Ang Sarap (A Tagalog word for "It's Delicious")

Kalamay or Calamay is a sticky sweet snack/dessert delicacy popular in the Philippines. It is made out of glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and sugar usually palm or brown sugar.  There are many types of kalamay and can be divided into two categories, one is the runny variant where it is used as a part of another dish or dessert and another one is the chewy kind where it is usually consumed on its own.  Similar to the Japanese mochi his delicacy can have different flavours like vanilla, peanut butter and also filled with purple yam or adzuki beans.

I suggest you try this one out to specially if you want to learn about the Philippine delicacies and rice cakes, a simple sweet concoction that you will love specially if you love coconut flavours, but make sure you have a strong arms before making one as cooking one of this is like a half body work out.  Anyways you will need that after eating this one!

Ingredients (Kalamay)

2 cups glutinous rice flour
2 cups equivalent of palm sugar, roughly 9-10 small pieces (the final colour of Kalamay will depend on this, I used the Thai palm sugar which is lighter in colour)
4 cups coconut cream
banana leaf

Ingredients (Latik)

2 cups coconut cream

Method (Kalamay)

1. In a non-stick pan or wok add 4 cups of coconut milk and palm sugar, leave it there without heat until it breaks up and dissolved.
2. Once dissolved add glutinous rice flour and mix well until free of lumps.
3. Turn heat on and simmer while continuously mixing.  This would be the hard part, continue mixing for 45 minutes.  On the 15th minute the mixture will become really thick and harder to mix but don’t stop and continue mixing, it will be tougher to mix as you are nearing the 45 minute mark. In the 45th minute, if you want a thicker consistency continue until the 60th minute otherwise stop.  Consistency should be something like mochi but more stiff.
4. Grease banana leaf with the oil from latik then line it in a round shallow pan, this would fit the 8 – 9 in round pan.
5. Pour mixture on the pan then top with latik; let it cool then serve hot or cold.

Method (Latik)

1. In a separate sauce pan add the coconut cream then boil, simmer in medium heat until it starts to become coconut oil, at this point lower the heat and continue stirring until curdling forms.
2. Continue cooking in low heat until the formed curdles turns golden brown, it would smell really pleasant at this point.  Continue to stir to break them up into smaller granules, once brown in colour remove from heat and stain it immediately so it does not burn.  Keep oil for future use and set aside the latik (brown granules).