Kutsinta

Cherrie Moore of  Sweet Cherrie Pie & I are the hosts for this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, and because June is the month when we celebrate Philippine Independence Day, we have decided to focus on our country's unique dishes.

As I've mentioned before, Filipino Cuisine is a mixture of many different cuisines from countries which have colonized the Philippines. But there are lots of dishes that we can call our own...dishes that can be found "ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES" and we thought that it would be good to share them with you. 

After checking my archive, I realized that I've already posted most of my favorite native Filipino dishes here on the blog. I was having a hard time thinking of what recipe to share when suddenly I thought of this favorite snack that I used to enjoy during my childhood days which is called Kutsinta...

Kutsinta is a brown (sometimes orange) and sticky cupcake which is made from rice flour, brown sugar, achuete (which is used to add color and flavor), water and a little lye water. It is cooked by steaming and is served with grated coconut.  It is a traditional Filipino snack that's very easy to make, and can be found almost anywhere. Kutsinta is my mom's favorite and she would always buy dozens of it everytime she goes to the market. She would also make it at home whenever she finds the time. 

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, I'm sharing with you my mom's kutsinta as I remember it. I think the only difference is I used annatto powder instead of achuete juice because I couldn't find achuete seeds here. The result, however, is basically the same except for the tiny particles of annato powder that settled in the bottom of the kutsinta. So if you can find achuete seeds, soak about 1 Tablespoon of it in 2 Tablespoon of water for about 10 minutes. Get ½ Tablespoon of that juice and add it to the kutsinta mixture instead of the annatto powder.


 
Ingredients: 
Yield 24-30 pcs. (depending on the size of the molds you're going to use)

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp annatto powder
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 tsp lye water *
• 1 cup grated coconut, for topping

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix rice flour, all purpose flour, sugar and annatto powder until well combined. 

2. Gradually add water and continue mixing until free of lumps. Add lye water and mix until well combined.

3. Pour mixture into slightly greased molds. Arrange in steamer. Put a cloth under the steamer cover to prevent water from dripping to the kutsinta. Steam for 45 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool down for about 10 minutes before removing from molds. Serve with grated coconut.

*Lye water is a strong alkali solution (caustic soda) and an essential ingredient for some rice cake cuisines in the Philippines such as suman sa lihiya and kutsinta. This liquid makes the rice cake firm and elastic in texture. It is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking which is used for their noodles and dumplings. Lye is also used to cure and preserve olives, fish (especially in the nordic regions), and seafood like squid.  It also gives hard pretzels their characteristic brown color and texture and is also used in bagel making. However, it can also be harmful when swallowed drectly. It can also burn or irritate your skin. So be sure to take precaution when using it, and use the exact measurement. When properly cooked and mixed into the batter, the lye is reduced to a harmless state, and it serves its function of giving the rice cake a good texture and added color.

Be sure to check what other Kulinarya Cooking Club members came up with for this month's theme...

 

Palitaw  from Day of Chef by Day 

Avocado Shake from Malou of Skip To Malou

Pinais na Isda from Iska of Iskandals.com

Grilled Panga ng Lapu-Lapu from Erwin of Iskandals.com

Tapsilog from Cherrie of Sweet Cherrie Pie

Kare-kare from Adora of Adora's Box

Kulawong Talong from Elizabeth of Asian In America

Kalamay na Pinipig from Jun of Jun-blog

Taba ng Talangka from Oggi of I Can Do That

Chicken Inasal Empanaditas from Fred of I Love Sisig

Ensaladang Mustasa at Lechon sa Bagoong from Jenn of Storm In My Kitchen

Paksiw na Galunggong sa Santol from Marge of Pinoy Kitchenette