Puto is also an
umbrella term for various kinds of indigenous steamed cakes, including those made without rice. The key characteristics are that they are cooked by steaming and are made with some type of flour (to contrast with
bibingka, which are baked cakes). There are exceptions, however, like
puto seko which is a baked dry cookie. The traditional
puto made with
galapong is sometimes referred to as
putong puti ("white
puto") or
putong bigas ("rice
puto) to distinguish it from other dishes also called
puto. It is also similar to
potu in
Guam. Modern variants of
puto may also use non-traditional ingredients like
ube (
purple yam),
vanilla, or
chocolate. Notable variants of
puto, as well as other dishes classified as
puto, include the following:
Rice-based puto , a type of puto'' steamed in bamboo tubes commonly sold during the
Christmas season •
Puto bagas - a
puto shaped like a concave disc that is made from ground rice (
maaw). Unlike other
puto it is baked until crunchy. It originates from the
Bicol Region. •
Puto bao - a
puto from the
Bicol region traditionally cooked in halved coconut shells lined with a banana leaf. It distinctively has a filling of sweetened coconut meat (
bukayo). •
Puto Calasiao - a
puto from
Calasiao,
Pangasinan; that is well known all over the Philippines for its melt-in-the-mouth feeling. It is a type of
puto that is shaped in small bite-sized portions. •
Puto dahon or
puto dahon saging - a
puto from the
Hiligaynon people that is traditionally cooked wrapped in a banana leaf. •
Putong lusong - an
anise-flavored
puto from
Pampanga typically served in square or rectangular slices. •
Puto Manapla – a variant specifically flavored with
anise and lined with
banana leaves. It is named after the municipality of
Manapla where it originates. •
Puto maya – more accurately, a type of
biko. It is made from
glutinous rice (usually purple glutinous rice called
tapol) soaked in water, drained and then placed into a steamer for 30 minutes. This rice mixture is then combined with coconut milk, salt, sugar and ginger juice and returned to the steamer for another 25 to 30 minutes. It is also commonly paired with ripe sweet mangoes. •
Puto pandan –
puto cooked with a knot of
pandan leaves, which imparts additional fragrance and a light green color. •
Puto-Pao – a combination of
siopao (meat-filled bun) and
puto. It uses the traditional
puto recipe but incorporates a spiced meat filling. It is similar to some traditional variants of
puto (especially in
Bulacan) that also have meat fillings. •
Putong pula - a
Tagalog puto from the
Rizal Province which uses brown
muscovado sugar, giving it a brownish color. •
Putong sulot - a version of
puto bumbong that uses white glutinous rice. Unlike
puto bumbong it is available all-year round. It originates from the province of
Pampanga and
Batangas.
Others •
Puto flan (also called
leche puto, or
puto leche) – a combination of a steamed muffin and
leche flan (custard). It uses regular flour, though there are versions that use rice flour. •
Putong kamotengkahoy - also known as
puto binggala in
Visayan and
puto a banggala in
Maranao. A small cupcake made from
cassava, grated coconut, and sugar. It is very similar to
cassava cake, except it is steamed rather than baked. •
Puto mamón – a
puto mixture that has no rice but combines egg yolks, salt and sugar. A mixture of milk and water and another of flour are alternately mixed into the yolks, then
egg whites are beaten and folded in before the dough is poured into muffin cups and steamed for 15 to 20 minutes. It is a steamed variant of
mamón, a traditional Filipino
chiffon cake. •
Puto seco (also spelled
puto seko) – a type of powdery cookie made from corn flour. The name literally means "dry
puto" in
Spanish. It is baked rather than steamed. Sometimes also called
puto masa (literally "corn dough
puto"; not to be confused with
masa podrida, a Filipino
shortbread cookie). == Gallery ==