Hello Foodie!
Here is another childhood favorite of mine called ncuav txuam puab which is basically just sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf. Yes, it’s basically just sticky rice cooked inside a banana leaf. Super simple but very nostalgic and has a special place in my heart. Today, I’m having my grandma over to show you all how to make it. I grew up eating these with my grandparents since they love eating it a lot. During those days we would eat it with a sweet chili flake and fish sauce dip. Sound weird? Not at all! 🙂 These small sticky rice snacks are great on road trips, camping, or just as is. They are also great with beef jerky. So give it a try and let me know what you like to eat it with if you’ve ever had it.
Hope you all enjoy. And Happy Father’s day to all the amazing Fathers out there. 🙂 This was one of my Grandpas favorite snack to eat. Love and miss you Gramps.
BANANA TREE!
Fresh banana leaf
Untwine a rice bag to tie the rice wraps
The longer the better
Fill, wrap, and tie
Put in a pot with lots of water and cook for 2.5hrs
Make chili pepper dip
Fish sauce, sugar, and dried chili flakes
After it’s cooked 
Let it cool, unwrap and enjoy!
Nostalgic 
Or enjoy with beef jerky too! YUM!
Recipe here: https://chawjcreations.com/2018/04/28/my-moms-hmong-style-beef-jerky/
ENJOY!
Ingredients
- 15-20 banana leaf cut into 6x6 or 7x7 (the bigger the longer the rice wrap)
- 1/4 cup short grain sticky rice per leaf (you'll need to add more rice if you end up cutting the banana leaf bigger) DO NOT SOAK or RINSE. Use it dry as is.
- 4-6 quarts of water or enough to cover all the wraps ( with at least 2 inches overhead to throughly cook the rice)
- Strings or cooking twine (we untwine a rice to use it as the strings)
- ---PEPPER DIP---
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried Thai chili flakes (add less or more)
- 1 tsp sugar (add less or more)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
Instructions
1) If you are using fresh banana leaf, lay the leaves out in the sun for a good 5-10 minutes to soften it. Then cut them to the right size, rinse them and pat them dry before using. If you're using frozen banana leaf, let it thaw and lay it in the sun for 10-15 minutes to soften it. OR you can rinse it well, cut them to the right size and flip it every second over a flame until it starts to soften and be more flexible to work with.
2) Get your twine or strings ready to wrap the rice. We untwine a sticky rice bag and used that to twine up the rice in banana leaf.
3) For each banana leaf, add at least 1/4 cup of short grain sticky rice in the center and start folding the banana leaf starting from the top and bottom to the center. Then take the ends and fold it in. You should end up having a 4 inch long wrap (it may be longer it may be shorter depending on the banana leaf. If you have bigger banana leaves, you'll have to add double the rice and make them extra long. Then start wrapping the string or twine around the wrap. Make sure to wrap it loosely to allow room for the rice to expand. Tie it up and repeat until all the banana leaves are used up.
4) Fill your pot with water and add in the rice wraps. At this point the water should start finding its way inside the wraps. Cover with a lid and let it boil for at least 2.5 hrs. If you end up making giant ones, you'll have to cook it for at least 4-5 hrs and add more water as you go to throughly cook it all the way through.
5) After 2.5 hrs most of the water should have evaporated. Take one out to see if it's cooked throughly. If not, cook it longer (just make sure you have water to boil it longer). Once cooked, let it cool completely before consuming. Cooling it allows the rice to have a nice chewy texture. If you eat it hot, it can be very sticky.
6) PEPPER DIP: Mix everything in a small bowl and taste to adjust. Dip the rice in the pepper dip and enjoy!
Notes
You can also eat these rice wraps with beef jerky since they are pretty plain. They are also great with any other proteins. You can add salt to the water to season the rice or use chicken stock. But I grew up eating it pretty basic. So up to you.
