The Philippines is a beautiful country that combines many cultures around the world including its food. Their bite-sized steamed rice cake, Puto is the perfect representation of their fusion food cuisine.
This fluffy snack has taken many shapes and forms and has become a staple in Filipino food culture. Puto even is found in the nation’s favorite dessert drink, Halo Halo. So how did Puto become a versatile delicacy that makes Filipinos crave to eat?
Puto Began As Steamed Rice Cakes
Puto are hand-sized rice cakes that are traditionally steamed. They are traditionally vegan with their batter made of rice flour and coconut milk. Throughout generations, Filipinos add baking soda or powder, and eggs to create a steamed pillow cake with the consistency of Chinese bao buns.
The name “puto” comes from the Malaysian and Indian word “puttu”. Puttu means “to portion” referring to the rice cake’s uniform shape. Bakers portioned their puto batter using steam-safe molds, muffin tins, or banana leaves, allowing them to rise without touching each other.
This prevents the puto batch from sticking like bread rolls baking in the oven. Because of rice flour, their cakey structure is more like to fall apart when torn from their neighbor.
When Making Puto
When you ask about making a puto, there is no simple answer because this rice cake is a versatile snack. The puto has many forms and flavors that you can barely comprehend. Its best-known form is the bready rice cake.
To cook puto, you will need a steamer basket (steel or wooden bamboo), a steamer pot for the water, tart shell molds, and cupcake wrappers to prevent sticking. You can also use an electric steamer.
For the batter recipe and cooking instructions, here is an improvised recipe from Hungry Huy. If you feel intimidated to use his recipe, here’s an easier version by Rose Austin Cooks.
How to Eat Puto in Many Ways
Puto can be eaten in various ways that you may ask yourself, “Is it really rice cake?” Puto is a great way for your palate to adjust to Filipino fusion cuisine. Here are five puto desserts you can try to see which will be your favorite:
1. Ube And Pandan Puto
Ube and pandan are used to flavor the puto batter. Ube gives puto a nutty vanilla flavor, while pandan gives it a silky hazelnut taste. You can find ube and pandan flavoring sold in bottles online or at an international goods store.
The best part is that you don’t have to worry about guessing which flavor your puto is. Unlike food extract, certain food flavorings will come with natural food coloring. Ube will appear purple, and pandan will appear green.
2. Puto Pao
Puto Pao is similar to stuffed Chinese bao buns. The difference between the two is that puto pao is not a huge pleated dumpling. They also come in different shapes depending on what the baker uses for the cooking vessel.
They can be stuffed with a savory meat or sweet custard filling. And if you feel a little fancy, top the puto pao with a block of cheese. You can eat these pao as they are or with a nice dipping sauce.
3. Puto Flan/ Puto Coffee Jelly
Imagine you are craving pudding and coffee but you want it with something to soak the flavor. Filipinos have used the puto as the base for flan and coffee jelly. This is incredibly genius and delicious.
The puto made these two desserts to become finger food. Like the ube and pandan, they will offer the plain puto flavor. Usually these are eaten in the morning because of the caffeine content that will wake you up.
4. Puto Kutsinta
If you have never seen blobs of palm cane sugar, this puto looks exactly like them when you flip them upside down. Puto Kutsinta is one of the few difficult puto desserts to make. It is also one of the sweetest to eat as this puto contains plenty of brown sugar.
Unlike the other puto, Kutsinta uses lye. If you plan to cook with lye, please use food-safe gloves to prevent skin corrosion. For the amber coloring, annatto powder is to make the brown sugar more apparent. It is then served with sprinkles of shredded coconut.
5. Puto Bumbong
This puto dish is specifically served during the Christmas season for the 9-day celebration of Simbang Gabi. Instead of using glutinous rice flour, the puto is ground purple rice. It is steamed inside of bamboo tube where the word “bumbong” comes from. You can also make the bumbong without the bamboo.
Puto bumbong is a hearty dessert once you add in the toppings. When served, it’s topped with muscovado sugar (unrefined brown sugar), shredded coconut, and a slab of butter or margarine. The other topping you would eat this with is shredded cheese and condensed milk.
If you like to learn more about food, check out my Funnel Cake vs. Elephant Ear article in Total Apex Entetainment Lifestyle!
For More Foods To Try
If you want to try and impress guest for your next party, try making the Floating Island Dessert!
Celebrate Hamburgar Day and other food holidays suggested by Kimberly here!
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