Kutsinta Recipe (Kutchinta) - Today's Delight (2024)

FAQs

What is the substitute for lye water in making kutsinta? ›

Lye water (or potassium carbonate) is a traditional ingredient that contributes to the unique chewy texture of Kutsinta. However, if you prefer to avoid lye water, you can substitute it with baking powder & water mixture for a slightly different texture.

Food-grade Lye water- locally known as lihiya. It softens the texture for a chewy texture and boosts color. Add sparingly as it can impart a bitter taste.

Too much lye water or baking soda can also taste bitter. To avoid this, measure the ingredients accurately and follow the recipe instructions closely. Another possible reason for bitterness is overcooking the kutsinta.

kutsinta (a red or yellow steamed rice cake with a chewy, jelly-like consistency, popular in the Philippines)

You only need two ingredients for homemade lye water: Baked baking soda and water. Mix them at a 1:4 ratio. Then you're ready to use it! It couldn't be simpler, right?

Black Kutsinta is made the same way as my Kutsinta, with tapioca flour, all-purpose flour, and brown sugar. But instead of using annatto, these sticky round cakes are made using blackstrap molasses. It is extra delicious with a rich and smoky flavor, even more so when topped with sweet sesame and coconut toppings.

A lye is an alkali metal hydroxide. Traditionally it was obtained by using rainwater to leach wood ashes, which are strongly alkaline and highly soluble in water, of their potassium hydroxide (KOH), producing lye water, a caustic basic solution.

Squash Kutsinta. Boiled, mashed squash is added to all-purpose flour dissolved in melted sugar. Lye solution is added to well blended mixture, poured into muffin pans and steamed. One piece of cooked kutsinta weighing about 45 g contains 91 calories, 1.1 g protein and 20 mcg RE.

Puto cuchinta or kutsinta is a type of steamed rice cake (puto) found throughout the Philippines.

What is a fun fact about kutsinta? ›

The kutsinta was thought to have sprung up at the same time as its pasty counterpart, but the origins of its name remain a mystery. It has been theorized, however, that its name might have a connection to an obsolete piece of kitchen equipment responsible for its flattened, saucer-like shape.

The word 'Kutsinta' comes from the Chinese word 'Kueh Tsin Tao'. The word 'Kush' in Hokkien language means a little cake or cookie for snack, more often steamed than baked.

Still, some soap-makers make a point of positioning themselves as lye “alternatives,” insisting – for example – they use glycerin instead, or make their soap without the involvement of lye.

Just spread a layer of soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour. You'll lose about a third of the soda's weight in water and carbon dioxide, but you gain a stronger alkali.

Add ½ to 1 tsp (3-6 g) of baking soda into 8 oz (237 mL) of water. Baking soda is a natural cooking ingredient that's also highly alkaline.

Lye water also known as kansui, is a food grade potent liquid alkaline – a food grade potassium carbonate solution.