Jollibee-Style Vegan Buko Pie Recipe
Jollibee’s sweet, fried, Filipino buko pies stare at me every time I tag along to Jollibee with friends. 😆
Thankfully, buko pies are pretty easy to veganize at home.
Buko pies or Filipino coconut pies are filled with young unripe coconut strips, [vegan] sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and cornstarch for a thickener.
Buko pies originated from the province of Laguna in the Philippines.
I made these for a Christmas Eve family party, and it passed the test of approval from aunties and uncles.
The buko coconut filling is perfectly sweet, and the crust is crispy and semi-flaky.
Language Learning Bits (Tagalog)
- Matamis = “sweet” in Tagalog
- Buko = young, unripe coconut
- Buko juice = juice inside young coconuts
- Gata = coconut milk
- Kakang Gata = coconut cream
I’m not sure if there will ever be vegan pies at Jollibee, but in the meantime, this vegan buko pie recipe are easy to prepare and perfectly satisfy my cravings as a vegan.
Vegan Buko Pie Ingredients
- Frozen shredded young coconut
- Vegan condensed milk from @naturescharm
- Cornstarch for a thickener
- Flour and vegan butter for the crust
- Optional: brush with @justegg vegan egg or plant milk
Equipment Needed for Vegan Buko Pies
Jollibee-Style Vegan Buko Pie Recipe
Yield:
15-20 mini pies
Ingredients
Buko Coconut Filling
- 1 pack frozen [shredded young coconut] (keep juice when thawed out)
- 1/2 cup vegan condensed milk from @naturescharm
- 3-4 tablespoons white sugar, more or less to your liking
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (but can do without)
Buko Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon salt if you’re using salted butter)
- 1 cup vegan butter, cut into small cubes
- 7 tablespoons ice-cold water
- Optional: brush with @justegg vegan egg or plant milk
- Oil, for frying
- You can also use pre-made vegan crusts.
Instructions
Prepare crust:
- The morning of, set butter out and let soften enough to cut into cubes.
- In a bowl, add flour and salt.
- Cut or pulse butter into flour mixture until a crumbly texture forms.
- Slowly add in cold water and mix until a block or ball forms. Lightly knead as needed.
- Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.
Prepare filling:
- The night before or morning of, remove frozen buko from freezer to thaw. If in a hurry, microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- In a small sauce pan on medium heat, add frozen buko (with juice) to melt completely.
- Add vegan condensed milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla.
- Stir and cook until sauce becomes thick. Add more cornstarch if too watery.
- Set aside and cool for 15 minutes.
Prepare pies:
- Heat up 2-4 cups of oil in a pan or pot on medium heat.
- In the meantime, remove crust from fridge, and on a cutting board, roll out dough to a rectangle, 1/8 inch in thickness.
- Cut crust in rectangles. Depending on how big you want them, just double the size of the shape you want since you are folding them.
- Place a crust vertically. Take a spoonful of the buko pie filling and place in the center of the bottom half.
- Fold over and with a finger, press and seal rectangle edges, making sure they’re filled enough to fill any air pockets, but that they don’t spill over either.
- Using a fork, stamp around all edges for a final seal. Cut any excess crust.
- Prepare the rest of the pies.
- Optional: Using 1/4 cup of vegan Just Egg or 1/4 cup of plant milk, brush each side of the pies.
- Fry until the pies are lightly golden, 2-3 minutes.
- Place on a napkin-lined plate to cool.
Notes
- You can try baking instead of frying at 375 F until golden brown, but it won’t have the same crispy crust.
- If you aren’t able to get vegan condensed milk, you can try making these with coconut cream and add a bit more sugar and cornstarch. Just make sure the sauce isn’t watery and thickens enough.
- These are better eaten the same day.
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