Nilupak (Mashed Cassava) : Appicsph Filipino Food Contest Entry

One of my fondest childhood memory is making "nilupak".

Back in the days, when having friends really meant meeting them in person and social media was far from the thought of innovators, making this dessert was a great bonding activity amongst friends.

I remember, when cassava are in season, my aunts would go to their friend's house to pull some of these root crops. They would contribute for the ingredients and then the boys get ready for an intense body workout! Not because this dessert is carbs loaded, but because making it requires a lot of pounding.

They use a giant mortar and pestle - the ones used when pounding rice grains for husking.

The process involves lots of hard work because the cassava will be very sticky once you start pounding them.

And that, my friends, was my problem in preparing this dish.

How do I mash and pound these cassava?!