Biko is a Filipino dessert made with glutinous rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar. It’s an easy and simple homemade dessert that is popularly served at parties and gatherings. Take care... the caramel topping can be addictive. Serves 14-18.
Biko | Filipino sticky rice cake
METHOD:
Ingredient Notes:
Leftovers and Storage Notes:
- Place rice in a large bowl. Cover with cool water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse rice. Drain and set aside.*
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Generously butter an oven safe 9×13-inch casserole pan.
- Reserve ¾ cup of coconut milk. Pour remaining coconut milk and 1 ½ cups water in a large sauce pot. Set over medium heat and cook until mixture begins to simmer. Add drained rice. Stir often, making sure rice does not burn along the sides of the pot. Continue to cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes until rice has soaked up most of the liquid.
- Reduce heat and add 1 ½ cups brown sugar and salt to rice mixture. Continue to cook, another 5-8 minutes, stirring often. Taste a small amount of rice to check it is cooked through. At this point, the mixture should be thick and sticky. Transfer cooked rice mixture into prepared pan. Spread into an even layer.
- In a small sauce pot, combine reserved coconut milk and remaining 1 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly, 3-5 minutes, before gently pouring over rice mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour, until brown sugar topping has thickened and is bubbling. Allow to cool slightly before serving. The caramel topping will be very hot.
Ingredient Notes:
- Soaking the rice overnight speeds up the cooking process.
- Soaking the rice is not necessary. You can cook the rice over the stove with the coconut milk and water mixture. Rinse and drain the rice before adding to coconut milk mixture. You will have increase the amount of water in the recipe to ensure the rice is cooked through.
- Glutinous rice is also known as a sweet rice, sticky rice, or malagkit. Contrary to it’s name, it does not contain any gluten. Glutinous rice is a type of short grain rice known for it’s high starch content.
Leftovers and Storage Notes:
- Biko can be stored at room temperature for one day. Afterwards, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm up biko for a few seconds in the microwave, or enjoy chilled or at room temperature.