Recipes

Sweet Sticky Rice with Banana Filling

Khao Tom Mat

Sweet coconut sticky rice wrapped around banana and black beans, steamed and served warm

Sweet Sticky Rice with Banana Filling
Prep
15 min
Cook
80 min
Serves
4
Heat
mild

Khao Tom Mat is festival food, traditionally wrapped in banana leaves so it can be eaten on the move at a temple fair or wedding celebration. Coconut milk cooked down with sugar and salt turns glutinous rice into a thick, sticky mass, which then gets built up around a half banana and a scattering of black beans before being wrapped, here in foil rather than the traditional leaf, and steamed until set. Served hot alongside vanilla ice cream, it becomes something closer to a modern plated dessert than the walking snack it started as, though the sweet coconut rice and soft banana at its center stay exactly the same.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Soak the glutinous rice for at least 4 hours in plenty of water, then drain and rinse well. Halve the bananas lengthwise. Cut sheets of aluminum foil about 12x12 inches, one per package.
  2. In a wok or large pan, heat most of the coconut milk over low to medium heat, reserving a little in case the rice needs more liquid later. Stir in the coconut sugar and salt.
  3. Keep the heat low and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick and bubbly.
  4. Add the soaked rice and stir well.
  5. Cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes over low heat so the liquid doesn't evaporate too fast, until the rice is soft and chewy, not hard. Add more coconut milk and keep cooking if it needs it. The finished rice should look like a thick, sticky mass, similar to cooked oatmeal.
  6. Turn off the heat and let the rice cool completely in the pan, covered with a towel — this can take a few hours, or can be left overnight.
  7. Lay a sheet of foil on the counter. Arrange a few black beans in a row, then spoon a small amount of the cooled rice on top to form a log shape.
  8. Lay half a banana on top and press down gently to flatten the rice slightly.
  9. Spoon more rice over the banana and place a few more beans on top, so the banana is fully enclosed in rice with beans visible on the outside.
  10. Fold the foil over to seal, like wrapping a burrito, folding both ends closed. Repeat with the remaining rice and banana.
  11. Steam the packages for 45 minutes.
  12. Let cool completely if saving for later — they'll keep at room temperature, still wrapped, for a couple of days, or refrigerated (they'll firm up but still taste good). Reheat in the microwave unwrapped, or re-steam with the foil on.
  13. For a dessert, serve hot or reheated with vanilla ice cream, garnished with a little mint.

Notes

This recipe splits naturally into two sessions — cook the sticky rice and let it cool completely (even overnight) before coming back to wrap and steam the packages, rather than trying to do everything in one sitting.

Substitutions

Banana leaves, if available, make a more traditional and fragrant wrapper than foil, though foil is easier to find and seals well.