Biko (sticky rice cake)
My grandmother used to buy biko whenever she went to the market. As soon as she arrived, she would call me and my brother and we would have biko for our mid-morning merienda. That was decades ago. When I became a mommy, I introduced my daughters to biko and we have a lot of fond memories associated with it. Probably the most memorable is how my daughter lost her first baby tooth while eating biko when the loose tooth got stuck in the sticky rice cake. Fortunately, she felt it before swallowing.
But what is biko? It is a cake made from glutinous rice cooked in sweetened coconut milk and topped with latik (curdled coconut cream). I was surprised to find a description of biko in another site as a rice cake with caramel topping so when I went to the market earlier today, I asked the hawkers the proper names for the different rice cakes on display. The consensus? What I’ve known from childhood as biko is indeed called biko and the one topped with caramelized sugar and coconut cream is called bibingkang malagkit. I must concede though that biko might be called by some other name in non-Tagalog speaking regions of the Philippines.
No, I did not cook the biko in the photo. I bought it in the market (outside the market, if we have to be precise) along with the puto which I ate for breakfast when I got home. So, anyone who posts a comment asking for a recipe of biko is presumed to be a person who comments without first reading what he/she is commenting on and who deserves to be ignored.
The good news, however, is that I am experimenting on how to make biko. It cannot be as simple as cooking glutinous rice and sugar in coconut milk. I’ve done that and the individual rice grains were cloudy instead of clear. I’m thinking that, perhaps, the rice is soaked then steamed after adding coconut oil. We’ll see how future experiments turn out.
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We cook biko by cooking the malagkit in 2nd extraction coconut milk. Then we cook up a sugar syrup until it reaches the soft ball stage and then add in the cooked malagkit. Stir until the syrup is absorbed. Pour into a tray lined with banana leaves smeared with coconut oil. Cut into diamonds. Top with latik made from the coconut cream.
Oh and yes we also call the one with the coconut cream topping as bibingkang malagkit.
Marical, thank you! Will try it soon. Very soon.
I think this is the equivalent of sinukmani of the Tagalog. I grew up knowing it as biko but it became sinukmani when we came to Laguna. Isn’t it surprising that just three ingredients – rice, coconut and sugar can equate to different rice cakes? If you grind the rice, you get bibingka, puto, etc…
I haven’t cooked biko yet, but I know you steam the rice first (not sure if with coconut milk ha). Then make latik from sugar and coconut cream. When it starts to oil, I think that’s the time you add the steamed rice. I can’t remember at what point rally you should add the steam rice. If too early, the biko spoils easily.
You are welcome! I forgot to tell you that we pat the cooked biko into the desired thickness with our fingers wrapped in oiled banana leaves. Cut the biko while still hot using a knife wrapped with an oiled strip of banana leaves.
tama po c ms. maricel. we also cook biko that way. for added flavor. you can add lemon zest in the sugar syrup while cooking.
Hi there–I love biko, but growing up my mom just called it bibingka. They did not teach us Tagalog, so I think it was a shortcut of a name.
At any rate, she soaked the rice overnight, then strained it, added it to a pan of coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar or brown sugar, and a dash of salt. She warmed everything enough just to be able to taste the sweetness of the mix, and then put it into a baking dish, covered it (baked at 350 for about 30 minutes, checking rice tenderness to be sure).
When the rice cake was tender, she made the topping–coconut cream, brown sugar, a pinch of salt. She curdled the cream and cooked the topping until it was close to caramelized, and then she spread it over the rice cake and broiled it to finish the caramelization. The rice was a lovely, translucent and gooey texture, the topping a coconut, toasted treat. I love it–
Mmmm…I love biko! I used to make it a lot a few years back. I’ll try to find the recipe again.
If I remember it right, sinasaing muna ng Nanay ko ang malagkit pero hindi yung lutong-luto. Tapos lulutuin nya ulit sa coconut milk with sugar.
Hello Ms. Connie,
In Pangasinan, Biko is also Biko pero yung kakanin with caramelized topping we call it LATIK or NILATIKAN. You don’t need to soak the malagkit in water or in coconut milk. Just cook it in rice cooker the way you do regular rice except unplug the Cooker as soon as it beeps so its not fully cooked. For topping I just use a bottle of matamis na bao with a little bit of coonut milk. I learned this from a friend. Its always a hit in Filipino parties.
cant wait for the biko recipe. hehehe…
my lola used to cook biko and she used malagkit rice, i think 1st extracted coconut milk and brown sugar.
mmmm… yummy… ive been looking almost all over the net for a recipe of biko. i even tried to search here but didnt find any…
tnx
s it possible if i’ll use canned coconut milk in this recipe?
Hi! I love biko, however for us kapampangan biko would include grated squash with the ingredients that is why ‘our’ biko is yellowish.
The way we cook biko is also similar to what brenda mentioned:
…sinasaing muna ang malagkit pero hindi yung lutong-luto. Tapos lulutuin nya ulit sa coconut milk with sugar…
plus ung grated the squash isasama dun. Tapos lalagyan ng latik kapag luto na…
hey, what’s the recipe for that? i want to try that.
i was looking for a biko recipe. akala ko naman meron ka.
it’s also called sinukmani, and my folks in pampanga, they add unpeeled squash slices. adds an interesting texture. try mo.
i tried the thai version (which they usually serve with mangoes), pero di ko type. i want it a bit makunat (ano english non?), not mushy.
Ruth, chewy — I think?
The lazy person’s recipe for cooking biko in America:
1. Cook 1 cup of glutinous rice plus 2.5 cups of water in rice cooker.
2. When done, add 1 can of coconut milk and mix well.
3. Move to a baking pan and flatten.
4. Pour one whole jar of cocojam and spread evenly.
5. Broil on high for 10-20 minutes depending on how dark/crunchy you want the topping to be.
My co-workers love this and think it took me forever to make it.
LOL I love that, Maria! I think I’ll try it.
Thanks.
lol! im gonna keep that recipe in mind maria. once i find cocojam here heheh! thanks!
Clarification lang po
Bibingka is totally different from Biko. It is not a question whether it is a Tagalog or not. They both Tagalog but definitely two different items. Biko comes on a form of rice and but Bibingka is more refined and can come in differnt colour.
I think I like Maria’s version of cooking this biko. I remember nakaputol ako ng sandok kakahalo ng malagkit. But the result, combined with the effort it took me to prepare, made that biko the best I ever had! My officemates like the bibingka from Kika’s, located somewhere in Sumulong.
Yeah so many ways of cooking biko hehe. I’m Ilocano and we consider it a specialty..I only knew it was called “kankanen” and when I moved to Laguna I kept wondering where I could get another bite of my favorite dessert. Only to find out it was called “Biko” lol. After some experimenting with what I could remember and calling/texting my mom I came up with:
1. Cook malagkit in rice cooker. 2 cups of malagkit to 1 cup of water. When it’s done it will come out dry and a bit undercooked. If you cook it like normal rice (1 is to 1) it turns out too mushy and too soft and you still have to cook it in the coconut gata.
2. Cook in coconut gata with sugar. Add latik toppings.
Hope this helps!