pinoy kakanin sa holy week

in preparation for the long holy week break, i asked my mom to send me a gelatinous rice flour pack. i was craving for traditional filipino food that i enjoyed when i was a kid -- those that my mom cooked when we had a long break, or during merienda times in the afternoon.

so last holy week, i decided to make two filipino desserts: palitaw and tsikalang, or what is known in manila as pilipit.

palitaw in tagalog means 'to float.' this way of cooking is simply that, letting the rice dough float in boiling water. when it floats, it means that it is already cooked and ready to be served.

ingredients:
1/4 cup baking flour
3/4 cup gelatinous rice flour
water

mix ingredients until it forms a dough. shape into flat circles then drop in boiling water. wait for it to float then scoop it out.

for the "garnishing"

ingredients:
grated coconut and sugar

put in hot pan the grated coconut and sugar. mix well until color of mixture is light brown. serve mixed or separate from the palitaw.

tsikalang as we call it in zamboanga is also known in manila as pilipit. although of different shapes, they have the same style of cooking.

 

ingredients are the same as that of the dough mixture of palitaw. shape it in braid-style or strudel-shape. once ready, fry in hot pan. remove from the pan when brown. then in another pan, caramelize brown sugar with water (some uses oil with the sugar). once it is a bit sticky, pour in the fried tsikalang and coat it with the sugar. once coated, remove from pan and serve.

remember thought that the sugar mixture must not be too thick so that when it is coated onto the bread, it will not dry thickly on the bread when cold.