Cassava Suman

From Cassava suman

I have always loved cassava, be it suman, or bibingka style, or pichi-pichi, or nilupak. (My father once added some grated cassava to his muffins topped with grated cheese, which we referred to as "cheesecake," and I loved the effect!).
Recently with all the grated cassava overload, after having been requested to prepare the pichi-pichi, I thought I'd make some cassava suman as well to bring to another Pinay gathering hosted by my friend Cecilia. Who would have thought a child would teach me how to make them? Not the child in the photo (whose name is Jessica), though, but a child blogger, Veggie Kid. The recipe and method was very simple, as long as you have all the ingredients, which I got from the Asian store. The only thing I changed was the cooking time. Instead of the 1 hour, I thought I would check after 20 minutes, and they were done!

Ingredients:
1-16 oz. frozen grated cassava, thawed (about 2 cups)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2- 3/4 cup sugar (I used the half cup then measured the sugar heaping)

Instructions:


I prepared my own grated yucca/cassava using my food processor. If you have pre-grated ones from the Asian store, you are lucky!

Prepare the steamer (I used boiling water canner with the rack, on which I placed a rounded cake cooling rack, then added about 2 inches of water and started boiling it).

Prepare the banana leaves (cut in appropriate sizes, dipped in boiling hot water, wiped).

Mix the ingredients, scoop out about 2 tbsp each and lay on the banana leaves for wrapping. Proceed as depicted in the slide show.

Place in bamboo steamer seam side and folds down. Cover and place in the steamer if ready (as in water is boiling)

Steam for 20 minutes or until done.

When I first tasted it, still piping hot, I thought the banana leaves' flavor was so overwhelming. But when it has cooled down some, and my friends (and the kids as well) had a taste of it, plain or with sugar, they all liked it! I did not have seconds, though, because there was not enough for seconds for anyone. Haha! Gone in a flash! Thanks a lot, Veggie Kid!

UPDATE - 02-12-09
A promisingly yummier variation was made by mrsRusty.

Cassava Bibingka Espesyal

I got this from stel.

From special cassava (yucca) cake

The first time I made this I used a small pan. Did not have enough space for rising while it baked, nor for the topping to be placed without spilling. It did taste good, and I shared the recipe with my friend's mom. She made it the next year, and I was so delighted with it, and I asked her for the recipe. "That's the recipe you gave me!"

So yesterday, I tried again the second time this year...with all the right

From special cassava (yucca) cake

ingredients, but still managed to end up with small pan (I should have taken note of the lasagna pan measurement; I grabbed an aluminum foil pan in the store which was 13x9; should have been 14 x10, but the next size I saw was that of a roasting pan, so I settled for the smaller one. I did not want to use my ceramic or glass pans as I was using them for something else. Bad decision. It was still good, though, and I mananged to use the remaining topping mix for the leftover, when the top of the cassava cake shrunk as it cooled. I spread the topping mix and broiled for 5 minutes on high.

(For this recipe and that of pichi-pichi, I bought the yucca last week and grated them, pre-measured by the cups then froze until I was ready to bake them.)

Ingredients
4 cups grated cassava/yucca (or 2 packs thawed grated cassava)
1 can (12-oz) of evaporated milk
1 cup cream of coconut (coco lopez or other Spanish brand) (use the remaining for topping)
1 can (14-oz) of condensed milk (subtract 6 tbsps. for topping)
1 can (14-oz) of coconut milk (subtract 6 tbsps. for topping)
5 eggs
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1-2 cups strips of young coconut meat (or 1 jar of drained macapuno strings or a pack of thawed frozen shredded young coconut)

Topping:
remaining coco lopez (7-oz)
6 tbsp condensed milk
6 tbsp coconut milk
2 egg yolks

Instructions:
Blend all ingredients well and pour into a 14x10 baking dish (preferably lined with cleaned and dried banana leaves brushed with butter). Bake at 350 deg F for 40 minutes or until just set.

Meanwhile, prepare topping by blending well all the ingredients.

Increase heat to 400 and pour topping. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until topping is brown and bubbly. Watch closely so it does not burn.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

EDITED:
The following is a recipe that my sis and I used when I was there in Canada on a two-week visit:
Recipe ng cassava:
1/2 cup butter,melted (123 grams)
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup evap milk
3/4 cup condensed milk
3/4 c. coconut milk or evaporated milk
1 cup buko or 1/2 cup Macapuno preserved
5 cups frozen cassava, grated (1kilo) Topping:
3/4 cup coconut milk (use kakang-gata)or evaporated milk mix with 3/4 cup condensed milk Grated quick melt cheese

Procedure:
Mix all ingredients(base). POUR ON 9x13x2" lined baking pan, butered and lined with aluminum foil pan. Bake for 40 mins at 350 degrees F oven. Remove from the oven and pour topping. Bake again for 20 mins or until golden brown.
To attain a darker topping, broil for 3-4 mins or use a blow torch.

And the following is another recipe by my friend Fe -
4 c. grated cassava
1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk
1 can(14-os) coconut milk
1 can(14-oz)  condensed milk
2 cups young coconut

TOPPING:
1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk
1 can(14-oz) coconut milk
1 can (14-oz) condensed milk
2-4 TBSP flour
6 egg yolks
Bring to boil then pour to cassava cake
Broil for 5 minute or until brown

A More Special,Easy and Quick Pichi-Pichi Espesyal Using Microwave

I posted before a recipe for

From pichi-pichi

pichi-pichi espesyal using the traditional method of steaming. My long-time blogger friend JMom made a post using microwave (isn't that kewl?). So, with my hosting of Filipino Christmas party yesterday, I prepared pichi-pichi using the microwave. Basing on some comments at JMom's post, I tried adding pandan essence (actually, it was McCormick Buco Pandan Essence; thanks to Deb for sending me several bottles). What makes it more special? I used buko water instead of plain water.

From buko

I bought several young coconuts from hannaford to use for cassava cake. Out of the 4 I bought, 3 had the right chewy consistency of young coconut perfect for salads or buko pie or cassava cake. One was too young it had the mala-uhog consistency. The boys are in love with buko water and they asked if they could have some; of course I allowed them to. But as I was reading JMom's post and the idea of using buko water crossed by mind, I immediately stopped them and measured out 2 cups (my earlier steamed pichi recipe called for 2 cups water to 1 cup cassava and 1 cup sugar; JMom's recipe called for 1:1:1 ratio). So I used 2 cups buko water, 1 cup grated cassava, and 1 cup sugar. I knew the result would be very wobbly and quite soft, but that's how I really want it so it will still be soft even after chilling.

From pichi-pichi

Ingredients:
1 cup grated cassava
2 cups coconut water
1 cup sugar
several drops of buco pandan essence (McCormick)

Instructions:
Blend everything well in an 8x8 or 9x9 microwavable dish. Microwave for 1 minute on high, stir with a wire whisk, microwave and stir repeatedly every 30 seconds until it becomes like soft paste (remember, this will continue to thicken as it cools down). I probably did this repeatedly 4-5 times, adding more buco pandan

essence until I reached my desired color. I left it for a while to cool down before I took the hot dish out and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, I asked my older son to open the coconut (the mature one,as opposed to young coconut), then my younger son to grate it. (See my primitive coconut grater here.)

Using a

From pichi-pichi

cookie scoop, I then rolled in grated coconut to coat each piece. I did buy sesame seeds upon seeing some suggestions from JMom's post, but opted to just serve it the traditional way. Only 3 pieces were left at the end of the day. My kids were leery of the greenish color, but I explained to them that the same color reminds us Filipinos of special buko-pandan salad (I tasted this in PI prepared by one of the midwives where she used the buco water boiled with pandan leaves to make runny green-colored gelatin and mixed with strips of soft buco, blocks of unflavored
green gelatin and condensed milk. It was so good!)

Now you wonder what I did with the buko flesh/young meat? I cut them in pieces and froze, then used for special cassava cake once I was ready to make it. (I had to restrain myself and the kids from eating them all!)

Pichi-Pichi Espesyal

UPDATE as of 12-22-08:
A more special pichi-pichi recipe can be found here.

I would have tried stel's recipe, but I did not list down things that I should have gotten from the Asian store when my friend Anna asked if I wanted to go with her. So I forgot to look for the lye water and pandan essence. Good thing, in the comments section, Lani gave her recipe using just the grated cassava, sugar and water. It was very good! Although, I would have still preferred it with some pandan essence. (tita stel, nagpaparamdam po...

Salamat, tita Lani, for the recipe!

We Filipinos use cassava, but I cannot find any cassava here. Yucca is a good substitute. (I typed that on the search engine, and it showed plants different from what I have come to know as "kamoteng-kahoy." I then realized they are not one and the same.). It was my first time to buy yucca from the Asian store (have not seen it sold in the nearest grocery store), and I was quite surprised that it seemed to have been coated with wax...or is it a natural coating of dried up sap?

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cassava [or yucca], grated
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 coconut, grated

PROCEDURE:
Squeeze out juice of cassava [or yucca]using flour sack. Place squeezed cassava in pan with sugar and water. Cook. Stir constantly 10 minutes or until mixture coats spoon. Transfer cooked mixture on silicone muffin cups placed on the steamer pan and steam 10 minutes. Remove from muffin cups, let cool, then coat in grated coconut.

(I love these silicone muffin cups for steaming purposes! Muffin pan just won't fit in the steamer, and these solved that problem. Now I can also experiment on making puto, and I might get big cups also for steamed leche flan.)

My sons and I loved them, and my Filipina friends did, too! Of course, they asked for the recipe and I generously (ahem!) shared it (salamat sa mga foodbloggers!) My Sdaughter loved coating them in the grated coconut, but would not taste them (pretty much like her father). That same day I just had to make a second batch. Refrigerates and microwaves (30 sec) pretty good, too! Perfect munchkin for after-school!

I am still waiting for the day when I will have my pandan essence.