[Recipe] Quick and Easy Bibingka Topped with Bacon, Cheese, and Salted Duck Egg

Easy Bibingka cooked in a rice cooker. Photos by Flickr/Jep

This recipe is an experiment inspired by those quick cooking videos on TikTok, although it's heavily tweaked to suit the ingredients I had at hand. While using pancake mix to make bibingka isn't entirely original, I added my own tweaks with the addition of some rice flour and sourdough starter from my pantry. It just so happens that I am in the process of reestablishing my sourdough starter and I also have some rice flour I bought recently. The rice flour brings it closer to the texture and flavor of traditional galapong-based bibingka, and the sourdough starter enhances the taste with a hint of tanginess from fermentation. It's worth noting that while the sourdough starter adds flavor, we're not relying on it for leavening - we’re using instant yeast and the pancake mix's leavening agents for that.

The bacon topping was a last-minute addition, thanks to my recent shopping trip at S&R, where I stocked up on honey-cured bacon (I've been doing a lot of bulk purchases lately). The odd-shaped pieces became the perfect savory topping. As for the cheese, I used a mix of quick-melt cheese and Eden filled-cheese (you can use whatever you have at hand). I must admit, I was excited to try out my new egg slicer from Daiso for the salted duck egg - I always wanted one of those and I finally had an excuse!

To address a likely question, yes, I did have all the ingredients necessary to make an authentic bibingka from scratch, but soaking overnight and grinding the rice for galapong takes a lot of time. In some cases, it is also left longer to ferment a little. In a pinch, rice flour works just as well, especially with the help of baking powder or yeast for leavening.

Traditionally, bibingka is cooked in a terracotta charcoal stove, with burning charcoal placed both below and on top to create that signature char. This version, however, is streamlined with a rice cooker and finished with an air fryer. The rice cooker makes sure that the bottom is cooked and is more like steamed rice cake, while the air fryer delivers the charred top and melted cheese.

The result turned out pleasantly surprising. Although the texture was slightly crumbly compared to traditional bibingka, the flavor was good. The sweetness of the rice cake paired beautifully with the savory bacon, cheese, and salted duck egg toppings. The steamed cake vibe from the rice cooker was nice, but I think the charcoal-cooked version's smokiness adds an extra allure.

Ingredients:

- Bibingka Base

    - 1 packet Maya pancake mix

    - 1 cup rice flour

    - 200 ml coconut milk

    - 200 mg sourdough starter

    - 2 Tbsp muscovado sugar

    - 2 Tbsp melted butter

    - 2 tsp instant yeast

    - 1 tsp salt

    - 1 medium egg

- Toppings

    - 200 g bacon bits

    - 1 cooked salted duck egg, sliced

    - ½ cup shredded quick-melt cheese and Eden cheese mix (or your preferred cheese)

    - Melted butter (for brushing)

- Optional

    - Banana leaves (wilted over open flame and lightly brushed with oil)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Bacon

    Fry the bacon bits until partially cooked (no need to crisp them yet, they’ll cook more later). Set aside.

    

2. Mix the Batter  

    In a large bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, rice flour, yeast, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter, sourdough starter, sugar, and coconut milk. Mix gently until everything is well incorporated, aim for a consistency similar to pancake batter. Adjust with water if needed but avoid overmixing. Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes until it starts bubbling slightly from the yeast activity.

    

3. Cook in a Rice Cooker  

    Line the rice cooker pot with banana leaves and pour in the batter. If your rice cooker has a bake setting, use it; otherwise, turn it on as usual. If it switches to "keep warm," wait for 10 minutes before restarting the cooking mode. Repeat this cycle until the cake rises and fluffs up. The top will still appear wet.

    

4. Add Toppings

    Carefully layer the sliced salted duck egg and bacon bits on top of the partially cooked bibingka. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over everything.

    

5. Finish in Air Fryer 

    Transfer the bibingka (banana leaves included) to an air fryer-safe pan. Bake at 350°F (177°C) until the cheese melts and the rice cake is fully cooked, using a cake tester for confirmation.