Steamed sticky rice cakes with banana and coconut
When we recently made steamed ricecakes at one of the sessions for our cooking, the entire thing stayed very moist and sticky. It looked more like a thick custard than a cake you could eat with your hands. So more a ‘spoon’ cake really. Delicious, but not exactly what we had in mind. I hate it when that happened so I just had to redo it. So said, so done. Remember Esmee and I changed our Mexican dinner plans at the last minute for an Asian theme? Well this was part of it and fit right in!
I used the recipe by Luke Nguyen this time. A; because I have the book and B. because his recipes usually work quite well. Ok, the ones with the really weird ingredients like ant-eggs aside that is. The cake came out perfectly; deliciously sticky and sweet. The trick with the banana leaves I hadn’t tried before; just briefly hold the banana leaves in a flame and they will become pliable and easy to fold and use. I seriously have no idea why it took me so long to find that out! All the times I had cracked banana leaves! They get a pretty gloss too!
Sweet sticky banana cakes with coconut
Ingredients
- 500 gr sticky rice soaked in water for a night
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 200 gr sugar
- 1 tbsp of oil
- banana leaves
- 4 ripe bananas
Instructions
- Drain the rice and put into a hot wok or pan. Stir in the coconut milk, salt and sugar. Bring to the boil and leave this to boil softly for about 5-6 minutes or until the coconut milk is absorbed and the rice is thick and sticky. Stir the oil through. Transfer the mixture to a leaf and let cool. The rice will not be cooked properly at this point, so not to worry!
- Soften the banana leaves by holding them above a flame for a brief minute or so (you can also steam them or put into the microwave) Place on bananaleaf on the counter and put a tablespoon of rice on top. Add a bit of banana followed by an extra tablespoon of the sticky rice. The banana will be sort of wedged in the middle. Fold the edges of the banana leaf around it like you're making a parcel.
- Continue with the rest of the rice, banana and leaves. If you've softened them enough you won't need anything else to keep the leaves in shape.
- Fill a steamer with water and bring to the boil. Steam the parcels (fold down) for about 30-35 minutes.
- Eat when hot!
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
What a a great recipe! I’ve never made sticky rice cakes — something I should tackle one of these days. Yours looks superb! Lovely dish — thanks.
I’ve eaten this before but I’ve never gotten the gumption to make it myself. Looks lovely in those photos.
This is a version of one of my all-time favorite desserts! My mom wrapped large chunks of banana inside the sticky rice, rolled and tied the entire thing in banana leaves, then cooked them in a steam bath. Love! Love! Love! Your recipe looks so good and is making me crave them!