Tamales, originally is a Mexican delicacy made from corn masa (a finely ground corn flour made into a dough) with chicken, pork or beef wrap in corn husk or banana leaves. Our local version is made out of rice, coconut milk, sugar, pork, chicken meat, boiled eggs and sausage then wrapped in banana leaves. This recipe is a Filipino version of tamales. Well known in Cavite and also in Pampangga.
To cook this 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, 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. Continue reading for the complete recipe with exact measurements of ingredients.
How to Cook Filipino Tamales
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.
Correction: In some of the comments below, star ratings were mistakenly included. These have now been removed for transparency. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
The best tamales that I always tried to have in the philippines is a
made is San Juan Batangas. Is it possible to get this recipe from that place?. thank you. I believe it uses ground peanut mixed with toasted brown rice instead of peanut butter. thanks. I would appreciate your help.
Hi Elvira, I’ll try to find the recipe for you and post is as soon as I have it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi I’d like to know ano ang size ng banana leaves to cut
Hi Adeline, about 8 x 8 inches of banana leaves.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I really miss the filipino version of tamales. Can we use rice flour instead?
Hi Alelie, I think you can use rice flour.
Hello may I know what kind of peanut butter is good to use thanks
Hi, I think you can use any kind of peanut butter.
Hi Benjamin, thanks for the info. I corrected the post already.
Excellent article! But I have to correct you on one thing though, tamales ARE NOT a Spanish delicacy but a Meso American (Mexico -Central America). Maize or better known as corn was domesticated 10,000 years ago by indigenous peoples from Mexico and used tamales to transport food from place to place.
Thank you for sharing your recipie of tamales,but is it okay to use rice flour instead of regular rice?
Kapampangan tamales don’t have sugar. Kapampangan tamales are not sweet.
ooppss, i meant to ask: what’s the measurement of the salt and powdered rice?
thanks again,
josie
@Josie
the powdered rice is the 3 cups rice which is toasted and grounded. The salt depends on your taste.
thanks for publishing this recipe, but am I missing some ingredients? The recipe called for salt and powdered rice, but they are not mentioned in the ingredients. So, much much salt and powdered rice do I need?
Thank,
josie
I thank you so much for sharing your recipe with me. I really love our Filipino Tamales. When I was young in Pampanga my late grandpa used to buy me Tamale that he called “Botu-botu” for my breakfast. I really like the thicker Tamale. Until now, they are my favorites. I can eat 3 at the same time. However, I always eat only a maximum of two. I always say, “JOhn na pa!”
Thanks a lot!
what’s the use of 2 cups of white sugar?