Coconut pie or buko pie is a traditional Filipino pie. It is filled with strips of tender and young coconut meat. Back in college, my classmate who is also my best friend visited the Philippines with his family and brought back a delicious pie made from coconut. He came home alone because his parent decided to extend their visit and since I'm his best buddy, I picked him up from the airport. When we arrived home, he opened his knapsack and pulled out a little box that is slightly dented and damaged from the cramped space in his bag. I asked him what it was and he said that it is coconut pie from the Philippines. It didn't look that much since the box was dented but when I opened it, I saw a beautiful little brownish white pie that smells so inviting. I took my first bite and my buddy grabbed it and took his. I instantly fell in love with it and wanted it all for myself but my friend didn't gave up that easily.
Two years passed and my friend wanted to visit the Philippines once more so I decided to tag along. We went to Manila and ate all the Filipino food that our bellies can take but something was still missing. Suddenly, all came back and I know what I was craving for... We asked around and was directed to Laguna Province which is about two hours away from Manila. The person we asked said that buko pie or coconut pie is one of the most must-try product and a specialty of Laguna Province. The next morning we were off to Laguna province to the town where buko pie is famous. We didn't come unprepared and have studied some Filipino sentences in hope to get buko pie at a discounted price. We learned from a Filipina lady who we met at the mall to say to the sales lady "magandang araw ale, magkano buko pie, pengi discount ha" (good day miss, how much for a pie, give me a discount). We memorized the sentence but totally forgot about the word "ale" (miss / female) and have constantly repeated the sentence even to guys who were selling the pie. We were able to buy 12 boxes but didn't get a big discount, probably it was because we kept on repeating the word "ale" to the dude where we bought the pies.
Coconut
I searched around and found this coconut pie recipe and have successfully tried it many times. It took me several tries to come close to the real coconut pie that we bought from Laguna province but practice makes perfect and I'm getting very close to the real thing.
Ingredients:
Crust:
- Two cups all-purpose flour
- One tsp. salt
- 2/3 cup shortening
- One egg yolk
- One tablespoon vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
Filling:
- Four cups strips of coconut meat
- One cup coconut water
- One can (300 ml.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
Preparation:
Dough:
- Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives or with a pastry cutter.
- Combine egg yolk, vinegar and water. Slowly add the liquid to the flour mixing until dough is mixed well and can be handled.
- Divide dough into two parts with one part slightly bigger than the other. Roll bigger dough to about two inches larger than a 16-inch pie plate.
- Fit dough into a pie plate letting sides hang.
- Roll out remaining dough for the crust.
- Set aside.
Filling:
- Combine filling ingredients in a thick saucepan.
- Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Cool then pour into prepared crust.
- Cover with top crust; flute or crimp edges together to seal.
- Bake for an hour at 425 degrees F.
Best served hot but I prefer eating it cold since it reminds me of my good old college days...
Delicious and Nutritious Coconut Pie (Buko Pie)
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