Ideas for Bamboo/ Banana Leaves?

[Kamembert]

Know can steam/ boil them filled with cooked rice, meats, and other vegs then tied..... Have never cooked with them before...... Any favorite recipes?, and ideas beyond rice w/b great!

[ctl98]

You can wrap whole fish in banana leaves and grill them over coals. You can stuff the cavity of the fish with tomatoes, onions, ginger, lemongrass, etc, etc then sprinke samoe salt, wrap in banana leaves, then throw on the grill.

[Sam Fujisaka]

You can steam fish, eel, or meat in green bamboo tubes. Fill, seal ends (can use wads of banana leaf or carfefully placed foil) and place over coals. All tamales in Colombia are made wrapped in banana leaf.

[Kamembert]

Thanks! Samuelsson's recipe sounds great, and will experiment with other fish, meat, veg combinations.

[pescatarian]

I guess when you say you want a recipe beyond rice, that'd include a sticky rice with mango recipe? It's delish!

[singleguychef]

Sometimes I'll smear miso paste around a salmon fillet with a bit of soy and yuzu and then wrap it in a banana leaf and then steam. Creates a nice dimension in flavor, bit deeper.

[FlavoursGal]

I've been meaning to try Marcus Samuelsson's recipe, Snapper Wrapped in Banana Leaves, from his book The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa."

I purchased frozen banana leaves at a Filipino grocery store, and will try the recipe soon. It involves brushing a spice paste onto each of six snapper fillets, topping each with a lemon slice and a tomato slice, and wrapping each seasoned fillet in a banana leaf, which is then tied with butcher's twine.

The banana leaf packets are then placed, along with thin slices of plantain, in the top of a Dutch oven in which a rice, coconut milk and stock mixture is simmering. The fish steams as the rice cooks, and morning glory or spinach is stirred into the rice when done.

Sounds delicious, no?

[littlegreenpea]

Tamales are sometimes made with banana leaves. Don't know any recipes off-hand though.

[bolivianita]

Just heard about this one but haven't tried it. You take the inner leaves of a corn cob the ones that are still tender and wrap a piece of fresh cheese in it and grill it. The cheese is not aged but its not that fresh farmers cheese either. Its like pressed fresh cheese. The person who told me about it said the corn husk imparted a very sweet flavor to the cheese and it melted just enough to make it soft.