Puto (Steamed Rice Cake)

Colored Puto

Puto is a steamed rice cake in the Philippines.   It is served as a snack, dessert or as an accompaniment to another meal such as stews or noodle dish.  Puto is traditionally made with galapong (dough made from uncooked rice that was soaked overnight, drained and ground.)  The dough is mixed with coconut milk or milk and sugar and flavored with anise or lihiya (wood ash lye.)  The mix is then steamed producing a soft, moist cake with a uniform grain.  It is neither sticky nor dry and crumbly.

Puto with cheese topping

Traditionally it is steamed in putuhan, a large steamer with rings made of either soldered sheets of metal or thin strips of bent bamboo enclosing a flat bamboo. It has a large conical cover to allow the condensing steam to drip along the perimeter of the steaming tray and not on the cake.  Nowadays the ingredients for puto are so convenient and easy to find.  With rice flour and canned coconut milk, it's so easy to make!

Puto with salted egg topping

Puto comes in many shapes and forms.  It is traditionally prepared as a whole cake and not on individual molds.  It is then cut in individual serving portions before serving.  It has a greenish hue from the use of Pandan leaves and banana leaves that lined the steaming tray.  It is usually topped with grated coconut or native cheese or salted egg. Following are some of the variants of puto:

• Puto bumbong - a popular Christmas delicacy in the Philippines;  made with deep purple sticky rice that is soaked in saltwater overnight then poured in individual bumbong (bamboo tube) and then steamed.  
• Puto kutsinta - moist and chewy rice cake made with lye.  The color ranges from reddish brown, orange to yellow. 
• Puto maya - a purple puto that is flavored with ginger.
• Puto pao - puto with sweet meat filling
• Puto lanson - a foamy puto made with grated cassava

I made puto for Easter so I added a little bit of color in the puto mixture. Some I left uncolored, some I added toppings of cheese and salted egg.  Instead of serving deviled eggs or colored eggs, I served colorful puto and it was a big hit for my kids! I used plastic sauce cups for molding the puto.  I have a tiny steaming tray so for every 10 minutes I can only steam six.

Puto

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Cooking Time: 80 minutes (10 minutes/batch)

Yield: 48 pieces (1 3/4-inch diameter)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice flour, sifted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 14 ounces coconut milk (or 2 cups freshly squeezed coconut milk)
• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 eggs (optional)
• food colors (red, blue, green & yellow), optional
• melted butter or vegetable oil for greasing the molds
• optional toppings (bits of cheddar cheese or feta cheese, salted egg)
  

Procedure:

1. Combine all dry ingredients (first five) in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
2. Combine milk, coconut milk and eggs in a separate bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour the liquid mixture to the dry mixture.  Whisk together until smooth.  Cover bowl with cling wrap and chill the batter in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. 
4. Grease the puto molds. (I used 48 plastic sauce cups.)
5. If adding color to the puto: Divide the batter equally into 6 different bowls about 1 cup each. Leave the sixth cup uncolored so you have plain white batter. Follow the color guide below per 1 cup of batter:

• pastel pink:  2 drops of red 
• pastel orange: 1 drop of red + 1 drop of yellow
• pastel yellow: 2 drops of yellow
• pastel green: 2 drops of green
• light purple: 1 drop of blue + 1 drop of red

6. Boil water in the pan for steaming. Pour about 1 tablespoon in each mold.

7. If using toppings: Place a bit of the topping of choice on top of the batter.

8. Steam each batch for 15-20 minutes while checking the steaming tray's lid from time to time for condensation. Make sure condensation doesn't drip on the cake.

9. Remove from the steaming tray. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove each puto from the mold and serve.

Empanada (Meat and Vegetable Turnover)

Empanada, also known as turnover or hand pie is a baked or fried pastry that is stuffed with meat, potatoes, carrots, peas, raisins, cheese and/or egg.  The name empanada comes from the Spanish word "empanar" which means "to wrap."  The dish is introduced by the Spanish colonizers in the Philippines in the 16th century.  There are several versions of empanada in Latin and Asian countries.

The empanada in the Philippines usually contains meat such as ground beef, pork or chicken and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, raisins, cheese and/or egg. Optional fillings include raisins, hard-boiled egg and olives. It is served as an appetizer, snack or as an accompaniment to a larger meal.

Empanada

Prep Time:  90 minutes
Cooking Time:  45 minutes
Yield:  12 large empanada pieces (or 24 small pieces)

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water (at room temperature)
• 1 large egg, beaten (for the egg wash)

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons paprika 
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 small red potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 pound ground beef (90-97% lean), ground pork, or minced chicken
• 1/2 cup sweet peas (optional)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water gor 5 minutes (optional)
• 1/4 cup green olives, sliced (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (optional)
• 3 stalks green onions, chopped

Procedure:

Dough Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl whisk flour and salt together. 
2. Slowly add the oil while whisking.
3. Slowly add the water until the mixture achieves tge consistency of a dough.
4. Transfer dough on a clean surface and knead for 12 minutes or until smooth.
   
   
   
   
5. Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Flatten each part using a rolling pin.  Wrap separately in cling wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes covered with a dish towel. Dough maybe made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. (Proceed to cooking the filling while the dough is resting.)
   
6. Divide the each chilled dough into 6 pieces about 1/4 cup each (or 12 pieces if making small empanadas.) (Do this step after Step 6 of Filling Preparation.)
7. Flatten each piece with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.  Roll each piece of dough to about the size of a bread plate.
   

Filling Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add paprika.
2. Add beef (or other meat) and soy sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir for 5 minutes or until the meat is brown.
3. Add the carrots and potatoes.  Cover.  Remove cover after 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the olives, sweet peas (if using) and raisins.  Continue cooking for 3 minutes.
5. Add the green onions and hard-boiled eggs at the end.  Remove from heat and drain excess liquid.  
   
6. Let the filling cool completely by spreading it on a large wide plate and putting it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.   (Proceed to Step 6 of the Dough Preparation.)
7. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.  (Skip this step if you are frying the empanada.)
8. Fill half of each piece of flattened dough with 1/3 cup of the cooled filling or 2 tablespoons if making smaller empanadas.  Fold the other half over to wrap the filling as if it's a pocket.  Firmly press the edges to seal the "pouch" or pocket.
   
   
   
9. Place empanadas on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.  
   
10. Lightly brush the top of each empanada with the egg wash.  Bake the empanadas for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. (Skip this step if you are frying the empanada and proceed to Step 11.)
    
11. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Fry the empanadas for 3-4 minutes each side or until the crust is golden brown. 

Notes:

*   Unbaked empanadas (without the eggwash) can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Tightly seal them in freezer bags.  When ready to bake, take it out from the freezer, brush the tops with the eggwash and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

*  Optional ingredients for the filling include cheese and/or hard-boiled egg.

*   Smaller empanada can be made by equally dividing the dough into 24 pieces (about 1/8 cup of dough per piece) and putting about 2 tablespoons of filling in each.