- 10/04/2020
An old Mekong Delta friend posted pictures of deliciously charred bananas with a coconut milk dip which reminded me of my own sweet childhood. Mom would always make the snack, because I was little. When I moved to and settled in Ho Chi Minh City, the staple snack was an occasional treat I never got to enjoy.
Every house across the Mekong Delta provinces of Vietnam, specifically Ben Tre, boasts a garden with banana trees and coconut trees, big or small. Moms also make delectable treats from homegrown ingredients when children need a snack.
These staple dishes are relatively simple, using a highly versatile backyard fruit. Mum might make either fried banana, banana sweet soup, or banana cake with just a bunch of bananas.
Yet grilled bananas remain a favorite for the little ones. Easy but flavourful, a grilled banana plate with a coconut dip leaves one drooling to the bottom.
Maybe it's this very simplicity in the preparation of the dish that maintains its essence and keeps us, those far from home, longing relentlessly.
The main move is to pick the correct banana. Bananas must be selected when almost ripe with green skin and slightly hard to reach to ensure the most flavour.
The bananas are then peeled, cut in half and then set on a preheated coal stove with earthenware. Mom places them in a bag after the bananas have warmed up and hardened, and gently flats them out.
She then, for a second time, places the gently pounded bananas on the grill. The process may seem straightforward and simple, but it is deceptively laborious as the harsh heat generated from the coal stove requires the bananas to turn quickly, methodically. The bananas are finished, until both sides turn golden and slightly charred. Quickly an enticing scent fills every room nook and cranny.
Grilling the bananas over coal intensifies the fruity, mellow, and sweet scent; an odor that can seduce anyone near by. The grilled banana dish, however, is not full without its coconut milk dip-a Mekong Delta area specialty.
Bananas are constantly turned for a sweet golden colour, when grilling over coal.
With the coconut trees thriving conveniently in the backyard, all local dishes are followed by a dip of coconut, whether milk or water is involved. This signature coconut dip also comes with most sweet items from the provinces of the Mekong Delta. The scrumptious banana grilled treat is no exception.
Mom takes a dry coconut from the garden to make the sauce, scrapes out her meat and twice extracts the juice. She seasons it with sugar and salt using only water from the first extraction, and boils it over the burner. Every now and then the mixture is mixed carefully and tasted to ensure sweet and salty flavor.
At the boiling point, mum adds and blends to thicken the texture in some tapioca starch. Then the dip is cooked until the texture is mildly viscous and not too runny nor too thick. A handful of thinly sliced scallions are dropped into the blend for visual appeal before turning off the burner.
A sweet tooth can be fulfilled with the taste of these smoky bananas drenched in rich coconut sauce. The cravings are being replaced by the compelling scent of the dish and an eruption of flavour: sweet, creamy and delicious. The coconut sauce is so milky and well-balanced that when the bananas run out, the rest of the scrumptious side dip is slurped up by girls.
The sweetness of bananas is matched by the grilling toasty taste.
Grilled bananas have many variants, and they twist to it. The dish is topped off in some places with a garnish of scallion and green onion oil as well as toasted peanuts. Regardless of how it is eaten, grilled bananas book a special place in the hearts of locals in the Mekong Delta.
For locals in the Mekong Delta, we can find our childhood dish in Ho Chi Minh City at small eateries or sidewalk stalls but it doesn't taste the same thing. The grilled bananas may be beautifully sewn and generously sprinkled with velvety coconut sauce, but they still taste incomplete.It lacks the modest kitchen of mom, the flourishing green garden of dad, our simple hometown, and most of all the household warmth that makes the grilled bananas and coconut dip of mom incomparable.
Source : Vnexpress International