Machang is a peculiar concoction of braised pork wrapped around by malagkit in pyramid-shaped covered with dark leaves, usually bamboo or pandan leaves tied around using a string. It is the adaptation of the Chinese dish called zongzi which the Chinoys called "machang" in Hokkien dialect that means "Meat Sticky Rice". It is similar to our native suman, except that it is prepared with pork filling. This food lasts longer if kept in a refrigerator but if not, it has to be eaten three days after it has been made. It takes one hour to reheat it after being refrigerated.

There are a lot of places (including restaurants) where this machang can be found but the most famous place would be Binondo.

Chinatown, Binondo, Manila

Binondo remains the authentic Chinese enclave of Manila and Ongpin Street that showcases Chinese things and traditionals. Walking along straight from the entrance of Chinatown is Ongpin Street that has a lot of stores that promotes Chinese goods and foods.

Ongpin Street

The picture below shows the variety of food sold in a certain Chinese store (the owner didn't permit me to take a picture of the whole store. What they sell and promote best is fried siopao where you literally fry the siopao itself. They also sell tikoy, siomai, puto, dried small fishes (Chinese style), sharksfin, and more. But of course, I wouldn't stopped by this store if I wasn't able to find the food I'm looking for.

Chinese food sold at a certain Chinese store

Looking at a closer look...

machang

It's been a lot of trouble asking permission from a few owners of stores selling machang because they wouldn't tell me who their supplier would be and that it's confidential and even I cannot know how to make it. But instead of giving up, I bought some and tried eating it. Through researching, this is what I found on how to make machang.

There are several ways on how to make machang but we may not really know the real recipe of the ones sold in Ongpin area in Binondo given that the supplier is anonymous. There are several shapes, seasonings, and fillings, including desserts, depending on the region where it can be found. Researching though, here's the usual steps on how to make it (Filipino style):

1. Soak glutinuous rice (commonly known as malagkit) in water for three hours. The level of water added is just the same as the normal cooking of rice.
2. In a large frying pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions until brownish color appears. Add pork and saute for one minute or until mildly done. Add soy sauce, sugar, and five spice powder. Add water then simmer for about 45 minutes until medium tender.
3. Transfer the pork into a bowl leaving the liquid in the pan. Use additional seasonings to achieve the desired taste of the pork.
4. Lower the heat of the pan to simmer. Add rice and stir occasionally to prevent the rice from burning by the pan. Stir until rice is partially cooked.
5. Take two to three leaves to be used and placed a scoop of rice in the middle and pieces of meat. Fold the leaves making sure rice is covered and use a string to tie around it. The creativity of the cook will reflect on the resulting shape of the machang formed by folding the leaves.
6. Steam for one hour to thoroughly cook the rice and incorporate the flavors of the fillings with the meats and for the leaves to release their flavors. The leaves also contribute to the taste of the machang.

Here are the video links on different ways to make machang: (I don't own these videos. All rights reserved to its respectful owners.)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfchIezac_8&feature=player_embedded
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nvs58BOB4K8

I asked two of my friends to try eating machang. Here's the video clip on what can ther say about it after tasting:

For me, machang is just like our suman that has pork filling in it. I believe that I have stronger taste buds than any of my friends because for them, the machang is perfectly fine just like eating a complete meal especially when you're hungry, but for me, I'd like to put a pinch of sugar on it (just how we usually eat suman) so it would have a stronger taste and I would enjoy eating it a lot more.

But of course, it is always fun to try something new! :)