Nyob Zoo All!
Here’s to a super tasty dessert or snack I love to make during this time of year. It’s coconut sticky rice filled with a slightly sweet & nutty taro coconut paste. It’s wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed. For extra flavor and texture, it can be grilled. You can see this being made in Thai, Lao, and Vietnamese cuisine and often with other types of filling too like banana, beans, mung beans etc. I wanted to show you the taro coconut version since I love the combo together. So give it a go! Happy Cooking!
Main Ingredients
For the taro coconut filling: Use fresh taro chunks, sugar, salt, coconut milk, and freshly grated coconut. For the sticky rice: I like to use long grain sticky rice (Rabbit brand), palm sugar, coconut milk, pandan leaf, & salt
Once the taro coconut filling & sticky rice is made, it’s time to fill & wrap in banana leaves!
SteamEnjoy as is like thisOr like how I like it, grill or pan fry it to give it some color, extra flavor & texture. I like to use my pancake griddle.
Enjoy while it’s fresh! Once cooled, you can place it in a zip lock bag and put it in the fridge for 5 days. Rewarm when you want to eat it.
Enjoy!
– Cindy Her [C.HerCreations]
Taro Coconut Sticky Rice Wrapped In Banana Leaves
Ingredients
Taro Coconut Filling
- 1 lb taro (cut into chunks) [460-480g]
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (Aroy D)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
Coconut Sticky Rice
- 3 cups long grain sticky rice (1lb 6 oz) [Rabbit brand]
- 3 cups coconut milk (750ml) [Aroy D]
- 1/3 cups + 3 TBSP crushed palm sugar (135g)
- 1 pandan leaf
- 1 tsp sea salt (6g)
- Banana leaves (cleaned well and cut into squares)
Instructions
For the taro coconut filling
- Steam the taro chunks for 20-25 minutes until it's fork tender. Then transfer to a nonstick pan and add in the sugar & salt. Mash with a spatula to incorporate the sugar/salt in. Then add in the coconut milk. Cook on medium heat for 5-8 minutes until thicken and the filling is no longer sticking to the pan [stir often to prevent burning]. Turn off the heat and then add in the shredded coconut. Mix and transfer the filling onto a plate wrapped in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to cool completely before using.
For the coconut sticky rice/wrapping
- Rinse the sticky rice. Drain well and then pour in hot boiling water to cover. Stir and let it sit to soak for 30 minutes. DO NOT SOAK MORE THAN 30 MINUTES. After 30 minutes, drain well. While it's draining, in a good non stick pot, add in the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan leaf. Cook on medium heat to dissolve the palm sugar. Then add in the rice. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until the rice has absorb most of the moisture. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes to continue soaking up extra moisture. Remove the pandan leaf and we are ready to fill & wrap.
- Rinse/clean the banana leaf well. Cut into square. Working with the lines vertically, add in 1 good scoop (1/4-1/3 cup) of the coconut rice. Add in the taro coconut filling (as much as you like), and another small 1/2 scoop of rice to cover the filling. Fold the banana from end to the other to cover. Then tuck in the ends to sell. You can fully seal the ends with picks. Place in the steamer and cook for 20 minutes. Once cooked, cool before enjoying.
- If you want to grill it, you can do it over a bbq grill, dry pan fried, or like me, on a pancake griddle. I like to place it straight onto my pancake griddle at 400'F for about 8 minutes on each side or longer until the banana leaf turns black. Remove from heat and cool for a little bit. Remove the banana leaf and enjoy!
Notes