Palitaw

Since I have moved into my son's house his Filipino wife has introduced me to several wonderful dishes!  The Palitaw is one of my grandson's favorite!   You should have seen the expression on his face yesterday when he came home from football practice and caught her making them as a surprise for him.  His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree!!  They were so good I thought I would share her recipe with you.  I hope you like them as much as we do.

2 cups sweet rice flour (Mochiko)
1 3/4 to 2 cups cold water
1 cup grated mature coconut
1/4 cup granulated sugar
toasted sesame seeds
water

Procedure

In a bowl, pour water over sweet rice flour in 1/4 cup increments, all the while mixing both ingredients into a soft, yet, pliable dough. Using a wide spoon, portion dough into 12 and shape each into flat, oval disks.

Meanwhile, in a deep, wide pot, bring about 5 inches of water into a rolling boil. Gently and individually drop disks into the boiling water. Do not overcrowd pot. When disks float to surface, remove from water. Drain well. Place on a parchment-lined platter in a single layer. Cover and allow to cool enough to handle.

Roll cooked palitaw on a bed of grated coconut to fully coat.

In a pan, toast sesame seeds over low heat until fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and in a small bowl, combine with sugar. Dust sugar mixture over coated cakes or serve alongside.

Tip:
I used 2 cups of water to make my palitaw and the consistency of my dough proved a tad difficult to form into shape. The resulting cakes, however, came out “makunat” (chewy) which is just how I like my palitaw. I managed my shaping task by very lightly coating my hands with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking.