“I will never forget delicious banana coconut tapioca pudding, locally known as banana pudding, a simple but very popular specialty dish of Da Nang,” Nguyen Thuy Hien from HCM City said.

Hien was recently invited by her friend to Da Nang, and tried a number of banana sweet soup such as grilled banana sweet soup (grilled), steamed banana sweet soup (steamed), semolina banana sweet soup (tapioca), sweet potato banana sweet soup (sweet potato) and green bean soup (mung bean).

“For the steamed banana pudding, I enjoy its special flavor sweet, buttery richness of cassava and peanut mixed with tapioca and coconut juice,” said Hien, noting that she also likes the banana mixed with sweet potato: the grilled banana is cooked with fresh coconut water and the potato is rich and fragrant topped with vanilla.

Hien said, while going for a walk with her friend, she saw many mobile carts selling grilled banana pudding along streets.

Hien told her friend that she wanted to try the dish, and found it so attractive and tasty: The sweet grilled banana is wrapped in sticky rice and soaked in rich coconut juice mixed with fragrant pandan leaves and topped with fried sesame.

Each grilled banana slice is half hidden, half visible in the coconut juice topped with fried peanut. “My friend told me that it should be slowly eaten to enjoy its taste.”

Hien was excited to learn how to make banana sweet soup at home. She asked a seller Huynh Hong Hai at Ong Ich Khiem Street about a recipe.

Ingredients include 10 ripe bananas, 0.4kg sticky rice, fried peanuts, tapioca, salt, sugar and green banana leaves and coconut juice which is the key for grilled banana sweet soup, Hai said, advising Hien that she should use 200 ml coconut juice, 100 ml cold water, one table spoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix these together and put on medium heat until boiling, then add the tapioca in and stir well.

Hai said to make the coating for the banana you should soak the sticky rice in water with a little salt overnight then cook it. When the sticky rice is still hot, spread it on the wrap and put the grilled banana in the middle and cover its two ends very carefully. The next step is to get the food wrap off and roll it in banana leaves before grilling it in the oven at 250oC for 20 minutes. The last step is to get off the banana leaves and continue grilling for another 10 minutes until the sticky rice turns golden brown.

Hai added that it is best enjoyed by cutting it into pieces and pouring coconut over it. “The dish should be eaten in hot to be at its tastiest,” Hai said.

He also gave Hien recipes to cook sweet potato banana sweet soup, green bean banana sweet soup and several others. VNS

In the box

Top six places for tasty grilled bananas in Da Nang include:

+ 104/59B Le Dinh Ly Street, Vinh Trung Ward, Thanh Khe District. Opening hours from 2 to 9pm. Price ranging from VND 5,000 to VND 30,000.

+ 226 & 261 Phan Chau Trinh Street. Opening hours from 6 to 8pm with price ranging from VND 10,000- 15,000.

+ Alley 190 Ong Ich Khiem Street. Opening hours from 5 to 10pm with price ranging from VND 10,000 - VND 15,000.

+ Hoang Dieu Street, Binh Thuan Ward, Hai Chau District. Opening hours from 4 to 8pm. Price from VND 5,000 to VND 10,000.

+ 111 Thai Thi Boi Str, Thanh Khe District. Opening hours from 1 to 6pm, with affordable price from VND 3,000 to VND 10,000.

+ Con Market at 290 Hung Vuong, Vinh Trung Ward, Hai Chau District.

Apart from these famous grilled banana outlets, other dishes such as steamed banana sweet soup (steamed), semolina banana sweet soup (tapioca), sweet potato banana sweet soup (sweet potato), green bean sweet soup (mung bean) and others are available in Da Nang City's corners and sidewalks to serve locals and foreign foodies.

VNS