Palitaw sa Latik

Palitaw sa Latik is a traditional Filipino snack, made of chewy flattened rice cakes or white balls made of glutinous rice flour and water, simmered in a sweetened sauce made of coconut milk, brown sugar, salt and vanilla, topped with latik (which are aromatic fried coconut flakes/curds made from coconut cream), and jackfruit for more sweetness and color. An interestingly irresistibly delicious and filling snack to make.

Palitaw sa Latik Recipe :

Ingredients

For the Latik

• 1 cup coconut cream

For the Palitaw

• 2 cups glutinous rice flour
• ¾ cup water

For the Sauce

• 2 cups coconut milk
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup ripe jackfruit ( optional )

Steps:

1. First make the Palitaw; in a bowl, mix together glutinous rice flour and a small amount of water at a time. Keep mixing till you form a dough. The consistency is soft and smooth.
2. Take a spoonful, roll into a ball before flattening into the ‘palitaw’ shape. Repeat till you finish the dough. To cook; drop the palitaw one by one in a pot of boiling water. Once it floats, take this out and set aside.
3. Then make the latik; pour in coconut cream in a pan at low heat. Stir occasionally, simmering till the oil comes out and you’re left with golden crisp flakes. Strain to separate the oil and coconut flakes. Set aside.
4. In another pan, mix together coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir till sugar dissolves. Then turn the heat to medium low, bring to a boil before adding in the cooked palitaw.
5. Simmer until the sauce thickens, around 5 minutes or so. Place in the latik and jackfruit. Give it a good mix before serving.

How to make Palitaw sa Latik Recipe

Palitaw is a type of Filipino “kakanin” or “rice delicacies”, these kakanin dishes are typically made of cooked rice (small sticky rice), rice flour, or glutinous rice flour. “Palitaw” got its name from the term “litaw” in Filipino which means “to float” since the small flattened rice balls are cooked just till it floats in a pot of boiling water. A dish you might not find often on most days, seemingly made on special occasions, the holidays, or for days you’d like a special afternoon snack or to sweeten your mornings. 

The simple version only has a few ingredients being made of the palitaw simmered in a simple sauce of coconut milk or cream and some sugar or shredded palm sugar. But “Paano lutuin ang Palitaw sa Langka” or “How to make Palitaw sa Latik with Langka ( Jackfruit )” the process starts with making the palitaw, mixing the glutinous rice flour and a bit of water at a times in a bowl till you form a smooth dough. Take a spoonful of these, rolling it into a ball before flattening to 1 cm or slightly thick to create the ‘palitaw shape’. Then place the flattered balls into a pot of boiling water, do this one by one to prevent the palitaws from sticking to each other. These are ready once they float to the top. Take these out to cool while you make the ‘latik’ or coconut curds, fried coconut flakes.

How to make latik sauce? First make the latik by pouring a can or freshly strained coconut cream in a pan at low heat. Stirring occasionally until you notice the coconut cream browns and curdles, with the oils separating. Keep stirring till you see slightly browned to golden colored flakes. Pour everything under a strainer to separate the oils and flakes/latik. You can keep the coconut oil to use for cooking or baking and the latik for the sauce. In the same pan of another small pot pour in coconut milk, brown sugar, salt, with some vanilla if you’d like, some add buko pandan or pandan leaves for more aroma. Stir the ingredients together till the sugar has dissolved. Place in the latik and then the palitaw and jackfruit. Give these a good mix before serving.

Questions :

• Palitaw sa Latik Calories

There are about 150 calories more or less for one serving (100 grams ).

• Make a palitaw recipe with a twist ? Try adding Other palitaw sa latik ingredients :
  • Palitaw with Buko – How to make palitaw sa latik with buko? Simply add coconut shaving or strips while simmering the palitaw with the sauce. If you want this without the sauce, cover the palitaw with desiccated coconut ( raw or toasted with other without sugar )
  • Palitaw sa Panutsa – which is simply palitaw, simmered in coconut milk and “panotcha” or “panutsa” ( sugarcane molasses ) cooked till you get a thick sweet brown sauce.
  • Palitaw with Yema – closely resembling the panutsa but in “yema” (condesed milk thickened into a light brown paste) form. This version is usually palitaw, formed into a ball, flattened, then filled with a dollop of yema, covered and rerolled then boiled. Sometimes covered in sesame seeds or desiccated coconut.
  • Ube Palitaw sa Latik – ube flavoring, ube halaya ( ube paste ), or ube jam is added into the palitaw dough creating a beautiful purple color, sometimes adding more ube as a filling for more flavor.

• Where to place the palitaw sa latik with langka recipe

Simply placed these in a shallow bowl to serve, but some who do make these into a small business or “pang negosyo” place the palitaw sa latik in a tub, a microwavable transparent plastic container to easily be able to reheat in the microwave, a tin can for aesthetic, or any container lined with banana leaves to make these more eye catching.

Other Yummy Coconut milk-based Recipes!

• Coconut Macaroons
• Mango Pudding
• Fruit Maja Blanca ( a colorful Filipino coconut milk pudding )
• Special Royal Bibingka ( a Filipino rice flour based traditional cake )
• Puto Bumbong ( a traditional Filipino Christmas snack, a purple rice cake )
• Shrimp in Coconut Milk
• Ginataang Alimasag ( Crab stewed in Coconut Milk )

Palitaw sa Latik Resipi: (Tagalog version)

Mga Sangkap :

Para sa Latik

• 1 tasa coconut cream

Para sa Palitaw

• 2 tasa glutinous rice flour
• ¾ tasa tubig

Para sa Sarsa

• 2 tasa coconut milk
• ¾ tasa kayumangging asukal
• ½ kutsaritang asin
• ½ kutsaritang vanilla
• ½ tasa hinog na langka ( opsyonal )

Paano Lutuin :

1. Para gawin ang palitaw; haluin ang glutinous rice flour at konting tubig hanggang makabuo ng makinis at malambot na masa.
2. Magsandok ng isang kutsara at irolyo sa bola, iflat ang hugis nito para makabuo ng ‘palitaw’. Ulitin hanggang maubos ang masa. Para lutuin; isa-isang hulugin ang mga palitaw sa kumukulong tubig. Kapag lumutang na ang mga ito, tanggalin at itabi.
3. Para gawin ang latik; buhusin ang coconut cream sa kawali na nasa mababang init. Haluin paminsan-minsan, pakuluin hanggang lumabas ang mantika nito at may makita kang mga golden na mga piraso. Salain para maghiwalay ang mantika sa flakes. Itabi.
4. Para sa ibang kawali, haluin ang coconut milk, asukal, asin, at vanilla. Haluin hanggang matunaw ang asukal. Ilagay sa katamtamang init, pagkumulo na ito ilgaya ang nalutong palitaw.
5. Pakuluin hanggang kumapal ang sarsa, mga 5 minuto o higit pa. Ihalo ang latik at langka baho ihanda.