Khao Tom — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Sweet sticky rice parcels filled with banana and coconut, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until the filling becomes a luscious, sweet center encased in tender sticky rice. A beloved festive dessert.

Ingredients

3 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight
200ml coconut milk
100g palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas, sliced
50g shredded coconut
Banana leaves for wrapping
Kitchen string

Instructions

1 Drain the soaked sticky rice and mix with coconut milk, palm sugar, and salt.
2 Soften banana leaves over a flame until pliable and cut into rectangles.
3 Place a portion of the rice mixture onto each banana leaf, pressing flat.
4 Add banana slices and shredded coconut in the center of each parcel.
5 Fold the banana leaves into neat rectangular parcels and tie with kitchen string.
6 Steam the parcels for forty minutes until the rice is fully cooked and the parcels feel firm.

Did You Know?

During Laotian New Year celebrations, families compete to make the most beautiful khao tom parcels, with the wrapping technique considered an art form passed from mother to daughter.