Why Davao City’s Puto Maya & Hot Tsokolate is a Perfect Combo

This steamed rice cake and hot chocolate will surely keep you warm on rainy days.

When the rain falls so hard and you just want to burrow in your blankets and lie down in bed the whole day, here’s something that would warm you up— puto maya at tsokolate.

 

Puto maya is steamed rice cake cooked in coconut milk and ginger. The well-loved kakanin is the perfect partner for Filipino hot chocolate because they complement each others’ taste.

In Davao City, the best place to have puto maya is at the Bangkerohan Public Market where they serve it, day in, day out and all year round.

The tsokolate comes from local cacao producers who process it into tableya.  You get to see your tsokolate made right before your eyes.

You want something warmer?

They also serve hot chocolate mixed with raw egg and tuba or coconut wine and they call it Kinutil.  Pretty heady for those who are not used to it but it sure does get you warmer.

Some prefer to eat ripe sweet mangoes together with the puto maya to make it tastier.

So, you want to have puto maya and tsokolate?  Here’s a simple recipe on how to make puto maya.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of sticky or glutinous rice (malagkit)
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • Slices of ginger
  • Salt to taste
  1. Soak malagkit rice overnight.
  2. Day after, drain the malagkit completely.
  3. Add 2 tbsps of sugar and a dash of salt to the drained rice. Mix well.
  4. In a steamer, place banana leaf.
  5. Place the rice mixture on the banana leaf, cover with banana leaf then steam for around 10 minutes. Make sure your steamer is covered.
  6. When the water on the steamer starts to boil, add ¼ of the coconut milk and a few ginger, mix well then cover again.
  7. When the rice is already half cooked, add the other ¼ coconut milk or just enough to cook the rice.  Don’t add too much as it would make the rice too wet.
  8. If you want it sweeter, add more sugar.
  9. Cover then check the mixture from time to time until rice is well cooked.

For your tsokolate, just buy local tableya and add to boiling water.

This rainy season, stay warm with puto maya and tsokolate!

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