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Suman
Ingredients
- 2 cups glutinous rice
- 1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- banana leaves
Instructions
- Start by soaking rice in water for about an hour and rinse well.
- Cut defrosted banana leaves into squares and wipe down with a wet paper towel. With the excess banana leaves tear along the strips to use later to tie the suman.
- Then pass the banana leaves over flame (see the color change) to make the leaves more pliable.
- In a pot, add milk, sugar, and sprinkle of salt. Stir until dissolved.
- Add rinsed rice. Cook for about 15 minutes stirring frequently until all liquid is absorbed and cooked through. Will look very sticky.
- Fill and roll suman by placing 1-2 tablespoons along an edge of the square banana leaf. Then use that edge to roll inwards toward the leaf. Tuck in the two sides then continue to roll. Roll 2 suman and then use one of the leaf strips to tie them together.
- Steam for about 35-45 minutes.
- Serve with a sprinkle of sugar on top.
Video
Filipino Suman
There is this running joke in our house that Filipinos will make rice fit into every meal – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Fillipino Suman is the rice dessert. And to be honest, it has always been one of my absolute favorite Filipino treat. My mom would go to Queens to visit my Tita Lorna and come home with a ziploc bag full of Filipino Suman and Latik. I would devour like four in one sitting. My other aunt, Tita Rose, would go to the Philippines and smuggle some back in her suitcase from Rosalie’s in Bulacan.
I can understand why the filipino suman is so expensive now because it really is a labor of love and it can often be pretty messy. But, in my own biased opinion, I think suman is worth all the effort and I hope you give it a chance 🙂
