Appetizers Recipes - Rice Cakes with Coconut (Puto Maya) Recipe

Ingredients

• 150g/5oz/scant 1 cup jasmine rice

• 400ml/14fl oz/1 2/3 cups boiling water

For the dip:

• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), coarsely chopped

• 90g/3 1/2oz cooked prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined

• 250ml/1 cup coconut milk

• 15ml/1 tbsp fish sauce

• 15ml/1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 15ml/1 tbsp tamarind juice, made by mixing tamarind pulp with warm water

• 5ml/1 tsp palm sugar (jaggery) or light muscovado (brown) sugar

• 30ml/2 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

• 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped

Serves 4-6

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Method:

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve (strainer) under running cold water until the water runs clear; then place the rice in a large, heavy pan and pour over the measured boiling water.

2. Stir; bring back to the boil, then simmer; uncovered, for 15 minutes, by which time almost all the water should have been absorbed.

3. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting - use a heat diffuser if you have one. Cook the rice for a further 2 hours. by which time it should be crisp and stuck to the base of the pan.

4. Continue to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, until the sides of the rice cake begin to come away from the edges of the pan.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Remove the rice cake carefully and place it on a baking sheet. Bake the rice cake for 20 minutes, until it is crisp, then leave it to cool.

6. Meanwhile, make the dip. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process to a smooth paste. Tip into a wide serving bowl.

7. Serve the rice cake with the dip. It can either be left whole for guests to break. or sliced or broken into pieces by the cook.

Note: These rice cakes take time to prepare but are very easy to make.