Bakpia ( jv, ꦧꦏ꧀ꦥꦶꦪ, bakpia; - the name it is known by in Indonesia) or Hopia ( - the name it is known by in the Philippines) is a popular Indonesian and Philippine bean-filled moon cake-like pastry originally introduced by Fujianese immigrants in the urban centers of both nations around the turn of the twentieth century. It is a widely available inexpensive treat and a favoured gift for families, friends and relatives. In Indonesia, it is also widely known as bakpia pathok, named after a suburb of Yogyakarta which specialises in the pastry. These

sweet roll A sweet roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, yeast-leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spices, nuts, candied fruits, etc., and are often glazed or topped with icing. Compared to regular bread dough, ...

s are similar to bigger Indonesian ''pia'', the only difference being the size.

Types of dough

Mongo hopia (mung bean hopia), Philippines

Flaky type

The flaky type of ''bakpia'' uses Chinese puff pastry. Clear examples of this can be seen in China (especially Macau), Taiwan and countries with established Chinese

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

communities such as Trinidad and Tobago and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

making this type the authentic Chinese ''hopia''. In addition, there is more skill involved in making this type of ''hopia'' crust.

Cake-dough type

Philippine ''hopia'' also uses the cake-dough type in addition to the flaky type. It uses a soft cookie-dough similar in texture & taste to the wrapper-dough for fig newtons. This type is very similar to Japanese bean cakes, which grants it the name ''hopiang Hapon'' (“Japanese bean cake” in Filipino).

Fillings

Below are the four traditional and most popular ''bakpia'' fillings, though recently other fillings have been created such as cappuccino,

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, chocolate,

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fro ...

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

, pineapple, screwpine (pandan), and umbi talas ( taro).

Mung bean

The most popular flaky ''bakpia'' both in Indonesia and the Philippines is

mung bean The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

''bakpia'' ( Indonesian: ''bakpia kacang hijau'';

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

and Visayan: ''hopiang munggo''), sometimes referred to as ''hopiang matamís'' ("sweet ''hopia''" in Tagalog). As its name implies, it is filled with sweet split mung bean paste.

Pork

''Hopiang baboy'' (

and Visayan for "pork ''hopia''") is filled with a savoury bread-crumb paste studded with candied wintermelon, flavoured with scallion and enriched with candied pork back fat, hence its name. This type of ''hopia'' is also sometimes referred to as ''hopiang maalat'' (Tagalog for "salty ''hopia''").

Purple yam

''Ube hopia'' or ''hopiang ube'' is a variant of hopia from the Philippines which use purple yam ( Visayan and

: ''ube/ubi''). The filling is reminiscent of '' halayáng ube'' (ube jam), a traditional Filipino dessert eaten during Christmas season. Like other ube-based dishes, it has a unique, vivid violet colour and sweet taste. ''Ube hopia'' was first introduced in the 1980s by Gerry Chua of

Eng Bee Tin Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli () is a Chinese deli chain based in Binondo, Manila, Philippines. History Eng Bee Tin was established in 1912 on Ongpin Street in Binondo, Manila by Chua Chiu Hong, a migrant from mainland China whose family decided to ...

, a Chinese Filipino

deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pr ...

chain in the

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

district of Manila noted for their fusion of Chinese and Filipino culinary traditions.

Azuki bean

A variant from the Philippines that uses red

azuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asia ...

paste is called ''hopiang hapón'' (Filipino for "Japanese ''hopia''"). It differs from other ''hopia'' in that it is made from cake dough. It is small and round and is similar in filling, crust texture, and style to the Japanese ''kuri manjū'', hence its name. These are also often formed into cubes and cooked on a griddle one side at a time instead of being baked in an oven.

References

{{Filipino food Kue Indonesian Chinese cuisine Javanese cuisine Indonesian fusion cuisine Indonesian pastries Indonesian desserts Philippine cuisine Philippine fusion cuisine Chinese fusion cuisine Legume dishes