PLEASE BRING US THAT Muslim specialty, the one like rolled bihon. That was what many people wanted, those who knew I was traveling to Zamboanga. No one remembered the name. Just how it looks and how good and crunchy the pieces are. I knew what they meant, the lokot lokot.

My companion wished he could see how the rolled pieces were done. I told him that ages ago in Tawi-Tawi, I was welcomed into a kitchen while the lokot lokot was being done. It was dark there and I didn’t stay too long. Thankfully we were going to be hosted by a family whose business is making lokot lokot.

The Nuño family welcomed us to their bright spic- and-span kitchen. “Entre noy!,” was the Chavacano way of asking us to enter. That’s why I like writing about food. You get to see areas guests aren’t usually invited to.

Haifa Nuño says that her mother-in-law made the lokot lokot for friends and visitors and then taught her how to do it. It became a business branded as “Zamboanga’s Best.” Today, her daughter, Sheila Nuño-Ismula, helps out.

Nuño recalls how difficult it was to make the pieces then. Rice grains were ground and then dried and the weather being unpredictable, there was always a chance that the drying would be suspended because of a sudden shower. Then she pointed to a box at the end of the kitchen, rice flour already ground and dried properly. It’s a product of Malaysia and like all the products from our neighboring Asean countries, these pass through the southern back door to the Barter Trade Market in many Mindanao provinces. The ground rice has made production easier, Haifa said.

Team of women

The women, who made the specialty, come from the town of Taluksangay known for its beautiful mosque. Two teams were cooking on the floor. Each team had three members, one in charge of dispensing the batter, and two to form the cylindrical shape of the lokot lokot. The batter is contained in a coconut shell held by a long handle and with 16 holes at the base. The shell is brought towards one of the kawali containing hot oil. A stream of batter comes out of the holes moved in a circular motion about seven times. The coconut container is then brought to the next kawali and the process is repeated. Meantime, the ladies who man the kawali shape the fried batter using two long sticks. Two sides of the rounded piece are gathered in the middle then one of the long sides is folded halfway then on the fold the sticks start rolling to form a cylinder. There are, however, other shapes that can be done. Haifa instructed her workers to make a star, a half moon, a cone or a cup.

One has to work fast when shaping the lokot lokot or the pieces will burn. But some people like it browned but not burnt. Nuño agrees saying that the “el negro” is “mas sabroso” or more delicious.

A plastic container was brought into the kitchen. Nuño gives us what is called baulu. It can be described as a small cake, mamon or Madeleine. The prevalent aroma is that of orange and when I asked her if it did contain Royal Tru-Orange, the softdrink as I was told by a Joloano cook, Tessie Chiong, Nuño said she uses orange zest.

But the baulu is more artistic because the batter is placed on molds and baked. Nuño uses a heavy brass mold she bought in Singapore with different designs such as fish, shrimp or Bundt cake shape.

Chiong who cooked Tausug food for us also made bangbang hantali, cookies shaped like teardrops. She also called the lokot lokot as jah, the Tausug word for the specialty.

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