23 October 2010

Kulinarya Cooking Club October 2010 : Suman (Cassava with Latik)


Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.


Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

This week's theme is Suman.


Suman is a Filipino snack usually made of sticky rice wrapped and steamed in banana leaves.  There are many varieties of suman.  You can read about them here.

I am lucky with this month's theme.  I would have been really stressed out about making my own suman because it's not a dish you would normally make unless its for a special occasion.  Growing up, we had suman every Christmas and New year's eve.  My mum would make them in huge quantities and share with family and friends.  Lately, she's been making them more often so who better to ask for her help than my mum?

We decided to make cassava with latik (fried coconut milk solids).  She usually makes the sticky rice ones but we wanted to do something different.


1 fresh coconut, grated
2 x 454g frozen grated cassava, thawed
1 tbs vanilla
1 cup raw sugar

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix


Make latik.  You can get the recipe here.  It is best to make this the day before as it can take up to an hour to make.


1.  Trim banana leaves into about 20cm in length.  Trim the same quantities of banana leaves to 10cm.
2.  Place the small leaf on the bottom half of the large leaf.  Place about 2 tablespoons of the cassava mixture in the middle of the small leaf,  Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the latik on top.
3.  Roll loosely.  With the seam on top, fold the sides under
4.  Place in a steamer cover with foil and lid
5.  Steam for 1 hour until the cassava is cooked through.


This is best eaten freshly cooked.  If you find you cannot eat all of your suman in one sitting, you can freeze them.  To reheat, you can re-steam or simply place in the microwave.


Other fellow Kulinarya Cooking Club Members can be seen here

8 comments:

/* */ Trissa said...

YUM! This looks really good am really loving how you topped it with latik - yes suman is definitely one of those special occasion dishes - but the way you make it - looks really good I wish I could have it everyday.

/* */ Annie said...

What a nice change to make it with cassava. It seems like a lighter version than sticky rice.

/* */ penny aka jeroxie said...

Seems like a lot of work but worth it. Nice and coconutie flavours and sweet? I don't think I have tried this before.

/* */ Trisha said...

I used the recipe that you suggested for the latik. I loooove using a whole heap on any of the kakanin!

/* */ Caroline said...

We made the same suman! But I like yours because you put latik inside, yum. BTW, we both made these with our moms but mine just watched & supervised LOL

/* */ Olive said...

YUmmy! This is my fave suman, I haven't had this in a loong time. Thanks Cherrie for sharing the recipe, can't wait to try it! :D

/* */ chef_d said...

Oh my goodness that looks so good! Cassava is my favorite, and I love your idea of stuffing the latik instead of putting it on top. Great job!

/* */ adorasbox said...

The suman looks so goood! Never had it with latik inside but I bet it tastes even better. It is nice when people gather in the kitchen to make all these delicacies together.

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