Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Buko (Coconut) Pie

very think and hard flesh of mature coconutBefore Christmas, I bought a coconut that I saw at Hannaford, the kind that we would label as niyog in PI. My plan was to make a buko pie with it, according to the recipe that stel gave to me. I waited til the 23rd to see what kind of coconut it was. I was dismayed at what I saw...I had half-expected it, but I was hoping it was not so - a very mature coconut. I got the coconut water, then tried to scoop thin flesh, but I found it too hard for the spoon. I got a fork, and I came up with nyog that we usually use on puto, kutsinta, etc...you get the idea.

I stored the nyog in a jar in a fridge, thinking of what to do next.



Then I opened the macapuno jar that Joanne gave me, but found it too mature to be labeled as macapuno...hmmmm...but not too mature to be used in buko pie.



So, I got stel's recipe and proceeded with my experiment.



The ingredients as per stel's recipe were:



2 cups buko meat (which I did not have; I had the whole jar of macapuno with its syrup)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup coconut water

1/2 1/2 cup evaporated milk (I used fresh milk)

1/2 cup starch



I forgot to look at her instructions (I scribbled it alongside other notes from the net), which called for cooking the mixture and stirring continuously then pouring it into a pastry-lined pan, to top with the 2nd crust then baked at 400 deg F til brown. What I actually did was to pour directly the uncooked mixture into the pastry-lined pan, top with the second crust, brush with eggwash, bake at 400 deg for 15 minutes then a further45 minutes at 325 deg F.



After it has cooled down to a comfortable-to-the-palate warmth, buko pie cooling down on a wire rackI started gobbling it up. Shared it with hubby, who could not decide whether he liked it or not, but he kept tasting it again and again that he ate half of the slice, saying, "It's different; the texture is interesting. I still can't decide whether I like it or not...maybe I'll have a slice when I come back. (He was about to go to the local store to get his supply of Pepsi, a habit I find hard to break for his own sake.) I was thrilled that he seemed to have liked it, but the novelty of the texture and taste (they are used to tart-sweet gooey fruit pies, whereas we Filipinos like em sweet and with a definite form).



My older son was hooked to it, he asked for another. My younger did not even try. When hubby came back, I was ready to offer him a slice while it was still warm, but he declined because he had to use the bathroom...Oooops...guess those who are not used to coconut will always have to deal with that problem initially. I and older son enjoyed it for the next 2 days, reheating the pie for several minutes in the oven toaster.Posted by Hello

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi im Ivy from Holland but originally from Camiguin Island. I would like to thank you for sharing your blog to wannabee cooks like me, i had been looking for buko pie recipe and at last i found it on ur site..

Many thanks!! More Power!!

Anonymous said...

Hello, I'm Ruth from Pennsylvania, I would like to thank you for the buko pie recipe that i found in your site, I didn't try the recipe yet, but i will tell you what's the outcome...

Anonymous said...

Glad to find out your buko pie recipe on the web. I'm also from Mambajao, Camiguin and now based in Boston. Hi to Ivy from Holland.

Manang said...

Hi Ivy, Ruth and anon from Boston.
I hope you had liked the buko pie.
As for me, I am looking into trying a more buko-ey pie when I go to PI for a vacation. Maybe I will buy lots of young coconuts, use some drops of lemon to sprinkle onto the buko meat, toss with about 1 cup sugar plus 3 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca flour and let it stand while I prepare the crust on the pie plate. This method is now what I use for my apple pie (just a small difference on the sugar, and some spices to go with it).

Gary E said...

Thanks for the recipe. I haven't tasted Collette's from San Pedro since I shared my last slice with my parents after flying home from Manila. This is Gary Murphy. My email is indianawriter@gmail.com. When did I talk to you last? I believe I asked you about travels to Philippines, my fiancee from Muntinlupa named Genalyn Reyes, and her mother from Iloilo! I hope you remember me, but I do not know which email I used back then. Please contact me when you're able. I will write to you.

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