Xôi mít lá cẩm puts fruit and sticky rice together. The sticky rice is soaked in water boiled with cẩm leaves, which gives it a natural purple colour, then steamed and spooned into jackfruit segments. When I wrote this, I was hearing a lot about it in Saigon. Plan ahead: the sticky rice soaks for 1 night. Ingredients 8–10 big jackfruit segments 1 bowl sticky rice Salt, sugar 1 bunch of cẩm leaves (for the natural purple colour) Coconut meat, sliced thinly Roasted sesame For the coconut milk sauce 200 ml coconut milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon corn starch How to make xôi mít lá cẩm 1. Make the cẩm leaf water Wash the cẩm leaves well. Put them into a pot with 1 bowl of cold water and cook until the leaves give off their purple colour, about 7–10 minutes. Take out all the leaves, keep the water and let it cool down. 2. Soak and steam the sticky rice Wash the sticky rice well 2–3 times, then soak it in the cẩm leaf water with ½ teaspoon salt for 1 night. This step is what gives the rice its colour. Steam the sticky rice until it’s cooked and soft. While it steams, stir it gently with wooden chopsticks from time to time, and add sugar and salt to suit your taste. 3. Prepare the jackfruit, sesame and coconut With a knife, make one gentle cut along each jackfruit segment and take out the seed. Rinse them quickly. Grind the roasted sesame, then add salt and sugar to suit your taste. Put the sliced coconut meat into a clean bowl. 4. Cook the coconut milk sauce Put the coconut milk, salt, sugar and corn starch into a pot and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring the whole time until it’s thick. Turn off the heat and let it cool. 5. Fill the jackfruit Use a spoon to scoop a little of the steamed sticky rice into each jackfruit segment. Add some sliced coconut and the sesame, salt and sugar mixture, and finally pour a little of the coconut sauce (the original calls it coconut syrup here) on top. Arrange them on a plate and serve them as a dessert. Share:
