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Filipinos love native delicacies like bibingka, and kutsinta is one of them.
Although this didn’t originate in the Philippines, it’s been adopted as a Filipino food, which has become a regular on menus during festivities.
Kutsinta was derived from the words “kueh tsin tao”, which is a Chinese phrase that means “little cake”. This food can be served as a dessert or snack.
You can find kutsinta all over the Philippines. There are street vendors selling them, as well as mall shops.
The kutsinta recipe is actually a type of puto or steamed rice cake. This type of delicacy isn’t that sweet, so if you’re watching your sugar levels, you can give this a try and for sure you won’t regret it!
In this post we'll cover:
Kutsinta recipe tips and preparation
In the past, they use ground rice to make kutsinta. But nowadays, they’ve replaced it with glutinous rice flour for faster preparation and cooking.
It’ll take only about an hour of preparing and cooking, so you won’t have to wait very long before you can finally enjoy this wonderful recipe!
You just have to make sure that the flour is dissolved thoroughly. The food coloring will make this appear reddish-brown and you’ll adore its jelly-like appearance.
For perfect results, it should also have the following; lye water, sugar, rice flour, and annato (atsuete) seeds.
Grated mature coconut meat should be sprinkled on top of the kutsinta to add more flavor and make it all the more delectable for you and your family.
You can also put on latik, as some do. Just like any other native delicacy, this is best partnered with sago and gulaman, or soda if you like.
The kids and adults alike will definitely have a wonderful experience once they get to taste what you’ve prepared for them. Your friends might even ask for your recipe and try cooking it themselves once they get a taste of your kutsinta!
Homemade Filipino kutsinta recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ tsp lye water
- Anato or atsuete (dissolved in about 1 tbsp water)
- 2 cups water
- Grated coconut for toppings
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients: flour, sugar, lye water, anato, and water. Whisk until it's all properly mixed together.
- Use a strainer to strain any lumps.
- Boil a good amount of water in a steamer.
- Rub some oil on the molds to avoid the mixture from sticking. And it’s easy to take out from the molds once cooked.
- Put a good amount on each mold.
- Steam with LOW HEAT for about 30 minutes. Again, it should be on LOW HEAT.
- Let cool and remove from molds.
- You can sprinkle some grated coconut meat or cheese. Now it's ready to serve!
Nutrition
Check out YouTube user Panlasang Pinoy’s video on making kutsinta:
Serving and health benefits
Indulging in this very enticing delicacy won’t only satisfy your hungry tummy and palate, but it’s also excellent for your health because it’s loaded with many benefits for the body!
It contains a little bit of fat, which is also a vital nutrient. Dietary fats help the body in absorbing vitamins and it also aids in proper growth.
It also contains about 3.5 grams of protein per cup of serving. Protein is essential to the body because it helps the structure of the muscles, skin, and other tissues in the body. Protein is also very important for the body’s energy.
Also check out these colorful sapin-sapin rice cakes
Serve up some kutsinta the next time you have people over
Now, who will say that all sweet foods are bad? It’d be nice to know that while you’re enjoying this to your heart’s content, your body is getting the benefits it needs.
It’s time to have something to eat without the guilt of feeling that you’re hurting your body and your health in particular.
So it wouldn’t be too much to say that the kutsinta recipe is something that should be served in your household every now and then.
Salamat at mabuhay!!
Also check out these homemade palitaw Filipino rice cakes
Ever had trouble finding Japanese recipes that were easy to make?
We now have "cooking Japanese with ease", our full recipe book and video course with step-by-step tutorials on your favorite recipes.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
