Hopia (; - the name it is known by in the Philippines) or Bakpia (; - the name it is known by in Indonesia) is a popular Indonesian and Philippine bean-filled moon cake-like pastry originally introduced by Fujianese people immigrants in the urban centers of both nations around the past centuries. 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.
Types of dough
Flaky type
The flaky type of
bakpia uses Chinese puff pastry. Clear examples of this can be seen in China (especially
Macanese cuisine), Taiwan and countries with established Chinese
diaspora communities such as Trinidad and Tobago and
Guyana making this type the authentic Chinese
hopia. In addition, there is more skill involved in making this type of
hopia crust.
Cake-dough type
Filipino
hopia utilizes the cake-dough type in addition to the flaky type.
Fillings
Below are the four traditional and most popular
bakpia or
hopia fillings, though recently other fillings have been created such as
cappuccino,
cheese,
chocolate,
custard,
durian,
mango,
pineapple, screwpine (pandan), and umbi talas (
taro).
[ Dayat Story Blogs (Indonesian)]
Mung bean
The most popular flaky
bakpia in Indonesia and
hopia in the Philippines is filled with
mung bean, which is called in and in Filipino
/ ,[http://www.bakpiajogkem.com Bakpia Jogja Kembali] sometimes referred to in
. As its name implies, it is filled with sweet split mung bean paste.
Pork
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 () is a variant of hopia from the
Philippines which use
Dioscorea alata (; ). 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, a Chinese Filipino Delicatessen chain in the Binondo district of Manila noted for their fusion cuisine of Chinese and Filipino culinary traditions.
Azuki bean
A variant from the Philippines that uses red
azuki bean paste is called in . 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 cuisine 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.
See also
