Cassava treats

CEBU, Philippines - On a list of understated Philippine crops, perhaps the cassava would rank in the top three. There's plenty of it in the country. Cassava is not a picky plant; it grows anywhere where there's enough soil for its roots to make its tubular crop.

Sadly, the agricultural country that is ironically lacking in food would only consider rice as the main food on the table. Even with other nutritious and deliciously prepared crops served, the standard Filipino meal is incomplete without rice. Everything else is simply side dishes.  

For example breadfruit or "kolo" has to be made into dessert for anyone to pick it up. Even the very filling boiled green "kardaba" banana is relegated simply to merienda, with "ginamos" or salted fish fingerlings, when it could actually be a main meal item. And the poorly "kamoteng kahoy" or cassava often ends up in the porridge for the hogs more than it is served on a plate for human snack.

There are, however, a few places in the country that regard the cassava highly. Only its byproducts, if any, are given to the house animals. In these places, the cassava is a main food item.

Elsewhere, the cassava is a good dessert material. Its tapioca properties makes this root crop ideal for turning into great cakes and pastries - and even into specialty dishes. In fact, cassava cakes of various kinds are being served in better restaurants and cafés.

There's a superb cassava product that has not been as popular as the cassava cake - although equally delightful. It has only began to get noticed lately. It's not a new discovery, though. People in the Visayan rural areas, particularly in Leyte and some parts of Cebu, have been making it for a long, long time. It is part of the traditional products that they make out of cassava.

It was only when Carcar City, in southern Cebu, began holding a public festival centered on the 'kabkab' that people in other places got to know about it. 'Kabkab' is supposedly the origin of the name Carcar, thus, it can be deduced how prevalent the making of this local delicacy used to be in the place.

"Kabkab" is a kind of crackling made from mashed cassava that has been dried into thin wafers. The crackling results from frying the dried wafers in oil. When ready, the cracklings are often served with a sweet dip, usually coconut jam, while others prefer salsa.

The "kabkab" apparently holds good economic potential for people in the countryside, where cassava grows in abundance. Added to the already popular cassava cake and other cassava specialties, this lowly root crop can offer a dependable livelihood for the rural folks. The few packs of "kabkab' or "cassava kropek" that find their way to the supermarket shelves disappear quickly, which means there is already a market demand for the product.

Those who want to experiment making their own "kabkab" at home will find the follwoing recipe from the website www.marketmanila.com very helpful.

"Kabkab"

Ingredients:

2 pcs Cassava, peeled and then grated

1 cup cooking oil

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a half-filled pan, bring the grated cassava into boil for about 30 seconds or less, season the mixture with salt while boiling, and drain. (Or the whole pieces maybe boiled first for about 10 minutes to make it slightly tender for grating.)

2. To make a finer blend, place the grated cassava into the blender or food mill. Run the blender until desired consistency is achieved.

3. Spread the mixture thinly on a flat surface lined with cloth, and dry under the sun.

4. Once dried, fry the kropek until golden brown.

5. Serve with a sweet dip or salsa.

It does not take long for one to master making "kabkab." Then one may make his own unique twist to the recipe. Now, given the simplicity of the process, the undertaking may be taken further to a commercial scale. The dried "kabkab" may be packed in certain weights and sold. But of course, family and friends may have a great time enjoying it first. (FREEMAN)