Bibingka: a Filipino treat

I just realized how corny blog title sounds (”…the San Francisco treat!“), so now I think I have to keep it.

Anyhow, my roommate took a trip to the Asian market a while ago and picked up some sweet rice for me. I had been meaning to make a Filipino dessert called bibingka for quite a while. There are different kinds of bibingka, if I recall correctly, because it means “rice cake” and that can mean any number of things when it comes to Filipino cuisine.

I really wasn’t too sure how to make bibingka myself since it had been a long time. The last time I had any part in making it was when my lola (grandmother) made some for my high school graduation party. I had never learned how to make the excellent coconut topping, so I never bothered to do it myself. This time, I looked it up, and found several recipes, this one being the closest to how I remember my lola making it. Instead of making it with rice flour, like some versions call for, she makes hers with full rice grains and a syrupy, sugary coconut paste concoction — and it turns out that it is merely dark brown sugar melted together with coconut milk, poured over freshly-cooked sweet rice and then topped off with condensed milk for it all to set pleasantly. (It’s a ton of sugar, really.) Then it is baked for around 15 minutes at 350° F.

As for the specifics to the recipe… I never really measure when it comes to Filipino recipes. I think I’ve mentioned that before in my adobo post. I’ll give you this guide for a smaller serving, however:

Shopping List
1 can (12 oz.) coconut milk
No less than 1 lb. dark brown sugar
No less than 1 lb. sweet rice
1 can (8 oz.) condensed milk

Cooking the sweet rice*
2 cups sweet rice
2 cups water

• Wash rice if you wish. I do not generally wash sweet rice. I’m sure some purists would wash their rice. If this sounds strange to you in the first place, it is common practice to wash rice prior to cooking to remove some of the starch. It is a slow process and one must rinse the rice and empty the bowl (without losing the rice) several times until the water is clear. If you’re impatient, don’t really bother. It also adds more water to the rice when you are cooking it, so adjust approximately less water when you ultimately cook it.
• Put rice and water in a pot (I prefer deep glass saucepans since it is easier to use without having to grease the pot, which I dislike for a multitude of reasons) , cover, and put on the hot stovetop until water boils. Let it boil for a few minutes, then turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the stovetop.
• Let steam for quite a while. By “quite a while,” I mean probably half an hour or even as little as twenty minutes. Better safe than sorry, right?
• After cooked, mix in no more than 1/4 cup coconut milk. Spoon about 3/4 of the rice into a 1-inch-deep pan. Spread evenly.

*please note this: I am at a rather high elevation (~1645 m or 5400 ft), I regularly cook rice and this is without a rice cooker. This can be done with a rice cooker if you are uncomfortable doing it on the stovetop, because it is tough to cook rice to perfection if you are not accustomed to it.

Making the syrup
The rest of the 12 oz. can of coconut milk
A few handfuls (probably 2 cups) of dark brown sugar

• Melt the dark brown sugar and coconut milk together over low to medium heat for no less than fifteen minutes, or until it thickens, while stirring constantly. If it doesn’t thicken much, I gradually add a little bit of corn starch and stir for another five minutes. If you must add corn starch, definitely do not let any of it clump up.
• Using about half of the syrup, mix it in with the remaining quarter of the rice and then spread the rice/syrup mixture over what you have in the pan. Spread evenly.
• Using the rest of the syrup, mix it with about half of the condensed milk and then pour it over the rice in the pan. Spread evenly. If you prefer, just put the syrup over the rice and then the condensed milk. This is one of those kinds of preferences you learn after making it several times. If I’m tired of washing dishes, I just put the syrup over and then the condensed milk.

Voilà! Now you can just pop it into the oven at 350° F and wait 15-20 minutes. Pull it out, let it stop bubbling, then serve rather warm (not hot, however). Some people prefer it to cool quite a bit.

Also, some people do not like using condensed milk at all. I will switch between using it and not using it, or just lessening how much I use. If you have not as much of a sweet tooth as some, don’t use the condensed milk - it’s pretty sweet! If using dark brown sugar is far too sweet for you as well, then use light brown sugar. If you find the whole dish is just too sweet, well… what kind of Filipino are you?! :)