Banh tet chuoi

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Chinese New Year is also a big deal in Vietnamese culture. It’s called Tết and the biggest celebration of the year, akin to Christmas.

The foods that are associated with Tết include:

  • Bánh tét (rice cakes or dumplings, wrapped in banana leaves)
  • Thịt kho nước dừa (braised pork, similar to hong shao rou)
  • coconut and sesame candies
  • mandarins

I was craving some and wanted to get into the spirit, by making some for the first time. I decided to make banh tet chuoi, the banana filled variant. The filling and ingredients are a tier easier than the meat-filled ones.

Banana Leaves

This was the first time I handled banana leaves. Well, technically this was shortly after I made tamales so it’s my second time.

Banana leaves are unwieldy and there are tips and tricks to wrangle this beast. Some leaves will be crisp and crunchy, which will readily tear if you tried working with it directly. They should be parboiled, which will soften the leaves and make them more pliable.

Banana leaves impart a mild flavour onto the dough or sticky rice, which is similar to how vanilla provides mild flavour backdrop.

Banh Tet vs. Xoi

After making this, I compared the eating experience to xoi (sweet sticky rice). Xoi has more texture and brighter flavour contrasts, from not being cooked as long. Banh tet is comforting as a mass of food.

In a way, it’s very much like eating a tamale vs. eating a taco. Both are dishes made with the same ingredients but applied in different ways to target a different eating experience. Neither is necessarily better but it’s an individual preference.

Banana Type

My dad said I had to use a thai banana. I didn’t even know where to get one easily, let alone if it was necessary to the dish. I ended up using a regular ol’ cavendish banana to great effect.

Despite my dad’s insistence on tradition, it’s not practical nor is it pragmatic when it comes to evolution of food. If the cavendish banana were readily available to the Vietnamese a hundred years ago and were half the price, do you think they would have still chosen the thai banana?

One of the marks for success is the deep red colour the banana turns after cooking. Even a cavendish will turn red after cooking.

Coconut Milk Ratio

My parents insisted on using a ratio of 1 cup of rice (200 g) to 1/3 can of coconut milk (133 ml). This worked well for me and it was tasty. But I wonder if I could reduce this ratio to reduce calories. And I can always serve the coconut milk on the side afterwards. Does cooking it together result in a sum that is greater than the parts? Next time, I’m going to see if I can halve it.

Instant Pot

Typically, cooking banh tet is an ordeal. My parents talk about spending 8 hours tending to boiling pot.

If you’re able to use an Instant Pot, then you’re golden. It’ll cook in 1/3 of the time and it’s completely hands-free. You can even skip soaking the glutinous rice and cook it longer. I ran out of rice and made some more without soaking and you can’t tell the difference. Perhaps the cook time was longer but with pressure cooking, that’s like 10 extra minutes to a 40 minute cook time.

Beans

Beans are added to the rice to give more texture and make it interesting. I love beans so I’ve increased the ratio even more. 200g of rice will require 15 g of dry beans or 6 tbsp of canned beans (calculated from a previous post).

Banh Tet Chuoi:

This recipe and technique is adapted from RunAwayRice. I’ve tweaked some of the recipe to my liking.

Recipe

Ingredient Weight (g)
Glutinous rice 200
Coconut milk 133 (1/3 can)
Sugar 30
Pandan extract Few drops
Salt Season to taste
   
Beans 15 g dry, 6 tbsp canned
   
Ripe banana 130 g (large)

Recipe Notes

  • When I say coconut milk, I always mean coconut cream. If you’re wanting to substitute, you’d need to use heavy cream as well as a flavouring agent.
  • Pandan extract should be treated like Southeast Asian vanilla extract. So a “few drops” is however heavy handed you would be with vanilla.
  • I eyeballed most of these ingredients. Season until the coconut cream mixture is balanced but strong
  • Any banana can be used. Thai banana is customary but even cavendish bananas taste great.

Technique

Prepping Bananas

The banana is the filling and must be flavoured. The size and girth is dependent on whether you’re making large or smaller rolls.

  1. Cut bananas into 4-6 inch in length. If you’re making skinny small ones, split lengthwise in half or thirds.
  2. Sprinkle with sugar (or sweetener of choice) and salt. Add spices if you want to experiment.

Prepping Coconut Mixture

The coconut mixture is cooked into the rice. It will provide the seasoning for the rice, so adjust towards saltier and sweeter when tasting.

  1. Wash the rice of excess starch.
  2. Mix coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan extract.
  3. Over medium heat, cook rice in a non-stick pan until it dries up.
  4. Add coconut milk mixture and continually stir.
  5. Cook until rice just absorbs all loose liquid.
  6. Remove from heat and mix in beans.

Prepping Banana Leaves

The banana leaves must be cleaned before use. It should be boiled to ensure it’s pliable for wrapping.

  1. Wipe banana leaves of dirt.
  2. Boil in pot or pan of water. Remove from heat after it has softened enough to be flexible.

Assembling

  1. Place two square banana leaf sheets down, with the leaves perpendicular to each other.
  2. Add a thin layer of rice.
  3. Place banana in middle.
  4. Fold in half to wrap, then assemble. This part is best explained in the RunAwayRice video.
  5. Place aside and finish rest.
  6. Boil banh tet for 40 minutes in Instant Pot.
  7. Unwrap to check if cooked. It should not stick to leaf and should be a single mass of starch, instead of individual grains.