Oy, Siakoy!

It used to be sold at almost every street corner, like the fried bananas are in the present in many districts in the city. Siakoy, or twisted doughnut, was a popular favorite. The kids loved it with sugar on top; the grownups liked to pair it with native

On its own, siakoy is a great snack. It is also often enjoyed as dessert. It is still very much around – not as much in the streets, though, but in the homes.

Curiously, everybody’s favorite siakoy is also the butt of joke. In the Visayas and Mindanao regions, where it’s alternately called “lubid-lubid,” anyone who looks dry and rather worn-out is labeled “mora’g siakoy wa’y kamay” (like siakoy without sugar topping). It ironically suggests condescension on the very thing that everybody loved.

Siakoy is made from a length of dough twisted into a distinctive rope-like shape before being fried. The preparation is almost exactly the same as doughnuts, although certain variants are made from glutinous rice flour. The texture can range from soft and fluffy, to sticky and chewy, to hard and crunchy. The fried siakoy is then sprinkled with white sugar, or topped with sesame seeds or caramelized sugar.

Siakoy

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour, plus a little extra for dusting

¾ tablespoon Yeast

½ teaspoon Salt

½ cup Water

1 cup Canola Oil, for frying

¼ cup White Sugar

Procedure:

1. Using a large bowl sift all-purpose flour, add salt and yeast then mix very well.

2. Make a well at the middle of the dry mixture and pour the water then mix until it forms a dough.

3. On a clean surface sprinkle flour and knead the dough until it becomes smooth then form a ball.

4. In case the dough is still too sticky, all you need is to add a little flour, then knead more until you get to the right consistency.

5. Get another clean bowl, grease it with oil and place the dough in it, and cover with clean cloth. Let it rest for one hour, to allow the dough to rise and double its size.

6. When the dough rises, punch down and knead then cut into desired sizes.

7. Roll the dough into a long stick and form a twist.

8. Place the siakoy dough on a baking tray and cover with a clean cloth and let it rest for another one hour to rise.

9. In a large frying pan, heat canola oil in a medium heat, drop the twisted dough in batches, and fry until the color becomes golden brown.

10. Remove the siakoy from the pan and drain on paper towels.

11. Drop the drained siakoy in a bowl of sugar and roll. Coat each siakoy evenly and shake off the excess white sugar.