My Favorite Childhood Dessert: PALITAW

I remember when I was in elementary, I always buy Palitaw from our cafeteria for snack or dessert. If I remember it right, it costs PHP 1.00 each. Then in high school, we made Palitaw in our culinary arts class but I don't remember a thing on how it was done. Sign of aging eh! :P

Today, I decided to make Palitaw for my dessert since this is the only thing I can cook which I have all the ingredients.

What is Palitaw?

My friend, Wiki, explains, "Palitaw (from litaw, the Tagalog word for "float" or "rise") is a small, flat, sweet rice cake eaten in the Philippines. They are made from malagkit(sticky rice) washed, soaked, and then ground. After excess water is let out from the grinding process scoops of the batter are rolled and the flattened to disk shapes and dropped into boiling water where they float to the surface as flat discs - an indication that they're done. When served, the flat discs are dipped in grated coconut, and presented with a separate dip made of sugar and toasted sesame seeds."

I know, she is pretty smart. ;) You're probably thinking how hard it is to "wash, soak, and grind" the rice. No need to worry because you can buy a package of the ready-to-cook grounded sticky rice. I know, for sure, it is sold in the Asian Store here in Austin. Your local supermarket may have it. I have not checked Walmart, but it's worth a try!

Trust me, this is very easy to make. You only have to look at the recipe once and after that you will have it down the next time. Thanks to my favorite online Filipino Food Chef, Vanjo, for his recipe. Check it out at Panlasang Pinoy - Palitaw Recipe.

Let me know if you have any questions about this recipe or the food itself.

Enjoy!

xo, J.