Motse ni Patsa

“When my grandmother Fidela Alvarez-Villar was alive, a host of ‘relatives’ visited our Manila home in a steady stream. Some even lived with us for years. Imagine my surprise later on when I learned that more than half were actually ‘relatives of choice’—friends whom my grandmother treated as family through the years. One of them was Patsa, the family cook, whom I thought was yet another lola. Never mind that she spoke in that lilting Bulacan accent and had none of grandmother’s tisay features. Patsa cooked traditional Tagalog/Bulacan dishes and fanned us (out of habit) while recounting stories about the food she cooked while we ate. She used to cook this merienda for us but called it something else that I cannot remember. It was only when I was doing my research about Filipino food that I found out what it was called.”

Makes 12 to 15 pieces   Prep Time 1 hour plus overnight marinating   Cooking Time 20 minutes

1 cup red or green mung beans (munggo)
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup glutinous rice (galapong)

1  Soak munggo in water overnight. Next morning, drain then skin the beans.

2  Boil skinned beans with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups water, and mash until you get a smooth, spreadable consistency. Set aside.

3  Gradually add coconut milk to galapong and mix until you get a malleable consistency.

4  Form into small balls.

5  Press a finger at the center of the balls then fill with the sweet bean filling. Use a little water to moisten the balls if they begin to dry up. Seal well so the filling stays put.

6  Boil 1 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar until it becomes quite syrupy, about 20 minutes.

7  Drop the filled galapong balls in the simmering syrup and cook until they turn translucent. Serve warm, not hot.

Filling tip  Experiment with other bean and root crop fillings. Try ube halea, garbanzos, or sweetened mashed camote.

Photography by Lilen Uy | Produced & Styled by Angelo Comsti | Props from Rustan’s Department Store

• Mae Mar 20 2010 @ 10:55pm Report Abuse

     

  When I first saw this picture I thought this was a doppelganger for boiled eggs. Ha!ha!ha! This is easy to make.
• poty Mar 20 2010 @ 05:39pm Report Abuse

     

  motse mochi. you know... the japanese mochi balls? they have sweet bean paste in them too.
• Marge88 Mar 20 2010 @ 09:00am Report Abuse

     

  Hey Joan there really is a chinese version of it and it's the inside consist of ground peanut with sugar. And we chinese come out with many version of this recipe there is also one that have black sesame seed as filling
• joan Mar 20 2010 @ 08:29am Report Abuse

     

  this looks like a chinese version that i tasted recently in taoist temple