Palitaw

Two weeks ago I had my graduation and 23rd birthday party!! After many recipes that were tested to go on the dessert portion of the buffet table, this recipe made the cut. It's called Palitaw. I know what you're thinking, "Finally!! A Filipino dessert!!" and yes, you are right!

So what is Palitaw? Well, it's a rice cake that is cooked by boiling, drained and dipped into grated coconut that you can find in the freezer section of most asian grocery stores. From there, you dip the coconut covered rice cakes in a sesame seed and white sugar mixture. Some people dip the rice cakes immediately and place them on the party platter but for my party, we served the sesame seed and sugar mixture on the side.

Palitaw is chewy and soft, has great texture from the coconut and is given a slightly nutty and sweet flavor from the sugar mixture. These are one of my favorite filipino desserts and can become very addicting!

Palitaw

Recipe by Panlasang Pinoy

Ingredients
2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup sesame seeds, roasted
1 cup grated coconut

Directions
Combine glutinous rice flour with water and mix until a dough is formed. If the dough is still dry, add more water. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough then mold it into a ball-shaped figure. Flatten the ball-shaped dough using the palm of your hands.

Boil water in a cooking pot then put-in the flattened dough. When the flattened dough starts to float, remove them from the pot and set it aside allowing water to drip. Combine sugar and roasted sesame seeds then mix well. Dunk the rice cake in grated coconut and arrange on platter. Serve with a bowl of the sugar-sesame seed mixture to dip in on the side.

-Aaron John