Picture this: you’re in your hometown, waking up on a Sunday with the sound of birds chirping in the air. Maybe, as part of breakfast, your Lola would include a plate of suman and a cup of coffee as part of the morning spread.
Suman is one of the many types of kakanin, or glutinous rice cakes, which varies from one province to another. Other types of kakanin include biko, sapin-sapin, and palitaw. Like most kakanin, Suman can be eaten in the morning or as an afternoon snack. It’s usually paired with tsaa, kape or hot tsokolate which makes the entire experience warm and filling.
Suman preparation is usually a long and laborious task. Fortunately, you would not need to slave over a stove to make it yourself. We recently discovered a small, family-run business called “Suman Mo” which offers convenient online delivery of everyone’s favorite suman. It’s good to know that classic Filipino fare like Suman is still available in the fast casual-dominated landscape of online food delivery.
Suman Mo is run by Chef Karen Cembrano, and her family. Formerly a home cook whose passion is feeding her family with healthy and delicious food, she eventually went to study at the famous Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Upon her return, she shares her knowledge and skills to other aspiring chefs and home cooks. And now, their family has launched a business based on Chef Karen’s specialty–a red bean and gata suman, the recipe of which she perfected for several decades. Their version of this traditional suman is beloved by their friends and family, and they can definitely vouch that it is 100% guaranteed to “melt in your mouth.”
I agree with their assessment. I don’t eat a lot of suman due to my picky eating habits. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Suman Mo. The type of rice used is very pino which makes for a light and pleasant taste in the mouth. The sauce which comes with the suman is perfectly balanced — not too sweet nor too bland, which fits everyone’s taste. I shared it with my family, as we reminisced about the times when my aunt, who sold kakanin, would frequently reserve suman, palitaw and biko for us to eat as merienda at home.
But don’t just take my word for it. You can order from Suman Mo on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sumanmo.bychefkaren and on Instagram @sumanmo.bychefkaren