Kalamay

Kalamay

Kalamay from Bohol packaged inside empty coconut shells.
Alternative names	Calamay
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Philippines
Region or state	Visayas, Southern Luzon
Serving temperature	Hot, room temperature, cold
Main ingredients	Coconut milk, glutinous rice, brown sugar
Variations	Biko

Kalamay (also spelled Calamay), which means "sugar", is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. They can also be flavored with margarine, peanut butter, or vanilla. Kalamay can be eaten alone but is usually used as a sweetener for a number of Filipino desserts and beverages. It is similar to the Chinese Nian gao (also known as tikoy in the Philippines) but is sweeter and more viscous. A cousin of kalamay is dodol, found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and in some parts of the Philippines.

Kalamay is made by extracting coconut milk from grated coconuts twice. Glutinous rice is added to the first batch of coconut milk and the mixture is ground into a paste. Brown sugar is added to the second batch of coconut milk and boiled for several hours to make latík. The mixture of ground glutinous rice and coconut milk is then poured into the latík and stirred until the consistency becomes very thick. It can be served hot or at room temperature especially when eaten with other dishes. Viscous Kalamay are often served cooled to make it less runny and easier to eat.

Kalamay is a popular pasalubong (the Filipino tradition of a homecoming gift). They are often eaten alone, directly from the packaging.Kalamay is also used in a variety of traditional Filipino dishes as a sweetener, including the suman and the bukayo. It can also be added to beverages like coffee, milk, or hot chocolate.

Biko and sinukmani are similar dishes which use whole glutinous rice grains. The preparation is the same except that the glutinous rice is first cooked whole and not ground into a paste, and then is smothered with the latík. In some regions (particularly in the Northern Philippines), this dish is referred to as the kalamay, with the viscous kind differentiated as the kalamay-hati.