If you've travelled down South of Cebu then you would always remember a familiar sight...people carrying and selling those white rectangular goodies we call "ampaw" or rice crunchies to those who are still wondering what it is.
As a child who frequently travelled back and forth from Cebu city to our place down South we would always make it a point to buy some whichever way we were headed. Of course it would be impossible not to since sellers would crowd your vehicle till you bought something from them. Varying sizes, the ampaw also had some variations with peanuts in them.
Ampaw is just simply made of rice grain and sugarcane extract.Traditionally, the people made these by hand, with the rice painstakingly cooked with sugar and then dried for 30 minutes or until completely dry and brittle in bilaos or round trays made of bamboo. You can also make it more special like mixing with evaporated milk and peanuts. Because of its growing popularity, some companies have even refined their ampaw-making process further by adding food-coloring and flavoring to their mixes, resulting in multi-colored balls with enjoying shades of blue, green, yellow, red and violet. Ampaw is best as pasalubong (giveaways from one arriving from a trip) especially for kids and kids at heart.
I guess it's one of the delicacies that originated from Carcar (Cebu) since other places in the country don't sell such delicacy unless if they've imported it from Carcar or probably a maker had relocated to introduce it to a new place. But regardless of where it may be, nothing beats the joy eating it brings to kids and adults alike. A delicacy that is simple and doesn't have much fuss added to it gives one a simple bliss of a glorious quick snack partnered by an ice cold beverage.
So if you ever traverse along the South and pass by Carcar, then you better get yourself some ampaw and you'd know what I'm talking about!
Sources: Extra-rice.com
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