Sticky Rice Wrapped in Banana Leaf - a lost art

Let me share with you what I had for lunch...it's sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf, a very traditional type of Chinese food and can be made either savory or sweet. I had the sweet version, which brought back a lot of fond childhood memories with my grandma.

The rice is wrapped in individual packets in banana leaf and is held together by a string. The result is somewhat of a triangular shape. My grandma would make it so I could wear it around my neck when I was young. They are usually no bigger than the size of your hand. I think I will attempt to make sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf someday so it won't be a lost art.




With the sweet version, they can be filled with red bean paste. Before they are consumed, they are usually sprinkled with sugar for added sweetness. When you unwrap them, they just have the most wonderful aroma from the banana leaf.

Please excuse the imperfect shape of this one...I broke the corner when unwrapping

As with the savory ones, they can be filled with a variety of things...peanuts, fatty pork, Chinese sausage, chicken, salted egg yolks, etc. These are quite tasty...and very sticky of course!