Raspberry & Chamoy Pichi Pichi

When I thought of the kakanin I wanted to include in a #PASALUBONG treat box, one of the first delicacies that came to my mind was pichi pichi. Pichi pichi are essentially mini steamed cassava cakes that are rolled in coconut. My biggest deterrent, however, was that I didn’t know where to find food-grade lye water. It’s an ingredient crucial for ensuring that each pichi pichi have the right consistency. With lye water, they become chewy instead of just soft. As soon as I stumbled across Folksy Foxy’s baking soda solution alternative to lye water, the rest was history. Even without lye water, the pichi pichi turned out exactly how I remembered having it growing up.

As for flavors, these bright raspberry and chamoy pichi pichi deviate from the traditional pandan and ube varieties of pichi pichi. The base is very simple: sugar, cassava and water; so I wanted to go bold with my take on pichi pichi. Chamoy is a Mexican condiment that is made from chiles and pickled fruit, which makes it alluringly sweet, sour, salty and spicy. My first memory of chamoy is seeing it doused all over a mangonada back in Stockton. It tastes delicious on gummy bears too! Fresh raspberry puree reserved for the other half of the recipe is a superb foil to the chamoy pichi pichi. With the seeds giving it a little extra texture, the zing of raspberries really pulls through even after they’re steamed.

Besides tasting delicious, the raspberry and chamoy pichi pichi are aesthetically pleasing. The pink and red colors are just so perfect for the Valentine’s Day motif I was going for back in February. And rolling them generously in desiccated coconut gives them both flavor and more texture. After the pichi pichi are done, they kind of give off Hostess Snoballs vibes (except they’re not sickly sweet at all)!

Pichi pichi is a delicious Filipino specialty and I hope this post inspires you to be a bit adventurous with how you flavor the ones you make at home! After all, a big part of Filipino food history and culture is making do with what you have available. When there’s a will, there is a way!