Anyone ever made Puto??

chachp · Sep 8, 2015

My partner is originally from the Phillipines. From time to time he'll mention something his family used to make and I usually make it a challenge to find a recipe and see if I can duplicate it.

I found a recipe at wikihow.com.

Of all those I found he said this one seemed to be the closest to what his family used to make. So, on Sunday I attemtped them. The first batch was a disaster because I used paper cupcake liners (all I had in the house) and they collapsed. They tasted good but looked awful and what self respecting queen will serve something that looks bad? Just sayin'

Anyway, I remembered I had a bunch of ramekins and thought they would work well. I attemtped another batch yesterday and the size was perfect according to hubby and they taste really good according to him. He said very close to what he remembers. But I had another odd issue. THe final step is to put a small piece of cheese on the top before putting them into the steamer. Well in the first few batches of this second attempt, the cheese sunk to the bottom and stayed there. It was melted and it was fine according to hubby but on the last three the cheese seemed to explode over the top like a little volcano. See the pics.

So I am sending a question to all our professional chefs in the group to see if anyone has an explanation for this. Everything was identical from batch to batch so I can't imagine what could have been different for the last three. 

The only two things I can think of is:

<ol>
<li>The batter sat longer although the instructions didn't state to let it sit after you make it. It did say to add water to the rice flour and let that sit overnight which I did. </li>
<li>Or, maybe the steamer was hotter for the last three than earlier but after four 20 minutes batches in the steamer I wouldn't think it would take that long to heat up.</li>
</ol>
Anyway, I'd like to get these right. According to the pictures on the website the cheese was sitting at the top when they were finished. Mine weren't like that. I'd sure like to know if anyone else has made these of if they have any suggestions.

Hubby said they tasted good. He wasn't bothered much by the cheese situation but it's bugging me and I want to get them right. Here are some pics of the process, the finished product and of course the main event, the loaded dishwasher for those who have had to suffer through this post. I probably could have snuck another plate or two in the lower right hand corner of the bottom rack but I should at least get the "how dirty they are" certification.

.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Puto-(Steamed-Rice-Cake)

cuffs054 · Sep 8, 2015

Cha, never heard of these but now want to make them! Can you post the recipe? Maybe there is something in it the can help figure out why the cheese is sinking (or not).

chachp · Sep 8, 2015

This is the recipe from wikihow.com:

How to Make Puto from WIKIHOW.COM (Steamed Rice Cake)

Puto is a steamed Filipino mini rice cake made out of rice flour (Galapong). It is often eaten for breakfast, served with coffee or hot chocolate. Some people also like to grate coconut over it or to eat it with Dinugan, a pork blood stew. If you want to know how to make your own Puto, see Step 1 to get started.

 

Ingredients

· 4 cups rice flour

· 2 cups sugar

· 2 1/2 tbsp baking powder

· 2 cups coconut milk

· 2 1/2 cups water

· 1/2 cup melted butter

· 1 egg

· Cheese for topping

· Food coloring (optional)

· 1 tbsp. tapioca (optional)

 

Steps

 

Sift the dry ingredients together. Sifting your rice flour, sugar, and baking powder will help you combine the dry ingredients, get rid of any lumps, and get some air into those ingredients. Just pour them into a bowl through a sifter, scraping a fork along the bottom of the sifter as they fall, allowing them to sift more easily. Mix the ingredients well until they're thoroughly incorporated.

 

If you don't have rice flour, you can use regular flour instead, though this is considered less traditional than using rice flour.

 

If you're really serious about making puto, then you can combine the rice flour and water in a bowl, cover it, and let it sit at room temperature overnight. If you want to do this, you should combine about 1 lb (16 oz) of rice flour with 1 1/2 cups of water.

 

Add the butter, coconut milk, egg, and water and mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Use a wooden spoon, whisk, or electric mixer to mix the ingredients until they are thoroughly incorporated. If you don't have coconut milk, you can use half as much evaporated milk, or just regular milk, but that won't give the Puto the distinct traditional flavor it is known for.

 

If you'd like the Puto to be a bit more gelatinous, you can add 1 tbsp. of tapioca to the entire batch.

Though food coloring isn't necessary, it can make this treat more colorful. Some common colors for Puto are lime green, yellow, or purple. If you'd like to create a multitude of colors, you can even divide the batch into four parts, and place 1-2 drops of unique colors in three of them; you can leave the fourth batch without coloring, to create a nice "white" color for contrast.

 

Pour the mixture in molds or small cupcake pans. If you're not using cupcake paper, you can grease the molds with butter to prevent the treats from sticking to them. You should fill the mixture to the top or a little bit below the molds. They'll expand as they cook, so you don't want them to leave some room for them to grow. Some would even say to only fill the molds three-quarters of the way.

 

Put cheese on top of the mixture. Cut the cheese into little squares about the size of a half-dollar, a little larger than a quarter. If you're using regular cheese, then you should put it on the mold before you start steaming. However, if you're using Quickmelt cheese, then you should put the little squares on at the end of the steaming process, when there are just two minutes left. That's all you'll need to melt the Quickmelt cheese.

 

Prepare the steamer. Make sure you've put the necessary amount of water in the steamer and have set it to cook. You can line it with cheesecloth to protect the molds and use more cloth to cover it. Or you can just stick to using an ordinary lid to cover the steamer. You can start preparing the steamer as you mix the ingredients together to save time.

 

Put the molds in the steamer and steam for 20 minutes. You can start checking up on them after 10 minutes. Once you can put in a toothpick and have it come out clean when you take it out, then the Puto is ready. Just remember to leave two minutes for cooking at the end if you're using Quickmelt cheese.

 

Remove the Puto from the molds. Give them a minute or two to cool down before you do this. When they're ready to handle, arrange them on a serving plate.

 

Serve. This treat is best served warm, so you should enjoy it immediately. Puto can be enjoyed on its own at any time of day, but many people love to have it with coffee. You can also enjoy it along with Dinugan, pork blood stew, if you like.

toploader55 · Sep 8, 2015

Hmmmmm.....

Maybe shredding the cheese and putting it on top during the last 5 minutes of the "cooking" process ? Shredding would make the cheese lighter rather then a "Chunk or Slice. I think the weight of the slice is what makes it sink. Could the ones that the cheese "exploded" was a thinner slice ?

Never heard of these, but looking at your photos, that's what comes to mind.

Hope this works/ helps.

cuffs054 · Sep 8, 2015

Cha, so the end product is like a moist cake? Or more like a pudding? Never used coconut milk but I'm guessing it is not "sweetened"?

chachp · Sep 8, 2015

It's a moist cake.

They are really good. They are not too sweet and not savory but I think they would go well with either. I asked him about that "Blood Stew" they mention in the recipe and his face kind of crinkled up. He said that's what many pair with these but he doesn't personally care for it. Thank God, I don't think that's something I'd want to make. LOL.

I will try the shredded cheese and see how that goes. I will say I used a Sharp Cheddar cheese and it did seem heavy to me. When the first batches came out with the piece at the bottom I wasn't surprised but the last ones threw me for a loop. I suppose those pieces could have been smaller. I really didn't pay that much attention.

washdaddy · Sep 9, 2015

I would also try putting the cheese on later in the cooking process or---

are you using the cheese right from the frig or is it room temp when you start cooking, try the opposite- that might affect the way it melts and sinks.

Good luck with your dish!

Anyone ever made Puto??

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