Vietnamese grilled banana wrapped in sticky rice is a rural and familiar dish in Vietnam. The ingredients to make the dish include bananas, coconut milk, glutinous rice and crushed roasted peanuts.

When the bananas have just begun to ripen, the chef peels off the skin and dries the bananas under the sun twice. Thus, the bananas absorb the spices after grilling. Then, the banana is wrapped in sticky rice, which is cooked glutinous rice mixed with grated coconut meat.

The chef must be very skillful so as to wrap sticky rice around the banana evenly, neither too thick nor too thin, so that diners can enjoy all the flavors.

In the final step, the chef wraps the cake with two layers of banana leaves and grills the cake on a charcoal stove evenly.

The cake, when served, is cut into bite-sized pieces in a small bowl. Then, coconut milk is poured into the bowl, and finally, some crushed roasted peanuts are sprinkled on top of the dish. The crispiness of the grilled sticky rice and peanuts, and the softness and sweet taste of the bananas and coconut milk awakens the taste buds of diners.

Source: Saigon Times