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This palitaw recipe gets you from flour to multicolored dessert heaven in under 30 minutes. With no specialty gear needed, and no mystical rice-cake whispering required.
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Palitaw means "to appear," referring to how these rice cakes signal they're done by floating to the surface of the boiling water. Once they "appear", you know they are about to disappear just about as quickly into your belly.
Way back, it used to be made a lot like how people make mochi, by soaking, pounding, and grinding rice grains into dough, then shaping them into small rounds. Nowadays, with super-convenient pre-ground glutinous rice flour (A.K.A. sweet rice flour), pretty much no one still does it from whole rice. It's kinda like the difference in suman malagkit vs. the more whole rice tupig, am I right?
Palitaw is a common everyday kakanin, but also gets served on special occasions like Christmas and New Year's Eve. It's considered lucky-sweet for a bountiful year, sticky so loved ones stay close, and floating to the top symbolizes rising prosperity and good fortune. Superstitious vibes aside, it's just a tasty treat that my younger daughter,
Özlem, and I always enjoy the heck out of, and we bet you will too.
Whip up a batch for your next family hang, 3 p.m. sugar crash crisis, or whenever you crave something sweet but low-maintenance. The coconut-sesame-sugar combo is basically the dessert version of a mic drop.
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🥰Why you'll adore this palitaw recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Filipino recipes, this one is gloriously free from grated cheese, milk, butter, or any sneaky animal product stowaways. It also happens to be one of the Philippines' naturally gluten-free vegan recipes that everyone can get down with.
🌊 Float Test Brilliance: No timers, no stress, just watch these little discs rise to the surface when they're ready.
💨 Fast Snack Energy: From mixing to munching in under 30 minutes, making this perfect for last-minute dessert emergencies.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this palitaw was tested and tweaked by a massive team of home cooks who loved it in their kitchens all around the world.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🍥Palitaw ingredients
White Sesame Seeds
In Palitaw, toasted white sesame seeds give the topping its unmistakable nutty backbone and a satisfying aroma that wakes up the whole kitchen. You can totally use pre-roasted sesame seeds in a pinch, but freshly toasting them before pounding brings a noticeably bolder flavor and aroma to the finished topping. Toasting also makes them easier to grind into that signature coarse sesame sugar dust.
Light Brown Sugar
Light brown sugar is what I prefer for Palitaw's sesame sugar coating. If it's all you have on hand, regular white sugar works too, but it just has a less complex flavor.
Or, if you don't mess with cane sugar, palm sugar-the same kind I use to fill klepon and brush over turon-makes a stellar swap, lending a richer, almost butterscotch-like flavor to the mix.
Sweet Rice Flour
Sweet rice flour, known locally as malagkit, is non-negotiable for Palitaw's chewy, bouncy texture. Unlike regular rice flour, it's high in amylopectin, which creates that satisfying chewiness. I use this same flour to make bubur sumsum, kuih dadar, and even for whipping up vegan scrambled eggs-it's a real secret weapon to keep on hand in your kitchen arsenal.
The Extracts (Optional)
Pandan extract transforms Palitaw into a green-hued, fragrant treat, adding floral, vanilla-like notes common in many Filipino kakanin. I even use pandan extract to flavor my sago't gulaman when I want that subtle green magic in a chilled drink.
Ube extract, on the other hand, turns Palitaw purple with a light, yammy sweetness. I also use ube extract as a glaze for my karioka. Both extracts are totally optional, but they let you dress Palitaw pretty effortlessly and make it a whole lot more fun.
Coconut Meat
If you can score fresh mature coconuts (the hairy brown ones), you're golden. But if you can't find mature coconuts, or just don't want to be bothered cracking them open and grating them, skip the sad frozen stuff.
Instead, grab unsweetened desiccated coconut, splash a few tablespoons of water into a pan with it, cover, and warm gently over low heat for 5-6 minutes. Let it cool under the lid and-boom, you've got a passable stand-in that's fresh-tasting, juicy, and ready to coat these chewy little rice cakes.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Latik Topping
Trade in the sesame sugar for crispy, golden coconut curds born from slowly cooking down coconut cream-the dessert equivalent of striking caramel gold.
Stuffed Palitaw
Hideaway a nugget of sweetened red bean paste, lotus seed paste, or shredded coconut kissed with sugar inside each disc before flattening. One bite in and, surprise, a filling ambush.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make palitaw
Lock in victory on your first attempt by cruising through these step-by-step photos loaded with sneaky pro moves and cheeky tips. Or, if patience isn't your strong suit, scroll straight to the bottom for the easy-to-print recipe card-because sometimes you just need Palitaw in your face, stat.
Step One
How to Get to Sesame Street:
Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly golden. Transfer to a heatproof plate to cool.
Step Two
Rick & Mortar Pestle:
Once cooled, grind sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle or pulse in a blender or spice grinder until very coarsely ground. Mix with brown sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
Step Three
Austin Flours:
In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet rice flour, sugar, and salt.
Step Four
Dough Cry For Me Argentina:
Pour in water, mixing until a smooth, pliable dough forms.
✅ It may seem a little dry at first, but keep kneading until the rice flour is all hydrated. It should be the texture of stiff Play-Doh.
Step Five
Peter Pandan:
If using pandan or ube extract, divide the dough and knead the colors in evenly.
Step Six
They See Me Rollin':
With clean, dry hands, roll 2-tablespoon portions into balls. Flatten into oval discs about 1.5-2 inches (5 cm.) wide.
Step Seven
Boilz II Men:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Drop discs in batches. When they float, cook 30 seconds more. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a banana leaf or clean kitchen towel.
Step Eight
A Hero Ain't Coconuthing But A Sandwich:
While warm, coat each piece in grated coconut. Sprinkle generously with sesame sugar before serving.
👉Top tips
- Dough Texture is Key: It should be chewy with a little give (makunat). Knead until it forms a soft ball. If it falls apart like 200-year-old dry cookie dough that's been stored in a dusty old crypt, knead more. But don't overwork it; you want it tender and flexible, not dense or stiff. Only if, after kneading, it still feels too dry to form, add a small amount of extra water.
- Shape Your Palitaw Evenly: Size isn't really that critical, but keep them close in size to one another so they cook at the same rate. Flatten them no thinner than ¼ inch (about 5-6 mm).
- Timing is Everything: Don't overcook palitaw. If you leave them bobbing too long, they'll get waterlogged faster than overcooked pasta.
- Cook in Small Batches: If you don't have a big, wide pot, this will prevent sticking. Dumping them all in at once will create one giant clump. Each batch cooks quickly, so take your time. Once they float, scoop them out after just an extra 30 seconds.
- Drain Well: The cakes are sticky but easier to handle once coated. Before then, let them air dry for a couple of minutes, which will leave them tacky, but not wet, for easy coating. Hold off on sprinkling sugar and toasted sesame seeds until just before serving.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Likely from overcrowding. Cook in batches and keep water at a gentle boil.
If it's too soft, sprinkle in extra sweet rice flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it holds shape without sticking.
If it feels too dry at first, make sure you have thoroughly kneaded it. After that, if it's not yet the consistency of stiff Play-Doh, then knead in a tiny bit of extra water as "kneaded" (ugh, I am too much…)
❄️ Refrigerating:
Store in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. You may want to briefly steam them over low heat to soften them if they firm up from being stored.
🇵🇭You'll love these vegan Filipino desserts too:
Learn to make absurdly good vegan food from the Philippines in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Palitaw Recipe
Ingredients
Sesame Sugar:
- ¼ cup white sesame seeds
- ¼ cup light brown sugar or regular sugar
Palitaw Dough:
- 2 ¼ cups glutinous rice flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water
Optional Extracts:
- ½ teaspoon pandan extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ube extract
Coating:
- 2 cups coconut meat grated
Instructions
- Place the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and just lightly golden. Transfer to a heatproof plate and allow to cool completely.
- Once cooled, grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until coarsely ground. Combine with the sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet rice flour, sugar, and salt.
- Gradually add the water to the dry ingredients, mixing until a smooth, pliable dough forms.
- If using pandan or ube extract, divide the dough into even portions and thoroughly mix the extracts into the portions of dough until evenly colored.
- With clean, dry hands, roll 2 tablespoon-sized portions of the dough into balls. Flatten each ball into an oval disc approximately 1.5 inches round.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Drop the discs into the boiling water in batches, avoiding overcrowding. Cook until the pieces float to the surface, then allow them to cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a tray lined with a banana leaf or a clean kitchen towel.
- While still warm, coat each piece in grated coconut meat, then sprinkle generously with the sesame sugar before serving.
Notes
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Marjorie says
my childhood snack now has a vegan version and i loveee it!