Puto Calasiao Recipe - Today's Delight (2024)

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Puto Calasiao are bite size, sticky, white rice cakes that originated from the province of Calasiao, Pangasinan. This town is famous for puto calasiao, different flavored rice cakes (kakanin), kutsinta and sweets.

Puto Calasiao Recipe - Today's Delight (1)

Because of its popularity, it is not only sold in Calasiao but as far as Manila. Many street vendors selling puto calasiao lined the freeway going to Bagiuo City.

It is serve as a snack and very addicting. You can easily munch on many pieces in one sitting.

Today, puto calasiao are made in rainbow of colors and different flavors with or without cheese.

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Flavored Puto Calasiao.

You’ll be surprise that this puto is made from rice. Rice is abundant in Asia, so you’ll find many versions of rice cakes in Asian countries.

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Traditionally, puto calasiao is made from fermented rice, water and sugar.

It doesn’t involve many process to make this delicious bite size rice cakes but fermentation takes time.

Rice is soaked in water and run through a rice milling machine to achieve a smoother texture. Once all the ingredients are mixed, it is then fermented in earthen jars for a few days.

If you go to youtube and watch how they make it, you will be amaze with the enormous molds they use and how quickly they pour the mixture into each mold.

No wonder why they’re known as the Rice Cake Capital of the Philippines.

So, if you are visiting the Philippines and going up North, don’t forget to visit or stop by Calasiao, Pangasinan and have this inexpensive delicious goodies.

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If you’ve never been there, you’ll be surprise to see a street packed with tiny stalls, all of them selling this puto and other popular Filipino kakanins. This is the livelihood of most of the residents in the area.

I bet you, in no time you would devour many pieces before leaving the place. Also, don't forget to purchase bags of Puto Calasiao to munch on along the way.

Tips in Making Puto Calasiao

I am not an expert in fermentation instead I am using yeast to speed up the process. With limited knowledge on fermentation, I can’t suggest having this mixture sit for days in room temperature to make an authentic puto.

If you want to make it the traditional way, then this recipe is not for you. Also, I don’t think I have the patience to wait days to satisfy my craving.

1. Combine plain rice and glutinous rice in a container. Pour enough water to cover rice and soak for 3 hours. I used jasmine rice.

2. Use a spoon to remove water and set aside. Water will be used while blending.

3. Place rice mixture in blender and liquefy mixture adding a few spoons of water until the right batter consistency is reach. I showed the consistency in my video.

4. Transfer mixture in a bowl, add sugar and mix well. Then stir-in yeast.

5. Set it aside for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature covered with saran wrap. Note: I have A/C in the house, so place it in a cooler area, but not the fridge.

6. Lightly grease or spray each mold with oil.

7. Pour mixture in each mold but not full. It will rise a little bit.

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Bite sized rice cakes in mould.

8. Steam for about 13 to 18 minutes. Top it with cheese if you like.

9. Cover steamer lid with cheese cloth to absorb dripping droplets of water from condensation.

10. Use the toothpick test. Dip toothpick at the center of puto to check if done. If it comes out clean then remove from steamer.

11. Let it cool for 10 minutes.

12. Remove puto from mold using a toothpick or fork.

13. Top it with grated coconut, if desired. Enjoy!

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Top puto calasiao with grated coconut or cheese.

How to Make Puto Calasiao Recipe

So if you've been craving for puto calasiao, try this simple and easy recipe. Watch my video “How to make Puto Calasiao Recipe”. Magluto na tayo!

If you have a better recipe please share it. Let me know how I can improve this recipe. Thank you for visiting.

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Note: This recipe is for regular WHITE puto.

Puto Calasiao Mold

Many are asking where to buy this puto calasiao mold. I acquired these molds from my mom’s catering business ages ago. I’m not even sure if it is still available in the Philippines.

Anyway, to give you guys an idea I measured the mold. It is roughly 1 ¾ inches (top diameter) x ½ inch (height) x 1 inch (bottom diameter).

Luckily, I have about a hundred of these molds which is so convenient when steaming these mini puto.

I researched Amazon and found some mini silicon liners that might work. I’ve never used silicon to steam puto but I’ve done it with vegetables.

Food grade silicon is safe to use up to 572 degrees F so it should work for steaming puto.

By using individual molds, you can fit more in a steamer. If you plan to buy the cylinder silicon mold, first, measure your steamer if it fits.

These molds are the closest in size to mine. My molds are still smaller though.

So you need to adjust steaming time and the best way to check is doing the toothpick test. I hope this helps.

Recipe

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Puto Calasiao Recipe

Puto Calasiao is a white bite sized sticky rice cake that originated from the province of Calasiao, Pangasinan Philippines.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Filipino

Prep Time: 1 day day

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 day day 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 176kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ cup uncooked rice jasmine
  • ¼ cup glutinous rice
  • ½ to ¾ cup white sugar start with ½ and taste, add more sugar depending on your preference
  • ¾ cup water or enough to cover the rice
  • ½ teaspoon instant yeast

Instructions

  • Combine rice (jasmine) and glutinous rice in a container. Add enough water to cover the rice mixture. Soak for 3 hours.

  • After 3 hours, if you are making this amount only, you may put all the rice in the blender using a spoon to drain the water. Don’t discard the water (pinagbabaran).

    Pulse the “liquefy” button in your blender, slowly adding water to reach a consistency similar to a batter.

  • Add sugar. Mix well. Then stir-in the yeast. Blend well.Set aside for 8 hours or overnight covered with saran wrap and let the fermentation begin.

  • Use vegetable oil to grease the puto mold.

  • The rice mixture willdouble in size. Mix before pouring in the molds.

  • Pour mixture in greased molds. The mold size I used was 1 ¾ inches wide and ½ inch in height.

  • Add 8 cups of water in the steamer and bring to a simmer.

  • Steam rice mixture for 13 to 18 minutes. If using a bigger mold, it will take longer. Use a toothpick and poke at least 2 of the puto (rice cake) to see if already done. If after poking and toothpick is clean, then it is done.

  • Remove from steamer and let cool for about 10 minutes.

  • Use a toothpick or fork to remove puto from mold.

  • Serve plain or with fresh grated coconut. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. Make sure to cover steamer lid with cloth that can absorb water. Dripping water in the rice cake can affect its consistency.
  2. If you are looking for puto calasiao mold, I have listed a few in the blog. Molds I am using are hand me down from my mom's catering business. Molds I found on Amazon are the closest in size to the one I am using.

Nutrition

Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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Puto Calasiao Recipe - Today's Delight (2024)

FAQs

How to make putong Calasiao? ›

Instructions
  1. Combine both uncooked and malagkit rice in a container. ...
  2. In a blender, transfer the rice into the jug and pulse, adding one tablespoon of rice water at a time until the mixture is similar to a pancake batter.
  3. Mix in sugar and yeast. ...
  4. Stir the mixture before steaming to make sure everything is well blended.
Dec 11, 2019

What will happen if puto is overcooked? ›

Because you're steaming them, it's harder to overcook puto but don't leave them in there too long or they'll be tough. Puto doesn't have a long shelf life so they're best eaten the day they're made.

Why is my puto sour? ›

Puto have a short shelf life, especially when they are made with rice flour. They can usually be stored for 1 or 2 days, but beyond that, the mildly sweet puto can begin to turn sour and dry.

What is the product of Calasiao Pangasinan? ›

The town celebrates the Puto Festival annually in honor of its most popular product. Other notable products of Calasiao include rice, corn, vegetables, bananas, and mangos. The town is also famous for its cottage industries of hat, basket, and mat weaving, smithing, native cake making, and bocayo manufacturing.

What is deremen in Pangasinan? ›

It is special young rice, a special treat in Pangasinan. Deremen comes out in October so this means that on All Saints Day, most offerings to the dearly departed in public cemeteries and private altars are plates of these.

What is the shelf life of puto? ›

It is famous for its soft and sticky texture and it is habitually served as a dessert. Traditionally, these products are packaged in polyethylene bags after steaming and cooling (Ji et al., 2007b). It has a short shelf-life (two days) and loses its softness, quickly becoming stale and hard (Ji et al., 2007b).

What is the main ingredients of puto? ›

Where did puto come from in the Philippines? ›

No one knows for sure when it was “invented”, but Filipino Puto probably originated from the Puttu of Kerala in India, however other theories also claim that this dish could have originated in Southeast Asia and made its way to India because Austronesians are among the oldest rice farmers.

Can you ferment rice flour? ›

Rice flour is initially converted to glucose liquid which is further fermented to produce organic salts by using suitable bacteria strain. Later the obtained natural vinegar liquid is processed and spray dried for generating powder form based on the requirement.

Is water chestnut flour acceptable in puto making? ›

The formulated water chestnut flour in makingputo has moderately acceptable descriptive rating which implies a potential market for the putoindustry. The best formulation was Formulation 1 which has 1 cup of water chestnut flour and 3 cups all- purpose flour.

What are the benefits of puto? ›

Puto is a kind of Filipino snacks, this is a recipe for a Filipino rice cake called puto cheese. combat diarrhea and malnutrition, and has also been found to help prevent diabetes and cancer.

What is putong made of? ›

Traditionally, it is made from rice grains soaked in water overnight then ground with stone mills into a smooth rice batter called galapong. The fermented rice batter is then steamed in a banana-lined bamboo platters or banana leaf liners.

Where did putong polo come from? ›

"Putong Polo," a popular Filipino delicacy, originated from Valenzuela, formerly known as Polo town in the 1920s.

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