Puto (rice cakes)

I’m not very fond of going to the public market especially in the morning. The stink, the mud, the poor light and ventilation somehow speak of the overall lack of hygiene. But of there’s one thing that makes an early morning trip to the market worthwhile, it is the wide array of rice cakes and native delicacies that you won’t find if you go in the afternoon. In the morning, you can take your pick from at least a dozen varieties of rice cakes — some with cheese, others with salted eggs and the sweet ones often sprinkled with latik (curdled coconut milk).

I was in the market this morning to buy pig’s blood. It’s Linggo ng Wika (National Language Week) and, as part of the school’s activities, students will bring native food. My kids are bringing dinuguan so a trip to the wet market was unavoidable. But look what I came home with aside from pig’s blood.

Soft and moist rice cakes made with brown sugar and topped with slices of salted egg. It was a late breakfast (it would qualify as brunch, actually) but I enjoyed every bite.

Where did I buy the rice cakes? In the market, like I said. There is a section outside the market where long tables are laid out and vendors of rice cakes and native delicacies tempt shoppers with the goods. The cakes are laid out in large bilao (shallow baskets) and covered loosely with plastic. Considering the location and the setup, the rice cakes are actually sold as street food.

Are they hygienic? I must admit that they were quite exposed. Many foreigners balk at the setup of street food vendors but, in Asia, they’re part of the streets. Of course, the hygiene issue has raised some controversy.

From Serious Eats:

As part of a continuing campaign to make Hanoi “green, clean, and beautiful,” the local Vietnamese government implemented a partial ban on street vending, effective July 1. But what is downtown Hanoi without the street food?

There are some, however, who consider street food as an integral part of a country’s economy and it’s significance should, therefore, not be overlooked. From the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Street food micro-industries are vital for the economic planning and development of many towns. The contribution of street food vendors to the economies of developing countries has been vastly underestimated and neglected. However, statistics for some places do exist. In the Indonesian city of Bogor annual sales of street foods amount to US$67 million (Cohen, 1986). If one computes the average daily sales of the 100 000 (by conservative estimate) stalls in Malaysia, annual street food sales amount to US$2.2 billion (Allain, 1988). This is a relatively significant figure considering that most of the earnings are generated locally and thereby promote economic self-sufficiency…

Each street food enterprise is generally small in size, requires relatively simple skills, basic facilities and small amounts of capital, yet they are very numerous and have considerable potential for generating income and employment…

Some of those who, because of economic and social changes or individual characteristics, have difficulty obtaining jobs in the formal sector find work in the street food industry. The street food operation often involves entire families in the procurement of raw materials, preparation and cooking as well as the sale of food. Worldwide, women play a very large role In the street food industry. Surveys have found women to be involved in 90 percent of enterprises in the Philippines, 53 percent in Senegal and 40 percent in Indonesia…

A study conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH) agrees. In fact, it even adds to the value of street food with the finding that that they are also favored by “higher-income urban middle-class populations” who “see street-foods as a tasty and cheap alternative to more elaborate dining.” But…

“Unfortunately, while the calorific value of street foods was high and a ready source of attractive-looking, tasty nutrition for millions of low socioeconomic people, we found the handling of food and water to be very poor,” commented Chakravarty, adding that knowledge of hygiene and health safety amongst the vendors was “very low”.

A microbiological assessment of the water used showed 86.6 percent coliform, 56.6 percent E.coli — an indicator of faecal contamination — and 23.33 percent of salmonella, all deadly water-borne bacteria.

I like some (but not all) street food. I am a huge fan of roadside barbecue stalls but I don’t eat kwek-kwek (deep-fried eggs dipped in batter). So far, despite having enjoyed barbecues from countless street food stalls, I have never suffered from any health-related ailment. I suppose it isn’t fair to simply say that all street foods pose a health and hygiene issue. A lot depends on how much preparation is done on the streets. If it’s only the final stage of the cooking and it doesn’t involve the use of utensils that cannot be properly washed, then, it’s not so bad. But then again, I may just be justifying my choice to enjoy certain street foods.