Bakpia (Javanese: ꦧꦏ꧀ꦥꦶꦪ, romanized: bakpia; Chinese: 肉餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-piáⁿ; lit. 'meat pastry'- the name it is known by in Indonesia) or Hopia (Tagalog:[ˈhop.jɐʔ]; Chinese: 好餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hó-piáⁿ; lit. 'good pastry' - 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 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.[1] These sweet rolls are similar to bigger Indonesian pia, the only difference being the size.
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 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.
The most popular flaky bakpia in Indonesia and hopia in the Philippines is filled with mung bean, which is called in Indonesian: bakpia kacang hijau and in Filipino/Tagalog: Hopia mongo / Hopiang munggo,[5]sometimes referred to in Tagalog: Hopiang matamis, lit. 'Sweet hopia'. As its name implies, it is filled with sweet split mung bean paste.
Pork
Pork hopia (Tagalog: Hopiang baboy / Hopia baboy) 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").
Ube hopia (Tagalog: Hopia ube / Hopiang ube) is a variant of hopia from the Philippines which use purple yam (Tagalog: ube; Cebuano: 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.
A variant from the Philippines that uses red azuki bean paste is called in Tagalog: Hopia hapón / Hopiang hapón, lit. '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 Japanesekuri 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.[9]