Pichi Pichi Cassava Filipino Recipe – Plenty of Filipino dishes feature three things, rice, coconut, and a vegetable. One category of Filipino desserts tends to be on the gelatinous or sticky side. Among this category of desserts, there is one that combines a vegetable and coconut. That dessert is pichi pichi. Pichi pichi is a type of gelatinous dessert that primarily features cassava with a covering of coconut flakes. You can make this dessert with sugar and water or coconut juice, plus, you can have shaved cheese as an alternative topping. The dessert is relatively easy to make and offers a colorful look as an option. If you want to try your hand at making the sticky dessert, try out this Pichi Pichi Cassava Filipino Recipe:
Pichi Pichi Cassava
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen grated cassava (16 ounces or two cups thawed)
- 2 cups coconut juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lye water
- 3 drops Ube Food Coloring (optional)
- 2 drops Pandan Extract (optional)
- 2 cups grated mature coconut
- 1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the steamer by bringing water to a boil at the bottom.
- Pour the cassava, coconut juice, and sugar into a bowl and mix them together until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once the sugar is dissolved in the mixture, add the lye water and stir it into the mixture until the ingredients are incorporated.
- If you want to make the dessert extra colorful, use the food color and extra by dividing them into three bowls. One will contain the food coloring, the other the extract, while the third will remain plain.
- Let the mixture/s stand for about 30 minutes to one hour.
- Pour the mixture into individual molds and arrange molds in a steamer.
- Steam the molds for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the mixture is translucent. You can also test whether the pichi pichi is ready by inserting a toothpick in the center and seeing if it comes out clean.
- Remove the molds from the steamer and refrigerate them for about 20 to 30 minutes to completely cool and set.
- Once the pichi pichi is cooled, remove them from the molds and roll them in the grated mature coconut. You can also mix up your batch by having one half rolled in coconut and the other rolled in shredded cheese.
- A good way to serve this dish is on banana leaves.
Variations of the Pichi Pichi Cassava Filipino Recipe
Pichi pichi is one of the many popular desserts you can find sold in several places in the Philippines. It is generally orange or yellowish in color and rolled in coconut shavings. However, it can come in an array of colors and can also have cheese as a topping. Another topping option for this dessert is latik, which is coconut caramel.
A similar dessert to pichi pichi is putli mandi. Originating from the Tausug and Yakan people of Sulu, putli mandi is a steamed rice cake made from glutinous rice dough. It is rolled into balls and is similarly covered in coconut shavings but also has a stuffing of sweetened coconut strips. Another dish you can compare this dessert with is kutsina. It is a steamed rice cake made from tapioca or rice flour, brown sugar, and lye. The dish is also orange in color and has coconut shavings as a type of dipping.
If you want to try out more Filipino desserts, check out our “Ube Biko Recipe” and “Ube Leche Flan Recipe.” You can also check out other cassava treats like “Cassava Cake” and “Cassava Suman.”
