Suman

Suman is a Filipino rice cake wrapped in coconut, palm or banana leaves. It can either be sweet or bland. You can serve it with grated coconut and sugar  or a sauce made from sugar and coconut milk.

 I always buy Frozen Suman sa Ibus for my son, he likes to eat it with  sweetened coconut milk anytime of the day. I just steamed the suman  for a few minutes. Open a can of coconut milk, add sugar and boil to thicken.

Another suman that I like is the Suman sa lihiya. It is made of glutinous rice and lye water wrapped in coconut leaves. It is very popular in my grandmother’s hometown on All Saints Day or Undas. I miss those days when we go to the province and get back home to Pasay City with bag full of suman and my mother cooks a lot of  sauce for us.

Suman sa ibus

3 cups glutinous rice

2 tsp salt

2 cups coconut milk

Direction:

Soak rice in water for an hour or until grains are swollen. Drain, .Add coconut milk and salt. Mix well. Prepare the leaves then fill with rice mixture, seal the end and tie with buri or coconut strip. Arrange in a big saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 2 hours or until done.

How to wrap Suman sa Ibus

1. Fold the end of the buri leaf by 1 ½ inches.

2. Fold the bottom edge into a triangle.

3. Start rolling up the buri leaf in an overlapping manner.

4. Roll up the buri to make a tube.

5. Attach a small piece of wooden pick to secure the tube.

6. Fill the tube with malagkit.

7. Seal the ibus tube.

8. Tie with strips of buri.