''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 Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

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 Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

, and

glutinous rice Glutinous rice ('' Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low a ...

. It is usually topped with ''

latik ''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 ...

'' (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, ...

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 Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 t ...

. A notable variant is '' puto maya'' 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'' (hot chocolate). It is also commonly paired with ripe mangoes. ''Puto maya'' is characteristically

al dente In cooking, al dente () describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth". In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking ...

, 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.

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{{Rice dishes Philippine rice dishes Foods containing coconut Philippine desserts Glutinous rice dishes Rice cakes

See also

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