How to Cook Filipino Tamales

3.67 from 3 votes

Filipino Tamales is a savory and slightly sweet rice-based delicacy, wrapped in banana leaves and filled with a rich mixture of coconut cream, peanut butter, chicken, pork, and eggs.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Filipino

Keyword: filipino tamales, tamales recipe

Servings: 8 pcs

Calories: 153kcal

Author: Manny

Ingredients

3 cups rice
5 cups coconut cream thin & thick together
2 Tbsp atchuete seeds
1 cup white sugar
3 tsp powdered pepper
4 Tbsp peanut butter

Topping:

1 cup flaked chicken meat cooked
2 hard boiled eggs
1 cup cooked pork sliced into strips or 3-4 Vienna Sausage (thin-round slices)

Instructions

How to cook Filipino Tamales:

Toast rice until brown. Grind finely. Add salt and pepper. Set aside. Add achuete coloring to coconut cream. Boil in medium heat stirring constantly. Add powdered rice and sugar. Stir until well blended and thick.
Separate 1/4 of cooked mixture and add to this the peanut butter. This mixture is for topping. For each tamales, put in 2-3 tablespoons of cooked mixture on two pieces of wilted banana leaves; top with 1 tablespoon peanut-butter mixture, 1-2 slices of hard-boiled egg, flaked chicken meat and strips of pork or sausage.
Wrap to form a square and tie with a string. In a deep pan, put water enough to cover tamales. When water boils, put in tamales. Cover. Cook for 1 hour. Drain.

Notes

Cooking Tips:

Perfectly Toasting the Rice

Toasting the rice gives the dish its desired rich flavor, so stir constantly over medium heat, not letting the rice burn. When the rice goes to a light golden color, it is now ready for its grind in the tamale base.

Getting the Right Consistency in Coconut Cream

Boiling the coconut cream with achuete requires one to be a very patient person as it needs constant stirring over medium heat because it can curdle and stick inside the pan. It should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Wrapping Tamales Tidily

Wet the banana leaves slightly with an open flame or boiling water so that it will be easy to wrap. This way, you will not have tears in your tamales, which may result from cracking; this also allows for even cooking as they are well-packed. Secure them with strings to tighten them so that the filling won't run out during steaming.