Puto Maya (Glutinous Sweet Rice Dessert)

Puto Maya is an easy-to-make Filipino dessert made of sticky sweet rice and coconut milk. To me, this recipe brings back memories of early morning breakfast right after Simbang Gabi (dawn mass celebrated beginning December 16th).

 

Ingredients: 

2 cans Coconut milk

4 cups Sweet rice (white 

1 cup Sweet rice (red/black)

2 tbsp Ginger paste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a pot or saucepan. You may add some sugar to taste or add a bit more ginger paste. Cook over medium heat on stove top. Be sure to occasionally stir the mixture to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to lowest setting. Let the rice cook through. May be served hot or cold.

Usually paired with steaming sikwate (cocoa drink) and topped with bukayo (shredded coconut cooked in brown sugar), puto maya is delicious pretty much any time of the day. Today, I just sprinkled a bit of sugar on top.

From my kitchen to yours

Just random dishes from my kitchen.

Kinilaw

(Fresh raw fish in vinegar and mayonnaise mixed with tomatoes and onions)

Caldeo

(Sauteed fish and green leafy pechay)

Siopao (Meat-stuffed Steamed Bun)

Yummmm!!! I just had 3 (!!!) of these delish buns. Although I didn't make these (my mom did), I will definitely learn how to make siopao soon. The secret's in the dough...

For this particular recipe, ground pork, Chinese sausage and boiled egg were used for the stuffing. 

Maja Blanca

Try this sweet, rich and easy-to-make Filipino dessert. When I made this, I really had no recipe to follow. So I kind of eyeballed everything.

Ingredients:

Cornstarch
Coconut cream/milk
White sugar
Cream of corn
Crushed peanut topping (optional)

Directions:

This is the easy part. Just mix all the ingredients together: cornstarch first (I used a one-lb pack), then the coconut milk (two 14-oz cans in this case), sugar (I'm afraid I didn't keep track of how much I added. I added a half cup at a time and tasted if it was sweet enough) and one can of cream of corn. I added a little bit of whole milk because I thought the mixture was too thick.

Simmer the mixture in low-medium heat, constantly stirring (And I really mean constantly stirring!). This is a good chance to give that arm a workout. haha.

Keep stirring until you reach the right consistency. You'll know you have the right consistency when you take a spoonful and it doesn't drip down.

Transfer the cooked mixture into a heat-proof container and let cool. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts on top, if you want. I like to eat it warm :).