Barongko - Saba Banana and Coconut Milk in Banana Leaves

I was doing my weekly grocery when I chanced upon boxes of beautiful pisang kepok (saba bananas). They are almost always available year round, but this time they looked especially beautiful with the right ripeness that I started dreaming of all sort of delicious Indonesian kue basah to make. There are endless of delectable traditional kue basah made with this banana and I will start with barongko, a specialty of the Bugis Makassar people from the island of Sulawesi. You will also need to grab some banana leaves, coconut milk, and eggs.

Making barongko at home is really simple. Pick some ripe saba bananas, 2-3 should be enough, then mashed in a mixing bowl, and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Then come the tricky part, namely wrapping the banana mixture with banana leaves and securing the packet with a toothpick. If the whole ordeal sounds downright impossible, I suggest lining a baking pan with banana leaf, then pour the entire banana mixture onto the pan, and just steam the whole pan. It should still be delicious, but it won’t look as cute as those wrapped in individual banana leaf packets.