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Pichi-pichi is once again another nostalgic food for me. It is often found in street markets across the Philippines. It is a super soft and wet base of cassava, sugar and water using lye water to give it a bit of structure. It is usually eating with your hands and requires a healthy coating of coconut to make it possible to pick up.
What is Pichi-Pichi?
Pichi-pichi is another Filipino dessert that falls under the umbrella term of kakanin. It is a soft, chewy sweet dessert that can be found at many a potluck. It is made with cassava and gets its texture from lye water. You could consider it a mix of kutsinta and cassava cake.
Ingredients for Pichi-Pichi
The list of ingredients for pichi-pichi is pretty short: cassava, sugar, water, lye water, salt and pandan extract. Coconut shreds or freshly grated coconut is used as a coating/topping.
All of these ingredients are naturally gluten-free and, if using vegan sugar, pichi-pichi can be vegan.
Is Lye Water Required?
An ingredient that promotes a chewy and bouncy end-product is required but it doesn’t have to be lye water! Lye water is generally cheap but you can create a homemade substitute that should work just as well.
To make the lye water substitute, mix together 1 tsp of baking powder and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then allow to cool. You can store this in an airtight jar for future use. Maybe save it for when you want to make kutsinta which also uses lye water?
Where Can I Find Cassava?
Your best bet is to find frozen grated cassava at your nearest Filipino supermarket. If you don’t have you can get whole cassava at other supermarkets (Asian, Hispanic, etc.) and grate it yourself. The frozen one is nice because all the work is done for you. It defrosts quickly when submerged in warm water.
How to Make Pichi-Pichi (Step by Step)
For full list of ingredients and detailed steps, check out the bottom of this page.
Pichi-pichi is simple to make. Just mix all the ingredients, steam it and coat in coconut and you’re ready to enjoy!
Mix the cassava, sugar, salt, water, lye water, and pandan extract in a bowl.
If using metal muffin/tart tins, generously oil each one. Fill each one while making sure to stir the mixture if it has been resting for more than a couple minutes. The cassava does settle very quickly.
Steam the pichi-pichi. Test the consistency with a chopstick or toothpick. You’re looking for something that has a bit of resistance and is no longer liquid. However, It should be a little runny on the sides.
Remove from the molds and immediately coat in grated coconut or coconut shreds.
Serve and enjoy!
Tips for Perfect Pichi-Pichi
Use frozen grated cassava for ultimate convenience. It removes so much work.
Use lye water. You can make the homemade substitute but lye water makes it much more convenient and, in my estimations, results in a perfect texture
Don’t oversteam the pichi-pichi. When steaming the cakes, the center should be just set and the edges will look runny. However, when removing from the molds, drop it straight into the grated coconut. The coconut make its possible to hold with your fingers!
FAQs
Pichi-pichi is made of cassava, sugar, water, lye water, a pinch of salt, and pandan extract for coloring and flavor. It is then coated in coconut shreds or flakes.
You can make pichi-pichi without lye water but it gives it a nice bouncy and chewy texture. You can make a substitute with 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 4 cups of water.
No. Do not substitute cassava flour for grated cassava. It will not have the same texture.
Tools
Lye Water
Lye water is key for a chewy and bouncy texture. It is generally low cost and found at any Asian grocery store.
Butterfly Pandan Extract
Butterfly brand makes extracts that are a bit thicker than the common vanilla extract. This will give your food a bright green color and a delicious pandan flavor.
Large Stainless Steel Steamer
While this isn’t the exact one I have, the most important part is that your steamer is big enough to contain everything you’re steaming. 11 inches should be sufficient.
Silicone Cupcake Molds
I use these pretty often for a lot of recipes. They get the job done very well.
Metal Muffin/Tart Cups
These muffin cups are useful for small bites. Much easier to clean than ridged cupcake molds but are not non-stick
Recipe
Pichi Pichi
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- First, prepare your steaming setup. This most likely involves boiling water so might as well get that started first.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine grated cassava, sugar, water, lye water, salt, and pandan extract.
- Prepare your molds. If you're using metal molds, be sure to oil them. If you're using non-stick molds (e.g. silicone cupcake molds), then you don't have to do anything.
- Before and while filling your molds, be sure to stir the mixture because the cassava settles quickly. Fill your molds ⅔ to ¾ full. If using standard cupcake molds, only fill ⅓. The less you fill, the less time you need to steam. Again, don't forget to stir the mixture.
- Steam the molds for 1 hour or until the middle is just set. The edges may be a little soft and runny.
- Let sit and cool for a few minutes.
- Remove the contents from the molds using a spatula and dump immediately in freshly grated coconut or shredded dried coconut.
- Since the pichi-pichi is now coated in coconut, it is ready to eat! Enjoy!
More Filipino Desserts You’ll Love
This recipe continues my series of kakanin, Filipino rice based desserts. You can find the others on my website:
- Puto is a soft and fluffy rice cake topped with something salty. In my case, American yellow cheese.
- Cassava Cake is a bouncier flan that uses cassava as a base. It is topped with custard.
- My siblings fight over kutsinta, a sugar and glutinous rice mixture that is steamed.
- Palitaw is probably the most basic and easiest kakanin you can make.
- Biko is caramelized sticky rice on a bed of banana leaves that is my favorite of all kakanin
- The iconic tri-colored sapin-sapin has a blend of flavors while catching the eye