Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice/sticky rice flour (mochi flour), plus 1 extra Tablespoon for shaping disks
- ½ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275. Place the coconut on a small baking sheet and spread it out so you have an even layer. Bake it for about 5 minutes until it is a nice golden color.
- Set the coconut aside to cool and then pour it onto a plate. Mix the sugar and the sesame seeds on a separate plate. Set the plates aside near the stove where you will be boiling the rice cakes.
- Put the glutinous rice flour in a bowl and add the water. Mix with clean hands until the flour has completely absorbed the water and the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Knead it a couple of times to ensure an even consistency.
- Use a 1 Tablespoon ice cream scoop and portion out the dough onto a baking sheet sprinkled with a Tablespoon of rice flour. You should yield 12 balls.
- Then take each ball of dough and flatten it down with your hands so that you have small pancake shaped disks (Pick up the cake after each time you flatten it so it doesn’t stick to the pan.) Set the rice cakes aside on the baking sheet.
- Bring 2 quarts of water to boil over high heat in a large pot. Add the salt and stir.
- Add 5-6 pieces of rice cakes to the pot, one at a time. Let it simmer in the pot for about 1 minute, until it floats to the surface. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to remove one rice cake from the pot. Let the water drain off over the pot.
- Dip the rice cake into the coconut first and then into the sesame sugar. Make sure each side is coated well and then place it on a serving plate. Continue straining and dipping each rice cake. Place the Palitaw on a serving plate once you finish dipping.
- You can also strain all of the rice cakes at one time, but make sure to dip the pieces straight away, so they don’t have a chance to congeal and stick together in a clump.
- Continue cooking and coating until all of the rice cakes are finished. Sprinkle any remaining coconut and sesame sugar on top of the finished Palitaw. Serve immediately.
Notes
*The rice cakes are best the day they are made. But if you have any leftovers, cover the plate with plastic wrap and eat it the next day. A few seconds in the microwave can help soften it up a touch.
Keywords: filipino sweets, healthy sweets, asian desserts, palitaw, coconut, sticky rice