“Buko” is a Tagalog word meaning “young coconut.” When you cut open a young coconut, you will find that it is filled with a tasty juice. A white edible pulp lines the inside of the coconut shell. It has not yet hardened to the texture that you normally associate with coconut meat. Rather, it has a soft texture almost like jello, except that it coheres much better than jello. This pulp is the main ingredient of buko pie.
I live in the Philippines, and occasionally a Filipino vendor walks along a street near our house and periodically shouts: “Buko! Buko!” If my wife wants to make a pie, she hands me some Filipino pesos and tells me how many she wants, and I run up to buy them. Usually I do not have to chase the vendor very far, since he wants to sell his product.
Young coconuts have to be opened carefully so that the juice does not spill out. They are too hard to cut open with an ordinary knife used for cutting meat. I have a big machete that I use for landscaping, and my wife finds it a handy tool for cutting open the coconut.
First, a little opening is made on top. After the coconut juice has been poured into a convenient pitcher, the coconut is cut in half, and the pulp is scraped off from the inside of the shell.
Buko pie may have a variety of ingredients. Here is the way my wife makes it.
2 cups grated buko 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup corn starch 1/4 cup shredded cheese 1/4 cup peanuts (optional) 3 cups of flour 1 tsp. salt 1 cup butter egg wash
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Put all the filling ingredients into a pot. They are grated buko, white sugar, evaporated milk, raisins and cornstarch. You may optionally add peanuts.
Place this pot on one of the burners of your stove, and cook the mixture over low medium heat until it has a viscous texture. Stir it continuously while cooking. When it is finished, let it cool.
Put 3 cups of flour in a mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Sift the mixture to remove coarse particles.
Add butter by cutting it in little by little until a whole cup of butter is inserted. At the same time, sprinkle in water to form dough.
Knead the dough until it has a fine texture.
Divide the dough into two portions. One portion should be a fraction larger than the other.
Roll the larger piece of dough with a rolling pin until it is 1/8 inch thick and circular in shape.
Lay this dough in a 9-inch pie plate. Press it down and mold it so that it lines the bottom and sides of the interior of the pie plate.
Pour the filling into the pie plate.
Roll out the smaller portion of the dough just as you did to the larger one. Use it to cover the pie.
Flute the edges of the dough in a decorative manner, so that the dough covering the pie will be fused with the portion of dough lining the bottom and sides of the pan.
Perforate the pie cover with a fork.
Brush the top of the pie with egg wash (a mixture of egg and a little evaporated milk).
Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the pie.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and eat when sufficiently cool
You may put ice cream on top when served.
Note: When working the dough, add water as needed to keep it from becoming dry.