Palitaw is made with glutinous rice flour, grated coconut, sesame seeds, and sugar. Soft, chewy, and gluten-free, this Filipino delicacy is delicious as a snack or dessert.
If you're looking for a quick and easy sweet treat, Palitaw is your answer! This sticky rice cake is filling and delicious, with a perfectly soft and chewy patty coated with grated coconut, toasted sesame seeds, and sugar.
What is Palitaw
Traditional Palitaw is made from glutinous rice grains soaked in water overnight and then processed into a soft dough via grinding. The dough is formed into thin patties, cooked in boiling water, and then coated with grated coconut, toasted sesame seeds, and sugar.
Its name is from the Filipino root word "litaw" or "to surface," as the patties will float or rise to the water's surface when done. It's also called "dila dila" in other parts of the country because of the shape of the patties resembling a "tongue."
With commercial sweet rice flour available, making these mochi cakes can't get any easier than mixing the flour with water! It is important, however, to note that a good palitaw is all about texture.
How to make perfectly soft and chewy
- You need the right ratio of glutinous rice flour and water for the perfect texture. Not enough liquid and the cooked patties will be hard to chew. Too much, and the dough will be hard to form into shape.
- I find 1 cup of water to 2 cups of sticky rice flour yields the best texture. The mixture will look dry, but keep mixing with your hands until it gathers into a smooth dough.
- The consistency you're looking for is like that of soft, pliable putty. The dough should feel moist but not overly wet.
Helpful tips
- For a more uniform size, use a small scoop to portion out the dough and use the palm of your hands to roll each portion into a ball and then flatten it into an oval shape about ยผ thick.
- If the dough is sticking, wet hands in between shaping.
- Once the patties rise to the surface, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water immediately to keep them from overcooking. Drain well.
- Let them cool just enough to touch and begin rolling in grated coconut as they coat better when still warm.
- Roll the patties immediately in coconut but sprinkle the sugar-sesame mixture when ready to serve as the sugar tends to dissolve over time. Or you can serve it on the side and allow the guests to sweeten the palitaw as they like.
How to serve and store
- Serve as a midday snack or after-meal dessert with an ice-cold drink such as calamansi juice or melon chiller.
- Do not keep at room temperature for too long as the grated coconut spoils fast, especially in warm weather.
- To refrigerate, coat with the grated coconut but skip the sesame sugar. Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. The palitaw's texture will change when cold.
More kakanin recipes
Ingredients
- ยผ cup sesame seeds
- ยฝ cup sugar
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup grated mature coconut
- water for boiling
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, toast sesame seeds, stirring frequently, for about 30 to 40 seconds or until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a bowl, combine toasted sesame seeds and sugar. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine rice flour and water and mix into a soft, pliable dough.
- Divide the dough into portions and using the palm of hands, shape into balls and then flatten into oval disks about ยผ-inch thick.
- In a pot over medium heat, bring about 5-inch deep of water into a rolling boil.
- Individually drop the rice patties into the boiling water, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the patties float to the surface,
- Using a slotted spoon, remove from the water and drain well. Arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined platter to keep from sticking together and let cool just enough to touch.
- While still warm, roll the palitaw on grated coconut to fully coat.
- Sprinkle with sesame-sugar mixture before serving.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
Marites says
Much better kung dikdikin yun sesame seeds bago ilagay o ihalo sa sugar to enhance the aroma of sesame seeds
Yen says
What brand of glutinous rice flour did you use? Can I use Mochiko brand?
Anne says
I tried 1 cup rice flour then 1/2 cup of water, parang hindi naman tulad ng nasa video. Ang labnaw ng mixture
Jerome says
Ilang araw tatagal Ang palitaw Kung di ilagay sa refrigerator
Lalaine Manalo says
Mga 3 to 4 days ๐
ashita says
Its very Helpful for me
Thanks
Lalaine Manalo says
You're welcome!
Chloe says
How many Pieces of Palitaw can I make?
tiffanie b. bertiz says
thank you for easy recipe๐๐
choi macalalad says
hi..i want to try your recipe ๐
thank you for sharing your recipe๐
God bless po๐
Lalaine Manalo says
You're welcome ๐ Enjoy!
Yunna says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. We are requested to make this for a festival. Hope everything gets well when we make this.
Btw, may i know the brand of your cook pot/pan? Thanks!
Lalaine Manalo says
My friend bought the pot from Dubai but she's not sure they're available outside of the Middle East. You can search on Amazon for granite cookware ๐
MARY JANE DELA ROSA says
I want those recipes to create food or merienda. Thank you
Lalaine Manalo says
Enjoy!
Donna says
Hi, can i use dessicated coconut instead?
Lalaine says
I've never tried using desiccated coconut and they might taste different. If you want to use them, maybe add a tablespoon or so water to the dry coconut to moisten them.
Hazel says
Yun po bang frozen grated coconut, dpat pinipigaan para po maalis yung parang panis na lasa?
Lalaine says
Hindi kailangan pegain kasi mawawalan nang flavor. It shouldn't have panis na lasa unless sira na yung coconut.
Ktine says
Ask lang bakit ang slimy ng texture ng palitaw ko, san ako nagkamali. Wala po kong iniba sa ingeduents and procedure.
Ktine says
Ingredients*
Lalaine says
The texture I think is slimy dahil natagalan ang luto sa tubig. Once they float, you need to remove them immediately from the boiling water as they will continue to cook.
MayBe says
Hello!
Made this yesterday. It was so so easy especially if you use a frozen grated coconut (thawed of course ๐ ). In my case I grated my coconut.
So delicious. Actually, I had to make again last night.
Thank you again.
Mei (MayBe)
Lalaine says
I am glad you enjoyed it! Happy holidays, neighbor!
Sultana Parvin says
Hi Lalaine,
I like your recipe. I read about you, here I like to quoted" Cooking is subjective. The recipes here reflect my personal tastes and they are for you to tweak, as necessary, to suit yours." I also mean it.
I am passionate of cooking. So you can see my blog also.
jerlin paduada says
wla po bng kutsinta recipe dito?
Lalaine says
Hello, Jerlin
Here is my recipe https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/kutsinta/ ๐
Laura says
This looks delicious! Pinning now!
Lalaine says
Thanks, Laura ๐