This Puto Maya recipe is made with sticky rice, coconut cream infused ginger and pantusa. Serve with some fresh cut sweet mango and Sikwate.
Puto Maya is a delicacy from Cebu. It can be eaten for breakfast or as a meryenda along with a cup of Sikwate. It's a must. You can't have one without the other.
I remember eating this everyday when we were in Cebu for a week. To me it reminds me of vast fine sandy beaches and salt water.
Puto Maya is not quite a suman and not quite a Biko. The texture is not as tight as a suman and not so squishy and gooey like a Biko. Another key difference is cooking it with ginger. It gives it a nice kick of heat while complimenting the coconut milk it's steamed in.
You can cook it two ways. Wrapped in banana leaves shaped into triangles or steamed in a bowl.
Traditionally it's shaped like a dome and served with slices of sweet, cold and juicy mangoes.
For the best texture I recommend soaking the rice two times so that it can absorb all the flavors.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you will need to make Puto Maya.
Sweet Sticky Rice - Use whole grains of sticky rice. Make sure to rinse it clean until the water runs clear.
Coconut Cream - For ultimate creaminess use coconut cream. However a can of coconut milk will work too.
Pantusa - I wanted to use a traditional Filipino sugar. If you can find pantusa you can sub with either white, brown or even coconut sugar. For the pantusa break off 125g to use in the recipe.
Ginger - Traditionally ginger juice is used, but it's okay to use grated ginger. We will just strain it out before cooking in the rice cooker.
Banana Leaves - We won't be using these to wrap, but just to infuse with that banana leaf flavor. It will be used to line the rice cooker bowl.
How To Make Puto Maya
In this version we will be using a rice cooker to make the Puto Maya. You can choose to steam it (some say the rice has better texture when steamed). However I did not test that cooking method so if you do it that way check on your rice to make sure it's done.
Rinse the rice several times until the water is clear.
Cover the rice with clean water and leave to rest overnight. Cover the top with a clean kitchen towel.
The next day make the coconut mixture. In a saucepan mix together the coconut cream, grated ginger and pantusa.
Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat and mix to make sure the pantusa is all melted.
It should look like this after boiling.
Take the kitchen towel off the soaking rice and drain the water it was sitting in. Place a strainer on the top and pour in the coconut ginger mixture.
Mix well and leave the rice to sit in the mixture for 1 hour to fully infuse into the rice.
While it is infusing line the bowl of your rice cooker with banana leaves. After the rice has been sitting for 1 hour pour everything into the banana leaf lined rice cooker bowl.
Top with small squares of banana leaves.
Pick the sweet rice option on your rice cooker and cook.
When it's done the Puto Maya will look like it will have some extra coconut cream. It's okay! Take off all the banana leaves and discard.
Then mix the rice with a rice spoon and you will see any cream be absorbed into the rice as it cools down.
How To Serve Puto Maya
Serve it the traditional way with mangoes and Sikwate!
I cut my mangoes into cute shapes using mini cookie cutters. You don't need to do that. You can simply slice them.
To serve, I did something different and put it all in a bowl. Along with the cut mangoes with a few flakes of roasted sesame seeds. I know it's not traditional, but I like the additional crunch.
If you want to serve it the traditional way you can scoop it into a small bowl and invert it to a small plate, so it's shaped like a dome. Then fan out some sliced mangoes on the side.
It's best to eat it all on the same day so that the rice is nice and puffy. If you do have some left over cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter for maximum 2 days. After that it starts getting hard.
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Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sweet Sticky Rice Grains
- 1 Can Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk About 400ml
- 125 g Pantusa or any sugar
- 1 Inch Fresh Ginger grated
- 1 Mango Sliced
- 1 Teaspoon Roasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- *Note before starting you will need to soak the clean rice overnight.*
- Rinse the rice several times until the water is clear. To rinse rice pour water over the rice until covered and agitate it with your hands. Pour out the dirty water and keep repeating until the water is clear.
- Cover the rice with clean water and leave to rest overnight. Cover the top with a clean kitchen towel.
- *The next day*
- Make the coconut mixture. In a saucepan mix together the coconut cream, grated ginger and pantusa. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then turn off the heat and mix to make sure the pantusa is all melted.
- Take the kitchen towel off the soaking rice and drain the water it was sitting in. Place a strainer on the top and pour in the coconut ginger mixture.
- Mix well and leave the rice to sit in the mixture for 1 hour to fully infuse into the rice.
- While it is infusing line the bowl of your rice cooker with banana leaves. After the rice has been sitting for 1 hour pour everything into the banana leaf lined rice cooker bowl. Top with small squares of banana leaves.
- Pick the sweet rice option on your rice cooker and cook.
- When it's done the Puto Maya will look like it will have some extra coconut cream. It's okay! Take off all the banana leaves and discard.
- Then mix the rice with a rice spoon and you will see any cream be absorbed into the rice as it cools down.
- To serve divide the pantusa into 4 small bowls and top with sliced fresh cold mangoes and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.
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