Ube Biko is sweet, chewy, and made extra yummy with purple yam and latik topping. Perfect for holiday parties and sure to be a crowd favorite!
Guys, it's going to be a hectic next three weeks here at Kawaling Pinoy! Like the previous year, I will be doing a holiday series of recipes to give you some ideas for Noche Buena and Media Noche.
I have brand new recipes I will be posting on the blog in the coming days, such as mini special sapin sapin, ube flan, everlasting, taisan, fruitcake, and many more! Make sure to check the blog daily and find something delicious to make for the holidays.
To kick off this year's series is the creamy and delicious buko salad from yesterday. There's no better dish to start our list, right? Because what is a Filipino Christmas without this Filipino fruit salad?
And next is this ube biko! Because what could be a better Filipino dessert than a creamy and chewy rice cake with purple yam flavor and latik topping?
Procedure
Like our sinukmani recipe, this biko with ube involves a three-step process. It's pretty straightforward to make, but it does require a bit of time and elbow grease to cook to the right consistency, which is thick and chewy.
- Making the Latik- prepare the golden coconut curds beforehand as the extracted oil will be used to grease the pan and rice cake for added flavor and aroma
- Steaming the glutinous rice- cook the malagkit until partially cooked as it will finish in the sweetened coconut mixture. Add a knotted pandan leaf for fragrance, if you like.
- Cooking the biko- this is the bulk of the work and will take about an hour or so. The mixture must be stirred and cooked until very thick, sticky, and pulls away from the sides of the pan. To make the process more manageable and to minimize sticking, use a wide non-stick pan as well as silicone or wooden spoon.
Cooking tips
- As with regular rice, the water to rice ratio for different brands of glutinous rice may vary and you might have to adjust the amount used to steam the rice.
- Drain the rice well after rinsing as the excess liquid will affect the texture.
- I used store-bought ube halaya which is already sweetened. If using cooked mashed ube, adjust the amount of sugar to one cup.
- The recipe will fit a 9 x 13 x 1 pan; cut it into desired sizes to serve your party!
How to serve and store
- Serve with latik topping for a midday snack or after-meal dessert.
- To store leftovers, wrap tightly with plastic film and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- To reheat, warm in the microwave at 1 to 2-minute intervals until slightly softened.
More ube favorites
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 4 cups glutinous rice
- 3 cups water
- 3 cans (13.5 ounces each) coconut milk
- 1 cup ube halaya
- ยพ cup sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 4 drops ube extract
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 baking dish
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, add the coconut cream and bring to a boil. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid starts to thicken.ย
- Lower heat and simmer. As the oil starts to separate and solids begin to form, regularly stir and scrape sides and bottom of theย pan to prevent from burning.
- Continue to cook and stir until curds turn golden brown.ย Using a fine-mesh sieve or colander, drain latik. Reserve oil.
- Grease bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 x 1 baking pan with coconut oil. Set aside.
- Wash the glutinous rice a few times until water runs almost clear. Drain well.
- In a rice cooker, combine rice and water and cook until liquid is absorbed. Allow to cool to touch and fluff with a fork to separate grains.
- Inย a wide non-stick skillet, combine coconut milk, ube halaya, sugar, and salt. Stir until well-blended.
- Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Lower heat and continue to cook until slightly reduced and thickened.
- Add ube extract and stir to distribute.
- Add rice, gently stirring toย evenly distribute.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour or until mixture is very thick, sticky, and pulls away from the sides of the pan.ย
- Spoon the biko into the prepared baking dish and pat down with a lightly greased spatula to even out.
- Lightly brush the top with coconut oil, cut into portions, and top with latik.ย
Notes
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
Susan says
Hiโฆ. Can you substitute ube flavored condensed milk to ube halayaโฆ? Thank youโฆ i like all your recipes๐ฅฐ
Axel says
Papaano makapagumpisa sa pagluluto ?
Marilou Froese says
I really like your sapin-sapin recipe any flavours do I put lemon juice fruit?
Elisa S. Marin says
i had made sticky rice with sugar topping. rice with coconut milk no Latik it is expensive full ingredient from edmonton canada pilipina. thank you much Lalaine Lโค๏ธVE Elisa
S. M. something to eaten very masarap it is eh dessert.
bernadette chua says
how about making a video of the recipe. i want to see how you make ube biko or ube kalamay i love watching yours than other filipino chef thank you
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much!
Vanessa Moffo says
My guests loved it! It was the first time I made Biko in general, although my mother made it often already. Thanks for your recipe! ๐
Virgie P says
Hi kabalen, I'm a big fan of your recipes. What brand of coconut cream do you use for latik? I tried using Mae Ploy or Chaokoh but i always failed in making the latik. It turns out dry and no oil produced to brown the curd. What am I doing wrong? Help!!!
Virgie
Lalaine Manalo says
Hello, Kabalen ๐
I usually use Arroy D. I find it thicker and less watered down than the other brands.
Jacob Petrosky says
This Biko recipe is really good. This is my first time having Ube Biko. I usually just make basic Biko. This gives Biko a unique taste that I really enjoy. Thank you for posting your recipe!
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much for your feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Lulu says
Hi there!
What kind of rice do you recommend? Sushi rice? Or a type more glutinous?
Can you recommend a brand?
Have you used Sho-Chiku-Bai Short Grain Sweet Rice? Iโm wondering if this could work?
Thanks,
Louise
Lourdes says
I will be looking for that.. giliw na giliw nako sa mga kakanin natin.. thank you
Lalaine Manalo says
Enjoy!
Anne says
Hi Ms. Lalaine! Pwedi ba kahit alikune dinan ube halaya Kasi ala kung akit keni. Atin kumu McCormick Ube extract. Magkule pa rin bang purple? Thank you.
Lalaine Manalo says
Pwede ne ing ube extract kung alang ube halaya. ๐
Anne says
Dakal a salamat atsi! ๐
Lalaine Manalo says
You're welcome ๐
Elle says
My Biko was perfect but it lost sweetness after it cooled, why is that??
Lalaine Manalo says
Sweetness is more pronounced when the food is hot but tends to mellow out when cooled.
Renea Cordova says
I really learn a lot from you mam..thank you and God bless..
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you, Renea. I am glad you find the recipes helpful.
Lynn says
I have tried a lot of your recipes and they are all good. Like they say in the Philippines, nobody can cook like the capampangans. I must be an exception because my whole family can cook and I canโt without following a recipe. Although the one time I used one can of coconut cream for latik, I feel like it didnโt produce enough latik. What do you think did I do wrong?
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi, Lynn,
Thank you for the feedback. I am glad the recipes are turning well for you.
I read somewhere that the more you stir the mixture while it's browning, you get less and smaller curds but more oil. I haven't personally tested but worth a try ๐
Lourdes says
Oh my you are superb in making all these kakanins.. i love all of them but my problem i am diabetic and i refrain from eating Sweets and carbs... with this and metformin my A1c dropped and i am maintaining it .. this Ube bico i will make to bring to a potluck party.. thank you for sharing all your Delicious recipies
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi, Lourdes,
I am happy to hear you have your blood sugar under control. Yes, definitely, proper diet is one of the ways to control diabetes. I am working on a few desserts that are a little healthier and less sweet. I hope you check them out. Happy holidays!
Kathie says
We are also diabetic and reduced amount of sweeteners and use brown glutinous rice successfully for many desserts. We are experimenting adapting our Filipino dishes so we can continue eating the foods that we were raised eating. I also consulted with my healthcare providers and dietician. They approved but We still monitor our carb intake and check our glucose. Moderation instead of elimination was great news for us and Iโm looking forward to making this together with my grandchildren again!