First and foremost, let’s prepare the glutinous rice or sticky rice by soaking it in the water overnight or for at least 2-3 hours and then rinse until the water is clear and drains well. Over medium heat, combine the glutinous rice with coconut milk, shredded coconut, sugar, and salt, stir the rice until it becomes a sticky consistency, transfer it into a large bowl, and set aside.
We need ripe bananas for this recipe as they have good enough natural sweetness. When preparing it, peel off the banana's skin and coat it with salt. Next, gently squeeze the salt into the banana with your palm or toss them and set aside.
Unpack a package of frozen banana leaves, soak them in water, then gently remove the dirt using your hand and dry. Use a kitchen towel or paper towel to wipe it. Cut both sides for easy rolling or folding.
Place 1 or 2 cleaned banana leaves on your palm, spread about 5 tablespoons of sticky rice on the centre, place 1 banana on top of sweet rice, and use the leaf’s side to press the sweet rice to the centre. Add more sweet rice as needed to cover the banana, then tightly but gently roll the cake in to close it, fold both ends. Again tide or without tiding the cakes, there is not much of a difference since the cakes are still delicious. Place a steamer over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high, put all the cakes in, and steam for about 1 hour.
Serve hot or can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week or in the freezer for a month. This recipe makes about 13 cakes.Enjoy!
