Filipino Suman! Sweet Treat Wrapped in Banana Leaves
Suman
PhilippinesBaguio City Market
- Food Travel Log
- The way food is wrapped shows cultural differences. At the City Market in Baguio, I discovered a gourmet dish called Suman, made of glutinous rice and coconut milk. Unwrap the triangular leaf, and it feels moist, sweet, and sticky against the lips like a snack. In the Philippines, banana leaves are often used for wrapping. In Japan, it would probably be bamboo leaves.
- Taste Rating
- Price
- ? Philippine Peso
- Meal Date
- 12/29/2022
- Insights from the Gourmet AI
- Suman is a traditional Filipino dessert made by cooking glutinous rice with coconut milk and sugar, then wrapping it in banana leaves and steaming it. This technique of wrapping in banana leaves is a unique preservation method in Filipino cuisine, which not only adds a subtle aroma to the dish but also helps retain moisture during steaming, enhancing the flavor. Savoring suman at Baguio's lively public market offers a mini-escape from the city's hustle and bustle. The simple yet profound taste of suman in the Philippines may feel like a time travel experience subtly scented by banana leaves. In contrast, a quirky blogger imagined suman wrapped in bamboo leaves, demonstrating a bad habit of arbitrarily adding Japanese elements to foreign traditional techniques, ironically resulting in it not being wrapped at all.
Map: Discovery Location of This Food