Thick & Rich Filipino Hot Chocolate (Tablea Tsokolate)

Tablea Tsokolate
(Filipino Hot Chocolate)
Makes 1 serving

1-2 Tableas or discs (the more tablets you use, the richer the chocolate taste is)
1 cup hot water (or milk, if you want your chocolate creamier. Non-fat milk can be used too)

Combine the chocolate tablets and and hot water or milk in a bowl. Using a whisk or stick blender, dissolve the tablets in the liquid and mix until you reach your desired froth quality and consistency. Pour into a mug and enjoy with grilled ensaimada, a Filipino pastry (in the photo) or suman, a steamed sticky glutinous rice cake wrapped in banana leaves.

(Tsokolate & Ensaimada photo: Traveler On Foot)

The Ensaïmada is a pastry product that originated in Majorca in Spain. In the Philippines, the ensaimada is a brioche made with butter instead of lard. It is extremely popular throughout the islands especially during the Christmas season, when it is often eaten with tsokolate.

Ensaimadas come in different sizes but the most common are about the diameter of a regular doughnut. They are typically bought in bakeries, groceries, or specialty stores and are typically topped with cheese and a sprinkling of sugar. I've seen and eaten variants that are stuffed with ham slices, dotted with raisins, topped with native salted egg slices, or given additional flavoring like chocolate or purple yam but my favorite version is the plain, original ensaimada (as in the photo above) since this is how I knew it in my childhood.

If you would like to learn how to make this Filipino pastry, here is an Ensaimada Recipe.

(Photo credit: Jo's Deli)

Suman is a Filipino rice cake, made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and often steamed in banana or coconut leaves. It is often traditionally served during Noche Buena or Christmas Eve, but can be eaten year-round too.

The recipe for suman varies in every region of the Philippines. Some variants are cooked with coconut milk and salt; others are treated with lye. Most versions are served with a sprinkling of sugar, sometimes with grated-coconut, brown sugar, coconut jam, or drizzled with tsokolate like in the photo. It is best eaten with a cup of tsokolate and, if in season, slices of sweet Philippine mangoes.

The suman I'm familiar with is called Budbud Kabog because this is what my family serves every Christmas and on other special occasions. My family's housekeeper who's been with us for over 30 years makes it from scratch, the way she learned it in her province in Dumaguete, a city in the Visayan islands.

If you want to make it yourself, here is the recipe for Suman sa Ibus.

(Photo credit: Aebbey11 on Flickr)