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

FAQs

What is a substitute for lye in 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.

Puto cuchinta or kutsinta is a type of steamed rice cake (puto) found throughout the Philippines. It is made from a mixture of tapioca or rice flour, brown sugar and lye, enhanced with yellow food coloring or annatto extract, and steamed in small ramekins.

In this method, you're replacing lye with baking soda, both of which are alkalies. However, lye is much stronger than baking soda. Heating up baking soda in the oven turns it from sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate, making it a slightly stronger alkali that'll better replace the lye.

If you use baking soda instead of lye, you won't get the same glistening, deep brown sheen on your pretzels and baked goods, but they'll still be delicious all the same.

So if a recipe requires 1 teaspoon of lye water, simply mix 1/4 teaspoon of baked baking soda with 1 teaspoon of tap water.

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.

What is lye water? Lye water (aka Kansui, 枧水), is a food-grade alkaline solution that's used in many cuisines around the world. The ready-to-use, bottled one mainly contains potassium carbonate (K2CO3), a white alkali salt that's soluble in water. It looks like ordinary water: clear, transparent and odourless.

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

Caustic soda is sodium hydroxide which is lye - they are the exact same thing; just different names. The reason behind the different names is mainly to do with the chemical name being “sodium hydrate” and the chemical itself is “caustic or corrosive”, leading to being known as caustic soda.

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?

Cooking baking soda turns it into a compound similar to lye

It's not exactly the same substance, but it has similar chemical effects. The process of cooking baking soda is also key in producing some strongly alkaline foods like ramen noodles.