I have recipes for morcon and kilawing labanos at atay ready to be published in my draft box but since I posted my dinuguan a couple of days ago, I thought the best follow up would be its perennial pair, putong puti. I was working on this puto post when I noticed a comment notification on my wordpress dashboard waiting for approval. It was on my dinuguan post and it read:
My thoughts exactly.
Puto are popular Filipino steamed rice cakes. Their hint of sweetness makes them a much-enjoyed midday snack but they are overall subtle in flavor and thus the perfect foil for savory dishes such as dinuguan, pancit or sopas. Although the use of all-purpose flour, cake flour or even hotcake mixes make home preparation of this kakanin easy and convenient, traditional puto are made from rice grains soaked in water overnight and processed into a smooth batter. The fermented rice batter is then steamed in banana-lined bamboo platters (bilao) or in individual molds. Over the years, home cooks have spinned these rice cakes into many delicious varieties by adding extracts such as pandan and ube flavorings or by topping them with slices of cheese or salted duck eggs. This here is a basic putong puti recipe which you can, of course, fancy up as you like. Enjoy!
Update: 3/6/2016 A few days ago, I received a tip from one KP reader (thank you, Kathy!) about soaking the rice flour in water to make them taste less “grainy” and dense. I tried her suggestion and it worked I modified the recipe to include this step and I also changed the amount of liquid plus baking powder. Give this revamped puto recipe a try and let me know what you think.
- 4 cups rice flour
- 2 cups water
- 1 (13.5 ounces) can coconut milk
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- non-stick cooking spray or melted butter
- In a bowl, combine rice flour, water and coconut milk. Stir until smooth and well-blended. Cover with film and refrigerate overnight.
- Add sugar and salt and stir until well dispersed. Add baking powder and stir well until batter is smooth and without lumps.
- Lightly spray insides of puto molds with non-stick cooking or lightly brush with melted butter. Pour puto batter into molds until ¾ full.
- In bottom part of steamer, add water and bring to a boil. Arrange filled puto molds in a single layer on steamer basket. Place steamer basket over bottom part. Wrap lid of steamer with cheesecloth or any cotton material (to prevent condensation from dripping onto puto) and cover steamer. Steam puto for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to slightly cool and gently remove puto from molds.
kailan po mag stop mag mix? pag na mix na po lahat nag ingredients
kailangan pa po ba e mix sya ng matagal? ung nagawa ko po first time po matigas. hehehe pero tama po ung timpla.
Hi po!
Pwede po ba Yong coconut milk substitute with water?
I’ve never tried this puto with water, the flavor might be different.
Hi Lailani,
I tried this recipe and it came out perfect . The top of the putos cracked but all the same the taste was yummy and soft. I made half of the recipe and I nearly eat all. Thank you for posting this recipe. I had tried so many posted recipes but your recipe was the best.
Awww, thank you, Flor. You made my day 🙂
hi lalaine,
finally, i got the chance to make this puto, and i must say, this recipe is a keeper.
and a suggestion though, i think soaking the rice flour in water overnight keeps the puto from being too dense and grainy.
thank you
Thanks, Kathy, for the tip. I’ll try that next time I make this puto 🙂
Hello po. Nung po modified nyo recipe ano po ginawa nyo? Dinagdagan nyo po ng water at baking powder or binawasan nyo po?
Hello Sheryl
Yes, I increased the amounts of water and baking powder. 🙂
Revised na po ba yung recipe nyo nkapost? Or kailangan ko pa po dagdagan ung 2 cups of water at yung 3 Tbps of baking powder. Ilan po idadag ko? Salamat po ng madami.
Hi! Little confused lang po sa procedure nyo. Bale po 2 cans of coconut milk po kailangan. Thank you po im planning to make it bukas po. Salamat po ulit
The recipe was already modified to reflect ang bagong measurements. 13.5 ounces lang ang coconut milk, about 1 and 3/4 cups 🙂
Salamat rin, let me know how it turns out.
Hi po ginawa ko kasi yan last Friday pero sticky sya mguluhan ako sa coconut milk kaya angbresulta matigas at hnd umalsa kailangan ba ma dagdagan pa ang coconut milk
Hi Lalaine,
Little confused here too kasi sa Instructions 1 combined yung rice flour, water and coconut milk and then sa # 2 may coconut milk na naman…do we need to hati the one can of coconut milk?
Hello Anna
I am so sorry for the confusion, my fault 🙁 Isang beses lang. Basically, combine yung rice flour, water and coconut milk and then nakababad. No need to add more coconut milk.
I tried to follow the recipe to the t and mine never came as pretty, spongy, soft and has cracks like yours. Mine was dense. What did I do wrong? I tried using rice flour but it is so sticky. Taste like malata na rice with sweet taste. Please help. Thanks
Did you use glutinous rice flour or regular rice flour? I am thinking your puto came out sticky and sweet because you used the “sweet” rice flour kind? It has to be rice flour.
Hi po. Pwede po ba evap milk ang gamitin instead of coconut milk? Thank you.
You could but there might be a change in flavor and even color of the puto.
Thank you so much po. I’ll just use coconut milk po. Thank you.
Hi Lalaine,
I just discovered your blog yesterday. Glad to see you are Kapampangan from Tarlac like myself.
I have been searching for a puto recipe that is more like the traditional putu lasun of my childhood. I don’t know if you are familiar with this. They are steamed in a bilao and they are very white and slightly tangy. If i’m not mistaken, yeast is used as leavening instead of baking powder. I’ve heard of stories where the bowl used to mix the galapong is never washed. So it’s almost like making sourdough bread. I find this very intriguing. If only I have time, I will probably do more experiments. But if you have tried it, I hope you can share.
Thanks in advance.
Leah
why oh why my puto is hard 🙁 🙁 🙁 what i did wrong?
hi lalaine, why is my puto so soggy…i did cover my steamer with cheese cloth.
I love how this is naturally vegan and gluten-free!
in general, I find a lot of traditional/native filipino desserts (not the spanish-inspired desserts) to be vegan-friendly and don’t have the additional calories and cholesterol of eggs, butter, dairy, etc. which is fantastic.
Hello Mitch
Yes, most Filipino desserts are gluten-free or vegan as we use milled rice, grated root crops such as cassava and coconut milk in place of homogenized milk.
Can i add butter on this recipe? Tnx!
Can i add 1egg in the ingredients ?
Hello Wilvida
I’ve never really tried adding eggs to this recipe but I do have a cheese puto recipe that uses eggs http://www.kawalingpinoy.com/2014/11/cheese-puto/ Hope you give it a try. 🙂
hi, I did this recipe before, the taste is perfect but the texture of my puto is so soggy.. please help how to have a fluffy puto because ive been trying this but the outcome is the same. thanks
Hello Leonard
Trying covering the thrnpuyo with cheesecloth or Katya before putting the lid on to prevent water from the steam dripping onto puto. Hope this helps.
Hello, so excited to try these…but since i dont have molds…can i make it in a baking dish? Or can this be baked? Can paper muffin molds be use?
Thanks In Advance.
Hi! Can I switch coconut milk to fresh milk instead? Thank you!
Hi Sylvia
Yes, you can substitute fresh milk for the coconut milk but please expect a slight change in taste
I tried cooking this using a muffin pan since I dont have puto molds and I also tried putting cheese and salted egg and they said it taste good. Thank you so much and more power.
Hi! I was planning on making this for the New Year but I don’t have puto molds can I put it in a round cake pan and steam it?
Thanks 🙂
I think it would work although you might have to adjust cook times. Let me know how it turns out. Happy holidays!
I wont recommend metal pans or glass type molds as it affects the texture of your puto. Use only heat-safe (some type becomes toxic when heated) plastic molds
Thanks, Felix, for the tip. I use silicone molds and bought them at Amazon for cheap 🙂
Hi lalaine, i tried cooking puto but why my puto is so hard? What makes the puto hard?
Will baking these puto in a baine marie work? We don’t have a steamer and we do not have pots big enought to double as a makeshift steamer so I was wondering if a baine marie could do the trick.
Hi Chas
I use baine marie for my leche flan but I’ve never tried this method with puto. It might work if you can “tent” around the puto to hold the steam. Let me know how it works 🙂
Hello,
In your site store there’s this bamboo steamer. Is this one that is perfect for puto? Also, what molds can be used? I’m cooking for my mother-in-law so hoping to get it right. Thanks for your expertise.
Hi Malou
Yes, bamboo steamers work well for making puto as they lessen the build up of liquid (from the steam). However, they are recommended but not necessary. I use the steamer attachment of my rice cooker. 🙂 Just make sure if you are using a metal kind to wrap the lid with cloth to prevent the liquid from dripping onto the puto.
Here is a link to silicone molds http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ET7B9Y/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_lc?tag=kawapino-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B001ET7B9Y&adid=1Q32B9G4HA25B2BVPMPW&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kawalingpinoy.com%2Fstore%2F. You can use also use these for making kutsinta, pichi pichi and for baking projects. Happy cooking!
Dakal a salamat Ms. Lalaine!
Alang nanuman 🙂
Sorry for being naive. Can i use glutinous rice flour? It’s available in Phil market in 500g packs. Or should i grind regular rice? How about all purpose flour?
I’ve done puto b4 but i used white king’s puto mix.
Hello Gina
Unfortunately, I can’t really vouch for glutinous rice flour as I’ve never used it in making puto. Grinding regular rice I am sure would work as puto are traditionally made with galapong. I found this recipe online and you might want to give it a try
STEAMED (RICE CAKE) PUTO
2 c. rice soaked in 1 1/2 c. water overnight
2 tsp. baking powder
1-1 1/2 c. white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tbsp. sugar for egg whites
You may use long grain.
In a heavy duty blender, puree soaked rice in water until very fine. Pour in a bowl; add sugar and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix well and set aside.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add 2 tablespoons sugar to keep the air in the beaten egg whites. Fold the egg whites into the beaten rice batter and pour into muffin pans. Steam for about 20 minutes or until done. Optional: Sprinkle a few anise seeds on top of the puto. Serve with grated coconut.
Goodluck!
Gee! Thank u very much!
i hope this is the white puto i’ve been searching for a long time… 🙂 will try this soon as i have the rice flour
I think this comes very close to white puto we enjoy in the Philippines. Hope you give it a try 🙂