Baked Biko

BAKED BIKO

I love biko so much! Who doesn’t, right? The latik (coconut milk + brown sugar is cooked until it turns to molasses like) is the one that makes a biko so deliciously evil! However, it is so tedious to make—which turned me off.  Lo and behold! There is an easy way to do it.
My husband and I tried it one day and made a mess in our oven.  However, the result gave me so much pleasure and we were so satisfied with the result, even our adoptive aunties and uncles here in Chicago come back for more pieces when we served it three weeks ago.

Ingredients:
•    3 cups Thai Sweet Rice
•    2 cans thick coconut milk
•    4 cups brown sugar (you can add more or less depending to your taste of sweetness)
•    1 ½ cups water
•    ½ tsp salt

Cooking Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350°
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stir and mix well.
Pour into the deepest baking pan (I used a disposable roasting pan.)
It will be more delicious if placed over banana leaves (but this time, I had none in my freezer).
Please watch carefully when you are baking this biko; the coconut milk will turn into oil if over-baked.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Continue baking until all the liquid evaporates and you will be able to see the latik forming on top of your sticky rice (but do not overcook).
Scoop the cooked biko and place it in a serving plate then flatten the surface.
Share and enjoy with coffee!

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Ruth D. Ezra is a culinary queen in her own right through experience and training. She is a bookkeeper by profession at AllState Roadside Services in Northbrook, IL.  Her greatest delight is serving good and healthy food to her husband Heman and only daughter, Isabelle. Kit would love to receive feedback on her recipes, and exchange them with yours at ezraruth@comcast.net.