Puto

Puto is a kind of steamed rice cake in the Philippines. It has different variations such as Putong Puti, Puto Bumbong, Puto Maya, Puto Pao, and others. Each variation is cooked differently; one may be sweeter than the others, another may be fluffier than the others, some people cook it with filling, some prepare it small and round, big and rectangular or triangular, etc., It may also be eaten in different ways such as eating it as is, adding grated coconut, top it up with cheese, or dip in Philippine’s one of the best Filipino dishes – dinuguan.

Among the mentioned variations, my favorite is the Putong Puti especially when it is dipped in Dinuguan.. yummy! :)

I’ve also tasted similar rice cake cooked by some Indian friends, it is called Idli (left). The fluffiness is almost the same as our Putong Puti but the texture and taste are different.

For now, I haven’t tried searching for Putong Puti’s recipe yet so let me instead give you the recipe of another variation of Puto – honestly I do not know what type of Puto is this – all I know is that it is medium in size, round, and sweet :). After several failed attempts in making Puto from some online websites, I got this recipe from Gaye – my flatmate here in Oman.

this Puto was prepared as a birthday gift for Elna :)

Ingredients:- 2cups all purpose flour
- 1cup white sugar
- 2tsp baking powder
- 2cups fresh milk
- 2 eggs
- 1cup melted butter (optional)

You will need:

- steamer

- Puto molds


Procedure:
- combine all dry ingredients
- add eggs
- add milk and butter
- put in puto molds
- steam for 25mins
- top with cheese
- enjoy and serve!

Best with Dinuguan and Hot Tea!

Credits: Junimar & Gaye Carayugan, Google Images for the You will need and other sample photos