Ube Palitaw

This satisfyingly chewy traditional rice cake gets lots of flavor from muscovado sugar and ube (purple yam). To achieve the best taste, there's nothing like adding freshly grated coconut, although you can also use desiccated coconut. You can also experiment with other flavors like buko pandan.

Serves 6

1/3 cup muscovado sugar

3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes or freshly grated coconut 

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups glutinous flour

1/2 cup ube (purple yam)

liquid flavoring, preferably Flavocol  brand

1. Combine sugar, coconut flakes or grated coconut and sesame seeds in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine glutinous flour and ube flavoring. Mix until dough is formed.

3. Shape a tablespoonful of dough into a ball then flatten the middle with your thumb.

4. Boil water in a pot. Drop the flattened balls of dough in the water. Wait until the balls starts to float. Fish out and let cool until it reaches room temperature. Coat the cooled dough with the coconut-sesame seeds mixture. Serve.

FOOD Issue 2 2017

Recipes and Styling By Pixie Sevilla

Photography By Paulo Valenzuela