Puto Maya at Sikwate

We had a long weekend this month so I thought of mastering another Filipino favorite snack.

Puto Maya (sweet sticky rice cooked in coconut milk) and sikwate (hot chocolate) always reminds me of my childhood. Every after the sunday mass our Papa would always bring us to one of the stalls in the market and we ate Puto maya and sikwate. I remember we flood the sticky rice in our bowl with sikwate and ate it like it's a soup, hehe and I still do that today.  Oh, how I love reminiscing those times. The taste of freshly made puto maya and the sweet taste of pure and chocolatey sikwate.

for the puto maya:

2 cups glutinous white rice

1 can thai coconut milk or about 3-4 cups

pinch of salt

1 cup sugar (more or less depends on how sweet you like it to be) 

2 pieces ginger root cut into approximately 1" thick, washed and smashed

Rinse rice and soak in water for 1 hour. Drain and place in 2-qt pot with coconut milk, cover and let boil. When boiling add the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Turn down heat and let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until rice is done. Stir the rice from time to time to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When done scoop out rice and sprinkle with brown sugar if desired. Best enjoyed when warm.

for the Sikwate:

2 cups water

4 or more pieces tablea (pure dried cacao)

1/2 cup brown sugar (or more, depends on your taste)

Place water in a pot. Let it come to a boil. Add the tableas and whisk vigorously by hand until tableas have melted. Add sugar. Adjust sweetness to taste. Serve with puto maya, while hot.

Try flooding the rice with sikwate and enjoy it like a Probinsyana like me! =)