Banh It La Chuoi (Mung Bean Cakes in Banana Leaf), Sweetened with Monk Fruit
Sweets and drinksSteamed CakesVietnamSoak the beans 1 hour, steam 25 to 30 minutes
Banh it la chuoi takes its work in the wrapping. The glutinous rice shell is soft, the mung bean filling is nutty and dry, and the banana leaf is folded into a sealed cone. Adding all the sweetened liquid to the flour at once leaves a dough too wet to wrap.
Here the sweetened liquid is cooked first with minced ginger, then poured slowly into the glutinous rice flour as it is kneaded. The mung bean filling is stir fried with coconut oil and shallot until completely dry before being rolled into balls.
This batch weighs about 3.5kg, at roughly 159 calories per 100g.
Method
Put 585g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 100ml water in a pan, heat over medium until dissolved and boiling, then add 1 tablespoon minced ginger and stir.
Lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon salt and stir until the syrup smells of ginger and takes on color.
Pour in 750ml warm water, stir well, turn off the heat and skim off any foam.
Soak 400g mung beans for about 1 hour, rinse, then cook in just enough water until tender and the water has gone.
Fry 1 minced shallot in 100ml coconut oil until fragrant, add the cooked mung beans and stir quickly, season with 1 teaspoon salt and keep stirring until the filling is dry. Let it cool, then roll it into balls.
Put 1kg glutinous rice flour in a large bowl, pour in the still warm liquid a little at a time, mixing and kneading until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
Leave 5 banana leaves in the sun for 1 hour to soften, wash them, wipe them dry and brush with cooking oil. Tear the leaves into pieces about 20cm wide and fold them twice on the diagonal into cones.
Oil your hands, flatten a piece of dough, set a ball of filling in the middle and seal it. Coat the outside with oil, set it in a banana leaf cone and fold both sides and the bottom tightly closed.
Arrange the cakes on a tray and steam for 25 to 30 minutes until done.
Tips
Pour the sweetened liquid into the flour slowly to control the texture, since adding it all at once makes the dough wet.
The drier the filling is stir fried, the longer the cakes keep.
Knead while the liquid is still warm to the touch, since cold liquid makes the glutinous rice flour slow to soften and prone to cracking.
The syrup only needs to smell of ginger and take on color, with no need to wait for a deep brown.
An hour in the sun softens the banana leaves so the cones fold without tearing.
Oiled hands and an oiled coating keep the cakes from sticking to the leaves.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.