Sunday, March 01, 2009

Sapin-Sapin


This is my entry for this week's LaPiS theme: Tricolore. Not counting the latik topping, sapin-sapin itself is an interesting layer upon layer of 3 colors and flavors.

I have long been wanting to try making sapin-sapin. With the many recipes calling for rice flour or galapong or coconut milk extract (gata from kinudkod na nyog), it was not clear to me what the proportions were, what exact rice flour to use, etc. So, I chose one recipe to use as a guide, and although it listed rice flour, I used glutinous rice flour instead (hoping my common sense would lead me right). I mixed the base using hand mixer and tasted it first to decide whether I liked the sweetness, which was a bit bland for me, and the batter was quite too dry for me, so I added condensed milk (basing on another recipe which apparently comes up with very runny sapin-sapin). I had canned langka (jackfruit), leftover ube halaya and ube cream cheese filling, and half a pack of frozen shredded young coconut. I shortened the steaming time in between layers to 10 minutes instead of 15, and the final layer I kept at 15 minutes. I brushed the final outcome with coconut oil on top. I loved the taste (although the jackfruit was quite predominant if you taste all layers at once), and the consistency was perfect! Not runny nor too hard. I loved it! My younger son liked it as well (my older son has not tasted it yet to this time, and hubby is not interested (he did not like the texture).

Of course, before I made this, I prepared the latik first.


Ingredients:

The batter base:
3-1/2 cups glutinous (sticky) rice flour
1 cup white sugar (or more according to your taste)
1 can 14-oz coconut milk (Premium, Thai)
1/4 cup milk (I just added to coco milk to total 16 oz)
1/2 can 14-oz sweetened condensed milk

Flavors and colors:
food colorings (yellow and purple)
1/2 cup langka, chopped
1/2 cup shredded young coconut, chopped well
1 cup ube halaya

Instructions:

Prepare latik as previously posted.


Prepare steamer with enough water to not run out by the end of 35 minutes of steaming. Prepare bamboo steamer also by lining with banana leaves, wiped dry and brushed with coconut oil.

In a bowl, beat well the rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and condensed milk until well blended. [Taste with your finger at this point to adjust.] Divide into three and place in separate bowls.

Chop the coconut (I used the chopper). Mix with 1/3 of the batter with a spatula. Place in prepared bamboo steamer, cover (with bamboo steamer cover) and steam (with pot covered) for 10 minutes.

Chop langka. Mix with 1/3 of the batter, add 20 drops of yellow food coloring (McCormick). Mix well with spatula. Place on top of first layer. Steam for 10 minutes.

Using blender, mix the ube well with the third bowl of rice flour mixture. Add purple food coloring (I used concentrated purple coloring for cake icing, Wellington brand, by using toothpick dipped into the food coloring then swirled in the batter. I repeated doing this with fresh toothpick until I achieved the desired color. However, when cooked, I realized I added too much, since the whiteness of uncooked rice flour was gone when it was cooked, so the purple color was too pronounced at the end of cooking!). Add on the second layer and steam for 15 minutes.

Let cool. Brush top with coconut oil. Top with latik and enjoy warm or chilled!

To store: Wrap individual servings tightly with cling wrap. You may opt to chill for consumption within the next few days, or freeze by placing in freezer bag each serving wrapped in cling wrap. Reheat in microwave for 20-30 seconds (timing may vary depending on the size and wattage). Depending on your cling wrap, you may leave it on while you microwave if it is microwaveable. If not, it might melt so remove it prior to reheating, place the piece on a small plate and cover with another plate.

22 comments:

MUSHROOMSfromHOME said...

kudos! looks very delicious pero mukhang mahirap gawin. hope to do it sometime soon.

The Beancounter said...

this is one mean looking Sapinx2... cool! MIght try it....one day...

Luz said...

Hi Manang,It looks good , I do not know if I can try to do this , How long did it take you to make this? ang sipag mo talaga.Mahirap bang gawin
kesa ensaymada:)? I made cinnamon rolls with your BM ensaymada recipe yesterday it is good naubos nga eh:)

Munchkin Mommy said...

Manang! I love this! I specially like that the ingredients list isn't long at all. Sipagin sana akong gumawa ng ube. Hee hee. :)

Tangled Noodle said...

I love sapin-sapin although my husband is still trying to get used to the texture. But it's one recipe that I'll hold off making until I hone my cooking skills a bit more - otherwise, it might turn into a giant glob of goo! Thanks for the latik recipe, though - I've been wanting to make biko for the longest time. It's my absolute most favorite sticky rice dessert!

Jescel said...

wow.. my hats off to your patience. this must have taken you the whole day to do! came out nice, wish i can sample it :o)

abby said...

sarap. thanks for posting the recipe! :)

julie said...

Huwaw! Saludo ako! I do not know whether I have the patience to do this, maybe when I do not have to go to my other work anymore lol! This is a true sapin-sapin unlike those being sold in the stores na commercialized at di flavorful.

My son was smiling when he saw your photo and being a fan of ube and langka (his fave ice cream flavor) its not a surprise :D

Manang said...

you are so welcome, abby!

julie,
kung malapit ka lang sa akin, padadalhan kita..haha!
You are right, the commercial ones are like just the batter as above, with food coloring. Period. No real flavor from real ingredients. That's the beauty of homemade. Pero dahil time-consuming, it will be a once in a lifetime (hindi naman, siguro once every 2-3 years) part of Filipino gathering.

ces said...

another experiment with ube eh? i wish i can convince myself to make sapin-sapin! i know you say it's not as tedious, but just looking at it...makes me wanna just buy..if i can find one here, that is!:) byahe nalang kaya ako jan syo? hahaha!

cesAnciano said...

btw, i got curious and googled...rotini is in fact the tighter/packed/with probably a smaller diameter version of the fusilli:)'tighter helix' from wiki:)

maiylah said...

oh wow ... that looks soo good!

Taj said...

What a lovely colorful treat!!!

iska said...

Oh wow! Sapin sapin, sarap nyan! Don't know when was the last time I had a bite...
Kaya kaya ito ng powers ko?

Manang said...

Jescel,
thanks for the informative link!

ces,
thanks as well for the info! cge buy ka na lang...hopefully hindi puro flavoring makuha mo...
but to be honest, I am not that crazy about Filipino kakanin-type desserts. I just like the challenge of knowing how to prepare them, and of course, to somehow re-live Filipino traditions in my American kitchen. Not so much for the craving, but I would like to expose my kids to foods I have come to know while growing up. Probably the best return for investing time and effort to make them is when I impress my Filipino friends during get-togethers, and knowing this will be potentially one of my most popular posts.

Manang said...

maiylah and Taj,
Thanks for dropping by!

iska,
kayang-kaya ng powers mo yan!

estella said...

wow..you are really good in cooking/baking...that looks really delicious and honestly i can't cooked like you..

Elvira said...

Manang,
where did you get those molds for the sapin sapin?

Manang said...

Hi Elvira,
If you are asking about the bamboo steamer, I got it from amazon. If you are asking about the "mold" that I shaped the lone photo above with, I used biscuit cutters, which I got from Walmart. I cut the sapin-sapin with the biscuit cutters once it was chilled.

Anonymous said...

ate pano kung walang bamboo steamer pwede po ba yung stainless steamer?

Manang said...

Hi Anonymous,

Pwede basta lagyan mo ng katsa ang ilalim at saka ibabaw para hindi magtubig at baka malunod yung sapin-sapin mo.

Anonymous said...

ate do you have a recipe for tikoy? if you have kindly give me if pwede? thanks

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