Suman: The Quintessential Rice Cake

Another rice cake that has been introduced to the country is the suman. The origin of this rice cake might have been lost to history but according to Antonio Pigafetta (the chronicler for the first Spanish expedition to arrive on Philippine shores), its name allegedly rooted in an old Spanish phrase for "rice cakes wrapped in leaves, with somewhat longish pieces".

On the other hand, the regional variants of the suman derived their names from the material or method used to wrap them. For example, in Tagalog, it is called "ibus". This is a variant of suman where rice cakes poured into coil-shaped receptacles made out of young palm leaves, like this picture below:

(Source: http://picssr.com/tags/ibus/interesting/page16)

The most popular type of suman is the suman sa lihiya, which is comprised of soaked glutinous rice and coconut milk (treated with lye) wrapped in banana leaves and boiled for two hours. Every variant of suman was made in different parts of the country, depending on what method or material they used in order to make a suman. Here is the recipe;

            Ingredients

• 2 cups white glutinous rice
• 1 1/2 cans (13.5 oz) coconut milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• banana leaves for wrapping

            Procedure:

1. Rinse the rice until water runs clear then drain.
2. In a wok or heavy pot, combine rice, coconut milk, sugar and salt.
3. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes in medium heat while stirring constantly then reduce to lower heat.
4. Mixture is done when rice becomes very sticky and almost dry.
5. Let the temperature cool down before wrapping.
6. Prepare the banana leaves by wiping away any white residues with a damp cloth.
7. Remove the spine and trim (size preference).
8. Scoop the rice mixture and place it over the prepared banana leaves.
9. Start rolling to secure the rice mixture and fold the sides.
10. Repeat until rice mixture is finished. Set up the steamer.
11. Arrange the wrapped mixture into the steamer. Single layer or on top of each other.
12. Steam over medium heat for about 45 minutes.
13. Remove from steamer. Serve with sugar. (Recipe source: https://recipenijuan.com/suman-malagkit-recipe/)