Pastel De Arroz Al Vapor / Steamed Rice Cake

About

Pastel De Arroz Al Vapor (English: "Steamed Rice Cake") refers to a traditional Filipino food that became part of a 'don't Google' trend on Twitter around May 2023. The trend was popularized among Spanish speakers, as the original name of the food "kue putu" is similar to the slur "puto" (English: "Bitch").

Origin

On May 10th, 2023, Twitter^[1] user @_GabiWaby_ uploaded a Google search screenshot for "Pastel De Arroz Al Vapor" (English: "Steamed Rice Cake"). She added a caption in Spanish joking with the Filipino's original food name "kue putu" resembling the slur "puto." Her tweet (seen below) garnered 17 likes in five days.

Spread

A few days later, on May 12th, 2023, Twitter users started to post "don't Google" memes about the Filipino food. For instance, Twitter user @SrLuchoPortuano^[2] uploaded a "Peter I told you" meme with the overlay text in Spanish "I told you not to Google pastel de arroz al vapor." The tweet (seen below, garnered 5,500 likes and 271 retweets in three days.

On the same day, more memes were posted on Twitter about the "pastel de arroz al vapor" Google search. For example, Twitter^[3] user @FKlarsDW posted an Oshi No Ko meme warning people not to Google the food. The post (seen below) garnered 85 likes and 2 retweets in three days.

Some users started to replace the Spanish slur "puto" with the food's translated name "pastel de arroz al vapor." For example, Twitter^[4] user @FurnandoXD replaced the word to form "hijo de arroz al vapor," meaning "son of a bitch." The post (seen below) garnered 344 likes and 7 retweets since it was uploaded on May 12th.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References