Banh Chuoi (sweet rice and banana roll)

Get ready for a long post. This was my first time helping out to make this. Banh chuoi is a dessert that is typically made for Lunar New Year. It's a steamed roll that has bananas wrapped around coconut-scented sweet rice. The whole thing is wrapped in banana leaves. A savory version that has a mung bean layer and also a layer of fatty pork is called banh tet. Another variation is to package it more in a square shape instead of cylinder. The following is how my mom makes it. We only do it once of year because of the amount of work and cook-time this takes. We make big batches of it (this year we spent three hours making 12 rolls) and they take five hours to steam. So probably none of you would ever make this, but it was still fun to document how it's done.

Banh Chuoi (makes about 12 rolls)

14 cups uncooked sweet rice (aka glutinous rice or sticky rice)
4 14-ounce cans coconut cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

18 bananas, very very ripe
2 1/2 tablespoons salt

3 bags banana leaves


The night before:
Fill your sink with cold water and soak the banana leaves. Use a clean towel to wipe each side of the leaves clean. Banana leaves are tricky in that they tend to rip easily. Try to keep the leaves as intact as possible. Sort out the leaves that are skinny strips, you will need them later. Let the leaves dry overnight.  The leaves won't dry out completely, but that's okay.  You could prepare the leaves the same day that you make the

Preparing the sweet rice:
The rice needs to be prepared in batches due to the sheer amount of rice involved.  We have a large wok and was able to prepare this in two batches, but others may need to prepare the rice in three or four batches.

1. Heat  2 cans of coconut cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 3/4 tablespoon of salt in a large pan or pot on high heat.

This is the brand of coconut cream that we use

2.  Once the coconut cream mixture has reached a simmer, add 3 1/2 cups of sweet rice.  Stir until the sweet rice has absorbed all of the cream.  The sweet rice won't be cooked or dry, it will be moist.  Let the rice cool before using.  You can start making rolls with this batch or start preparing your other batches or rice.


 3.  Peel bananas into a large bowl.  Add 3/4 tablespoon of salt and mix.  Slice six of the bananas lengthwise.

Assembly!

1.  Set up: have your cleaned banana leaves in two piles, one for large pieces and one for skinny strips (about 4 inch strips).  Have your bowl of bananas and your bowl of rice on the side. Keep a clean cloth to wipe the leaves dry and a moist cloth to keep your hands clean in between wrapping.  You need rubber bands to temporarily secure the rolls and also string to tie them up later.

2. Arrange one sheet of banana leaf with the grain going horizontally, wiping excess water off both sides.  Place a second, wiped sheet on top of it, this time with the grain going vertically. 







3.  Spoon a thin layer of sweet rice onto the leaves.  Leave 1.5-2 inch margins along all sides.  Place one whole banana and a halved one in the center.  Leave a 0.5-1 inch of space between the banana and the rice.  You might need to cut off some of the banana.






4.  Gather the top and bottom of the leaves together.

 
5. Tuck the leaves onto itself and then flatten it.  Make sure the wrapping is tight.  Squeeze the sides to make a rectangle shape.  Also, try hard not to make the leaves rip at the seams.  If you do, take another large piece and wrap it around the whole roll.

Fold the end onto itself

Then fold it flat

  

6.  Fold one end of the roll simply, so that you can turn it on its side.  Use your finger to scrape any rice on the inside of the sides.  If you can see banana peeking through, add some more rice and then tamp it down.  Fold the sides of the roll similar to folding the sides of a gift-wrapped box. You may need to trim off excess banana leaf.

 





 7.  Reinforce the sides with some strips of banana leaves.  Lay one strip to wrap end in one direction.  Lay another strip crosswise.  Tie the end with some string or a rubber band.  You will properly tie the whole thing up later.




8. Flip over and wrap the other end.



9.  Continue to wrap until you are out of bananas.  Now it is time to tie all of the rolls.  Use one piece of  string to tie the long sides of the roll.  Use the same method as tying ribbon on a present.  Tie the ends of the string together.  My mom likes to do this fancy thing where she uses one string to wrap the long sides for two rolls.  That way, it is easy to hand the cooked rolls.  That isn't necessary, but feel free to do that if you want.



10.  Tie more string around the center of the roll.  In the end it will look like this: four strings around the roll and one string going lengthwise.  If you wrapped it the fancy way, you will be able to hang the rolls up like this:



11.  Set up the steamer.  We have a large metal one that comes with a bottom pan, two steamer pans, and lid.  Fill the bottom with water and a small lemon, cut in half.  The lemon prevents mineral build up on the pan (easier cleanup later).  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lay the rolls into the steam pan.  Do not place rolls on top of each other.  If you can, keep some space in between rolls so that the steam can circulate.  Steam the rolls for  five hours.  When they are done, allow the rolls to reach room temperature before slicing.

And that is how we make banh chuoi.  As you can see, it is a laborious process.  Below is the finished product!  We cooked ours for six hours, a little too long, so that's why it appears soggy.  The banana turns red because of the salt added, and the rice turns greenish because of the banana leaves.  You can leave the rolls out at room temperature, but if it's too hot, then refrigerate them.  To reheat, slice however many you want, peel off the banana leaves, cover and microwave for about a minute.  Will any of you ever make this?  Please let me know how they turn out if you do!