''Biko'' is a sweet rice cake from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It is made of
coconut milk,
brown sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
,
ginger, and
glutinous rice. It is usually topped with ''
latik
''Latík'' () refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine
Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found thr ...
'' (either or both the coconut curds or the syrupy caramel-like variant). It is a type of ''
kalamay
''Kalamay'' (also spelled ''Calamay'', literally "sugar"), is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine ...
'' dish and is prepared similarly, except the rice grains are not ground into a paste. They are also sometimes packaged and sold as ''
suman''.
It is also known as ''inkiwar'' ''in''
Ilocano Northern Luzon and ''sinukmani'' or ''sinukmaneng'' in the Southern
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
area. In the Muslim regions of the Philippines, it is known as ''wadjit'' in
Tausug; ''wadit'' in
Maranao
The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomi ...
; and ''wagit'' in
Maguindanao.
A notable variant is ''
puto maya
''Puto'' is a Filipino steamed rice cake, traditionally made from slightly fermented rice dough (''galapong''). It is eaten as is or as an accompaniment to a number of savoury dishes (most notably, ''dinuguan''). ''Puto'' is also an umbrella te ...
'' in
Cebuano-speaking regions of the Philippines. It is usually made from purple glutinous rice (called ''tapol'') soaked in water, drained and then placed into a steamer for 30 minutes. This rice mixture is then combined with coconut milk, salt, sugar and ginger juice and returned to the steamer for another 25 to 30 minutes.
It is traditionally served as small patties and eaten very early in the morning with ''
sikwate
''Tsokolate'' (), also spelled ''chocolate'', is a native Filipino thick hot chocolate drink. It is made from ''tabliya'' or ''tablea'', tablets of pure ground roasted cacao beans, dissolved in water and milk. Like in Spanish and Mexican versi ...
'' (hot chocolate). It is also commonly paired with ripe mangoes.
''Puto maya'' is characteristically
al dente, compared to the mushier texture of ''biko''.
''Biko'' can also be prepared with other common Filipino ingredients. Examples include ''ube-biko'' which is made with ''ube'' (mashed
purple yam
''Dioscorea alata'', also known as purple yam, ube (, ), or greater yam, among many other names, is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender in color (hence the common name), but some range in ...
), and ''pandan biko'' which is made with
pandan leaf
''Pandanus amaryllifolius'' is a tropical plant in the ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) genus, which is commonly known as pandan (; ). It has fragrant leaves which are used widely for flavouring in the cuisines of Southeast Asia and South Asia.
Occurre ...
extracts; these are characteristically deep purple and bright green, respectively.
See also
*
Espasol
''Espasol'' is a cylinder-shaped Filipino rice cake. Originating from the province of Laguna, it is traditionally sold during the Christmas season. It is made from rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened coconut strips and, afterwards ...
*
Kakanin
A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...
*
Latík
''Latík'' () refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream (coconut caramel) used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to s ...
*
Suman
References
External links
{{Rice dishes
Philippine rice dishes
Foods containing coconut
Philippine desserts
Glutinous rice dishes
Rice cakes