Who knew rice could be so versatile and…sweet?

Rice is more than just a Filipino staple. It’s often paired with savory and flavorful viands, which often require a cup or three to make your meal more memorable. But in the Philippines, rice is also made into kakanin or rice cakes, which are served as desserts or snacks, yet are as filling as a real meal. 

The name is derived from the Tagalog words kain (to eat) and kanin (rice). What comes into every type of kakainin may vary. And while kakainin comes in different shapes and forms, there is still an art to it that fully encompasses the Filipino community’s sense of innovation.

THE DIFFERENT KAKANIN VARIETIES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Puto is a traditional rice cake in the Philippines–not a Spanish expletive you throw at your Latinx friends. Its name originated from the Malay word puttu, which means “portioned.” And it does make sense, because puto is typically cooked in small molds, then steamed.  

Puto is usually made with fermented rice dough. Other variations also include topping it with cheese or salted egg, or coloring it green or purple to indicate pandan or ube flavors. This rice cake is most commonly paired with dinuguan (pork blood stew) or served on its own. Other variations to puto include puto bumbong, which is steamed in bamboo tubes and topped with and a hefty amount of coconut shavings, margarine and grated cheese. Sarap!

Puto bumbong is commonly sold alongside bibingka, a circular glutinous rice cake prepared with sugar and coconut milk. Both are customary to the holiday season, and go best with hot chocolate or coffee! 

Maja blanca is another delicacy you’ll find at Filipino celebrations and this one's our version of  pudding, made with coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, and corn kernels. 

Some rice cakes come in a particularly orange hue, but don’t taste citrusy at all–just like kutsinta, a steamed rice cake prepared with pulverized rice, sugar, and a small amount of food-grade lye. which is what causes its sticky and chewy texture. Another one is pichi-pichi, which also uses lye, but is instead made with cassava and turns solid, transparent, and yellowish once steamed. This bite-sized treat is a staple at birthday parties or potlucks at the office.

Other than rice, kakanin heavily utilizes other ingredients such as coconut shavings as a garnish. One such example is palitaw. Its dough is rolled into balls, dipped in boiling water, then float as flat cakes when cooked. Coconut can also be made into syrup which is then used on the biko and suman. Other times, coconut can either be toasted into flakes as a form of topping, just like with the vibrant and colorful-tiered Sapin-sapin. Bet you didn’t know that other than being rich and chewy delicacies, rice cakes such as these used to be cooked as a gift to visitors and as offerings to the ancient Filipino deities!

Rice cakes and its ingredients also vary by region. There’s the tube-like Espasol originating from Laguna, which is dusted with toasted rice flour. Another is the creamy broiled Inutak from Taguig, which got its name because it resembles the human brain’s consistency and shape. And of course, the sweet sticky Kalamay that is served sealed in coconut shells in Bohol and in banana leaves in Tarlac.

KAKANIN IS LIFE

Trust us when we say that just like Filipino cuisine as a whole, the vast variety of Filipino rice cakes are too vast and too diverse to consume in just one sitting. 

These rice cakes may be seen as mundane meriendas by most locals but they are symbolic of the evolving culture in the country–having been present since our early days, a part of our childhood, and almost every significant communal event. Filipinos are always bound to crave a hearty portion of kakanin sold by the neighborhood manang over cheeseburgers or chips.

For more delicious and mouth-watering content like this, check out One Down’s newly-launched food brand, Ulam Co: serving up Filipino culture with a side of rice!