Patupat (or Suman)

INGREDIENTS:

2 c sweet rice
2 c coconut milk (1 can + water to equal 2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (or a little less, slowly add and taste)
banana leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak rice in water for several hours and drain water.

2. Cook rice with coconut milk on stove. Bring to boil, then quickly lower to a simmer. Make sure to stir once in a while so that it doesn't burn. Cook for about 20 minutes. Rice won't be fully cooked, but will be sticky.

3. Add salt and sugar to rice as needed. Mix well and make sure to taste. Cover pot while rice cools.

4. After mixture has cooled, wrap in banana leaves.

5. Steam wrapped patupat in steamer for about 1 hour.

NOTES:

Not absolutely necessary to soak rice, but it provides a better texture. You can also boil patupat to cook them (just put patupat in a pot, and add enough water to barely cover them; bring water to a boil then lower to a simmer; cook for about an hour). However, I found steaming to provide a better end result.

RESULTS:

I still need to tweak the flavor of it. Just make sure to taste the rice along the way as you add salt and sugar. Also, careful not to wrap the patupat too tightly. A couple of my cone-shaped ones busted open in the cooking process.

Other than that, the end result has been a success.