Episode 3.2: Ube Biko | Issues Facing Coconut Farmers in the Philippines
For the second episode in this season featuring all recipes that use coconut — Ube Biko! I would always make sure to snag a piece of biko off of the dessert table when I was at a family gathering, and it was almost overwhelming to have a whole pan to myself! Luckily, if you make sure it’s tightly sealed, it’ll last in the fridge for several days. I reheat mine in the oven and pour a splash of cream over it for a satisfying breakfast. ☺️ And, this recipe is vegan and can be made gluten free!
Ube Biko
Ingredients
Latik:
1-13.5 oz can of coconut cream
Biko:
2 cups sweet/glutinous rice (I don’t recommend using regular rice)
2 pandan leaves
1 cup + 4 cups coconut milk
2 c brown sugar
2 t ube extract or 2 T of ube condensed milk/creamer
Optional: banana leaves for dish
Instructions
1. Wash the rice and drain. Add one cup of water and one cup of coconut milk and pandan leaves.
2.Cook in rice cooker or stove top.
3. In a large pan, add 4 cups of coconut milk and simmer until thickened (for me, about 10 minutes)*. Add 2 cups brown sugar and stir until brown sugar is dissolved. Simmer until syrup is thickened (refer to video)* .
5. Add sticky rice to the pan, and stir until rice clumps are broken up and well incorporated with the syrup.
6. Add 2 t of ube extract, or 2 T of ube condensed milk/creamer, and stir. You can add more to reach your desired color/flavor.
7. Once the mixture is cohesive (should be more globb-y than watery?) remove from heat and add to an oiled, banana leaf-lined pan.
8. Prepare the latik: add the can of coconut milk to a sauce pan and heat over medium. Heat the coconut milk and stir as it thickens. Eventually, the oil will separate from the cream and curds will form and turn golden. Use a coffee filter to separate the latik curds from the oil.
9. Top each of the biko dishes with spoonfuls of latik with whatever design you want!
*I find that different brands of coconut milk have different water content, so your mixture might take more or less time to thicken. Just keep an eye on it!
