Puto
Puto
Steamed puto in a bamboo steamer—fluffy rice cakes with cheese, salted egg, and niyog toppings (Puto Biñan style).
Serves 18 · 55 min total time
The Story
Puto is everyday merienda and fiesta kakanin—small, steamed rice cakes that should look snowy white with cracked domed tops. Made from galapong or fine rice flour, puto is one of the oldest steamed rice breads in Filipino cooking.
Plain puto pairs with dinuguan at Sunday breakfast—the soft cake soaking dark gravy is a classic Kapampangan and Tagalog pairing. Dressed puto with cheese, salted egg, or fresh coconut turned the humble cake into party food.
From bamboo steamers lined with banana leaf to metal pans in backyard kitchens, the technique stayed: steam until domed, never brown the tops. Puto proves that Filipino celebration food often comes from the simplest staple—rice, transformed.
Best paired with
Dinuguan (plain puto) · cheese puto for merienda on its own
Techniques for fluffy puto
- Rolling boil before batter — Weak steam makes puto dense and sunken; water must be furiously boiling when you cover the steamer.
- Banana leaf liner — Softens with a quick pass over flame; adds subtle tea-like aroma and stops sticking.
- Cracked domed tops — Come from baking powder + gentle folding; do not overmix or open the lid early.
- Toppings before steaming — Cheese, salted egg, and niyog go on raw batter so they melt and set into the cake.
Regional styles of puto
Same steaming method—batter and toppings change by province.
Puto Biñan (Laguna) — default here
Soft white puto with cheese and/or salted egg + niyog—the fiesta steamer look in your photo. Sweet, slightly rich batter.
Plain puto (Ilocano pairing)
No toppings—just white cakes for scooping dinuguan. Often smaller molds.
Puto pandan (Visayas / Southern Luzon)
Pandan extract or juice in the batter for green color and floral aroma—usually plain or with cheese.
Puto cheese (Manila street)
Muffin-size puto with cheddar only—sold at merienda stalls; same batter, one topping.
Puto galapong (traditional)
Soaked ground rice fermented overnight—tangier, airier crumb. More work; closest to old vendors.
Related: puto bumbong
Purple steamed tubes from glutinous rice—Christmas specialty, different mold and batter (not this recipe).
Cooking outside the Philippines
- Bamboo steamer → Asian grocery steamer basket; or metal steamer with muffin liners
- Banana leaves → frozen from Filipino/Thai markets; parchment paper if unavailable
- Salted duck egg → vacuum-packed at Chinese markets; boil if raw before slicing
- Rice flour → labeled “rice flour” not glutinous rice flour (that's for bumbong)
Lola's Tips
- ✦Fill molds only three-quarters—puto rises high and can stick to the lid.
- ✦Mix cheese and salted-egg batches in one steamer like the photo for a party platter.
- ✦Coconut milk in the batter (instead of cow's milk) gives a subtle tropical sweetness.
Substitutions
- coconut milk → fresh milk or water (less aroma, still works)
- salted duck egg → cheese-only topping, or skip for plain puto
- cheddar → Eden or quick-melt cheese common in the Philippines
Ingredients
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Instructions
- 1
Start your steamer water on high so it is at a rolling boil before batter goes in. Cut banana leaves to fit a bamboo steamer or muffin molds; briefly pass leaves over flame until pliable, then line the steamer—the leaf adds aroma like the photo.
- 2
Whisk rice flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- 3
Beat eggs with coconut milk (or milk) and vanilla if using. Pour wet into dry and fold until smooth—small lumps are fine. Stir in vinegar if using for extra lift. Batter should be thick but pourable.
- 4
Fill molds or paper cups about three-quarters full and arrange in the lined steamer. For the Biñan-style platter in the photo: top half with grated cheese, the other half with a thin slice of salted egg plus a pinch of grated coconut.
- 5
Cover and steam on high 15–18 minutes without lifting the lid. Puto is done when tops are domed with fine cracks, springy to touch, and a toothpick comes out clean.
- 6
Turn off heat; rest covered 2 minutes. Remove puto carefully—they are fragile while hot.
- 7
Serve warm from the steamer for merienda, or with dinuguan for scooping. Best eaten the same day.
- 8
To reheat: steam again 5 minutes or microwave 15 seconds wrapped in a damp towel.
Kitchen Timer · prep first
25:00
