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Pusô

Pusô [puˈsoʔ] or tamu, sometimes known in Philippine English as "hanging rice", is a Filipino rice cake made by boiling rice in a woven pouch of palm leaves. It is most commonly found in octahedral, diamond, or rectangular shapes, but it can also come in various other intricately woven complex forms. It is known under many different names throughout the Philippines with numerous variations, but it is usually associated with the street food cultures of the Visayan and Moro peoples.

Pusô refers to the way of cooking and serving rice on woven leaves, and thus does not refer to a specific recipe. It can actually refer to many different ways of preparing rice, ranging from plain, to savory or sweet. Regardless, all of them are woven pouches where rice is poured inside and cooked by boiling. Pusô are differentiated from other leaf-wrapped Filipino dishes like suman, binalot, and pastil, in that the latter use leaves that are simply wrapped around the food and folded or tied. Pusô, in contrast, uses intricate woven leaves as the pouch.

Pusô is traditionally prepared as a way to pack rice for journeys and is eaten held in the hands while standing, usually paired with meat or seafood cooked on skewers (inihaw or satti). It is still eaten this way from street food peddlers (pungkò-pungkò). In seated dining, it is commonly cut into pieces and served on a plate in place of regular rice.

Pusô were once culturally important among pre-Hispanic Filipinos as offerings to the diwatà spirits and as an extension of the basic skill of weaving among women. It became linked to festivities since they were commonly served during religious events, especially the more complex woven variations. It is still used in rituals in some parts of the Philippines today, though the rituals themselves have been mostly Christianized. Similarly, it remained culturally important to Muslim Filipinos, where it became symbolic of the Hari Raya feast.

Pusô is related to similar dishes in other rice-farming Austronesian cultures, most notably the ketupat found across Maritime Southeast Asia. A very similar octahedron-shaped version called katupat was also found in pre-colonial Guam, before the ancient rice cultivation in the island was replaced by corn brought by the Spanish. In the Philippines, puso is commonly eaten with roasted chicken (lechon manok) or other grilled dishes.

Pusô (also spelled puso, poso, or pusó) literally means "heart" in Cebuano, due to its resemblance to a heart with the two loose ends of the coconut leaf emerging at the top resembling the aorta and the venae cavae. Its other most common name, patupat, originally means "four-cornered [rectangle or cube]", a reduplication of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *epat ("four"). This form is still evident in old Chamorro cognate atupat.

Pusô is also known by various names in different ethnic groups in the Philippines, including piyusopusó in Mindoro languages; piyoso in Maranao, Iranun and Maguindanaon; langbay, lambay, or linambay in Waray; bugnóy in Hiligaynon; tam-o in Aklanon; tamu, ta’mu, or temu in Tausug and Yakan; sinambong, patupat or pusú in Kapampangan, Pangasinan and Ilocano; and katumpat in Sama-Bajau.

Pusô does not refer to a specific recipe, rather it is a way of packaging and serving rice. Therefore, it can actually refer to many different ways of preparing rice, ranging from plain, to savory or sweet. Regardless, all of them are woven pouches where rice is poured inside and cooked by boiling. As the rice cooks, it is prevented from spreading by the pouch, resulting in a compacted cake-like texture. It can be made with either regular white rice or glutinous rice poured into a pre-woven container and then immersed in a boiling liquid. It is commonly plain, but it can be cooked with meat or flavored with gatâ (coconut milk) and spices like salt or ginger. Other variants of the dish can also be sweet and can be cooked with muscovado sugar.

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