Biko Recipe

Sweet Sticky Rice With Fried Coconut Curd Topping

The Biko recipe here is just one of the ways of making a Filipino sticky rice treat. It's not a tedious process, it's just hard on the arm because of the mixing.

Biko is the quintessential Filipino native delicacy.

It is made from glutinous rice that is first partially cooked, then mixed with coconut milk until very thick in consistency.

The topping is latik or the fried coconut milk curd, set at the center of each slice.

You might wonder why the latik is not always scattered generously all over the biko -- why just put them in the center?

The amount of latik that you get, say, from every cup of coconut cream or kakang gata is not the same every time.

You could get from a couple tablespoon to almost a cup, depending on the gata.

Making the Latik or fried coconut curd gives you a lot of coconut oil that you can apply on your plating dish or banana leaves.

However, I suggest not to put too much oil - it can be a little overpowering and could sometimes taste like suntan lotion.

The banana leaves, though optional, give this dessert a distinct taste and fragrance.

YOUR BIKO RECIPE SHOPPING LIST:

• Glutinous Rice
• Coconut Milk
• Banana Leaves, optional

IN THE PANTRY:

• Brown Sugar

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Glutinous Rice
• 2 cups Water
• 2 cups Coconut Milk
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
TOPPING
• Latik
• Banana Leaves, lightly heated

PREPARATION TIME : 5 minutes

COOKING TIME : 40 minutes

1 Wash the glutinous rice, set in a pot and add the water.

2 Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed by the rice.

3 On a separate pan over medium heat, dissolve the brown sugar in the coconut milk, let it boil until thick.

4 Add the cooked rice and mix until very thick consistency.

5 To assemble, place the banana leaves at the bottom, and brush with oil, spread the sticky sweet rice on the leaves and flatten evenly.

6 Cut in squares (if using square serving dish) or like a pizza (if on a round dish), spread the latik on the center of each slice.

BENG'S TIPS

• Lightly heat the banana leaf over the stove-top burner or in the microwave to make it pliable and easy to handle.


• Brush some coconut oil (from the latik) onto your spoon or spatula when spreading the sweet rice for easy handling.

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