The abundant, the versatile:The Cassava

The Philippines is lucky to have soil good for agriculture. It is said that, here, one only need to throw a seed away and it will grow. It only takes the Filipino to be industrious to cultivate the land and reap the produce, and no one will go hungry.

Yet after a while, the same stuff over and over again can be boring. The taste buds will grow fatigued of the same food all the time. So it takes resourcefulness and creativity to make the same food resources to taste differently every time.

The truth is, people don’t only need to be filled by food; they also need to enjoy their food. Good thing, Filipinos are quite adept in making different foods from the same farm crops, especially the crops that come in abundance.

One crop that is abundant in the country is cassava. In the past, cassava was grown for use in the production livestock meal. It was also known as poor man’s food.

In general, such image of the cassava is already history. Nowadays, cassava is displayed at posh food shops, in many different forms. While to some extent the food crop is still being used in the traditional way, it is largely no longer poor man’s food – it is a gourmet treat now. 

A good way to know how delicious cassava can be is try a slice of the famous cassava cake. The following cassava cake recipe from www.hungryforever.com is so simple to try baking at home:

Easy Cassava Cake

Ingredients:

Batter:

2 packs grated cassava (about 2 lbs total weight)

1 can coconut milk

1½ can evaporated milk

2 pieces raw egg

1¼ cup butter melted

6 tbsp cheese, grated

1½ cup condensed milk

14 tbsp sugar

Topping:

1 can coconut milk

2 tbsp sugar

1½ cup condensed milk

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp cheese, grated

1 piece raw egg

Procedure:

Preparing the batter

• Combine the grated cassava, butter, condensed milk, evaporated milk, cheese, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

•Add the coconut milk in the mixing bowl where the mixed ingredients are.

• Mix again.

• Grease the baking tray, and then pour in the batter (ingredients that has just been mixed).

• Pre -heat oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes then put in the baking tray with batter and bake for one hour.

Preparing the Topping

•             Combine the sugar and flour and put in the heated saucepan.

•             Pour in the condensed milk then mix thoroughly.

•             Add the cheese while stirring constantly.

•             Pour the coconut milk and stir constantly for 10 minutes.

•             Pour the topping over the Cassava Cake (baked batter) and spread evenly.

•             Separate the yolk from the egg white of the remaining egg (you’ll need the egg white).

•             Glaze the topping with the egg white (you may use a basting brush for this step).

•             Broil the Cassava cake until color turns light brown.

•             Garnish with grated cheese and serve.

Share and enjoy!