Palitaw
litaw
Flat Filipino rice cakes named for the moment they are done: the word means "to surface," because the cakes float to the top of the water when cooked through. They are finished with grated coconut, sugar, and toasted sesame.
About this dish
Palitaw is a Filipino rice cake named for the way it rises to the surface while cooking. Coconut, sesame and sugar turn the simple boiled dough into a sweet snack, with the soft chewy texture central to its appeal.
Recipe
Filipino coconut-sesame palitaw
- 250 g glutinous rice flour
- 190-220 ml water
- 100 g fresh grated coconut
- 40 g toasted sesame seeds, crushed
- 60 g sugar
- 1
Use 250 g glutinous rice flour; 190-220 ml water; 100 g fresh grated coconut and the listed remaining ingredients. Mix rice flour with 190 ml water and knead, adding more gradually, to a smooth pliable dough. Divide into 16 and flatten into 5 cm ovals. Start at lower water and add more only until smooth; ovals should not crack at edges. Keep covered.
- 2
Boil in batches until floating, then cook 1-2 minutes more until tender throughout. Drain without drying completely. Add separately, stir once and check a uniformly chewy center before draining briefly.
- 3
Roll in coconut. Mix sesame and sugar and sprinkle over cakes just before serving. Coat while damp and sprinkle sesame-sugar at serving so it does not melt beforehand; cool to eating temperature.
Note
These are flat, unfilled glutinous-rice cakes. Keep water additions small so dough holds its shape.