Chef Norman's Cassava with Coconut and Sugar

This recipe was submitted to Cook the Commonwealth by Norman Musa, an internationally recognised chef and promoter of Malaysian cuisine. If you enjoy cooking this, why not check out his new cookbook, “Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia”. The occupation of Japanese in Malaya, former name for Malaysia during the World War II in 1940s affected the nation badly. My late grandma once told me she and her family had to survive on anything that they can eat and one of them was the cassava roots. She boiled the roots in water, seasoned with salt then served with the chilli sambal, normally anchovy sambal. To commemorate the struggle that people went through during this period, it became a tradition in places like Melaka to cook this dish on 31st August, the anniversary of Malaysian Independence Day. For my recipe, I served the cassava with coconut and sugar as an afternoon snack, like how my late mum did on the rainy days when we were all stuck indoor.

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% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Put the cassava and salt together with 1 litre of water in a medium and deep saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 20-30mins until the cassava turned soft.

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix well the coconut and remaining salt together with 50ml of lukewarm water. Set aside. If you are using freshly desiccated coconut you can skip this step.

Step 3

Drain the cassava and transfer to a serving bowl. Put the coconut and sugar on the side, and serve right away.

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