Moche Recipe from Pampanga

Moche is a unique kakanin from Pampanga filled with sweet red bean paste that is boiled and topped with a sweet coconut sauce.

What is Moche?

It's one of those recipes that I have discovered in the depths of the Filipino food internet. Moche is specific to Pampanga and it's cooked similar to Palitaw, except that it is filled.

The most common filling is sweet mungo or red bean. Some establishments in Pampanga also fill it with sweetened coconut strings (bukayo). In this recipe we are going to use red bean paste from a Japanese grocery store.

Despite the name Moche (can also be spelled Muchi) apparently it's not from the Japanese word mochi, but from the Chinese-Filipino dish Butchi. I don't know if there is any truth to that as it is very, very similar to Mochi.

What Ingredients Do You Need?

Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour - Mochiko is the preferred brand that I use.

Water - Brings it all together.

Sugar - Gives some sweetness to the Moche and also makes the dumpling softer.

Sweet Red Bean Paste - You can use either the chunky version or the super smooth version. I used the super smooth one. You can find these at your local Japanese Grocery store.

Making The Moche Dumplings

It is a very similar process to making Palitaw, with the extra step of filling the sweet dumplings with a red bean paste.

First mix the rice flour, sugar together and add in the water. Mix with your fingers until you get a dough. Kneed lightly within the bowl until it's nice and soft.

Using a 1 teaspoon scooper, scoop out the dough and roll into balls. Makes about 20 Moche balls.

Flatten the balls and fill it with ½ teaspoon of red bean filling. Place it in the middle of the dough and pinch it up and around the red bean.

Roll it into a ball and then shape it into ovals. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

How To Cook

To cook the dumplings fill a large pot with water and bring it up to a running boil. Drop the Moche into the boiling water one by one. Stir occasionally to make sure none stick to the bottom of the pot.

After 6 minutes the dumplings will start to float to the top once all have floated to the top boil for a further 3 minutes.

Sweet Coconut Sauce

While the Moche is cooking, make the sweet coconut sauce. You will need a can of coconut cream and ¼ cup of sugar.

Add both to a sauce pan and bring to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Broiling the Moche

After the dumplings have been boiled place them on a banana leaf lined cake or pie tin. Arrange them into a nice pattern.

Note after boiling they are very sticky so make sure you have a pattern in mind already before putting them on the banana leaf. They are hard to move!

Pour the sweet coconut sauce all over the top and set your oven broiler to high and cook under the broiler for 3 minutes until there are some burnt spots around the Moche and coconut cream.

How to Serve

Take the Moche out of the oven and sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top. Serve right away.

Plate a few pieces on a small platter and spoon some extra coconut cream on top.

How To Store Moche

If you have any left over they can be kept under a cake dome for 2 days. They remain soft due to the coconut cream. However I do recommend they should be eaten within two days. Refrigeration is not recommended as they will get hard. It's really best to eat the whole dish on the same day it is cooked.

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