How to make your own stuffed Puto Bao at home

Puto Bao is a classic Filipino snack that's both easy to eat and easy to make. You won't even need a lot of equipment — just a steamer, your hands, and a few ingredients.

GMA-7's "Unang Hirit" featured a recipe by Andy Cagiutla, who started a puto bao business in Tanawan City, Batangas to earn some extra income during the lockdown.

Caguitla also showed viewers how to make his special version of puto bao stuffed with different kinds of delicious fillings like bucayo, matcha, langka, macapuno, and ube.

1. Start by pre-cooking the filling, which is really just sugar, bucayo and strawberry flavoring in a pan.

2. Next, gather the rest of your ingredients for an entire batch:

• Glutinous rice (1 kilo)
• Ground rice (1/2 kilo)
• Shredded coconut (10 pcs)
• Sugar (1 kilo)
• Oil (1 cup)

3. Mash all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl with his hands, before adding the coconut, oil and flavoring, to give it color.

4. Once that's done, take a puto mold and pack in the mixture half-way. Spoon in your filling, then add and press in another layer of the puto mixture.

5. Carefully take the puto bao out of the mold and let them cook in a steamer for 45 minutes.

According to Caguitla, he sells his puto bao at P220 per box and P465 for five boxes, earning as much as P635 per batch. Puto bao also has a long shelf life of three to four days, but that's hardly a concern because this is some delicious snack the whole family will enjoy. — Margaret Claire Layug/LA, GMA News