served hot or cold. Add kakang gata (first coconult milk extract) on top for more flavor.

During my school days, my friends called me “Alice Kamatis” (just rhyming the words).I was usually first in line during assembly for Monday flag ceremony.. I’ll let you figure out why. My ambition was to be a lawyer, to defend and protect others in court But, as it turned out, I became a doctor. It was the same intention, but in a different way, to defend and protect others from illness. Dra. Vianney Marie Mandapat wears many hats— aside from being a busy Pediatric Pulmonologist in Pampanga, she is currently the Training Officer of JBLMRH Department of Pediatrics, and she is also an active Pampanga Medical Society officer. And as if she’s not busy enough, she also opened a Mediterranean-themed restaurant in Angeles City last 2017. And in her free time (yes, she does have free time!), she is into a bit of gardening and binge-watching as a hobby and tends to her furry babies Mucho and Tokyo. Therefore, Dra. Vianney does not sleep.

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