Rustic stir-fried banana dish

My friend in My Tho texted: "Come back to My Tho this weekend. My mom has been reminding me that you haven't come back for a long time. Come back, I'll make you some fried bananas to eat."

My college friend lives in My Tho. When we were still in school, almost every month, a few of us would go to her house to play, partly because it was quite close, partly because Aunt Muoi - her mother - often made many delicious dishes, and my favorite dish was stir-fried banana.

After graduating and starting work, I didn't have much time to visit her house anymore. For the past two years, my friend left the city to live and work in My Tho, so we saw each other less and less. So when I received her message, I immediately arranged my work to return to My Tho.

When I arrived, Aunt Muoi was busy in the kitchen making the everlasting fried banana dish. I eagerly asked to help and learn the trade. She said: "Peel the bananas, slice them diagonally, and boil them. Don't use ripe bananas because they will be mushy, and green bananas are astringent and hard to eat."

Bananas and sweet potatoes are steamed.

Coconut milk and peanuts, two indispensable ingredients in stir-fried bananas

Slices of banana and sweet potato were arranged diagonally in the bowl. Boiled bananas turned light yellow, and sweet potatoes with turmeric yellow color were arranged alternately. Thick coconut milk was poured on top, Aunt Muoi also sprinkled some crushed roasted peanuts and on top, she also sprinkled some shredded jackfruit slices. "The jackfruit is also boiled" - seeing my bewilderment, she smiled and said.

My aunt's stir-fried banana looked so appealing that it made me swallow my saliva. Seeing that, she smiled and said: "Seeing your greedy look makes me happy, eat quickly."

I didn't wait for my aunt to invite me more, I picked up the spoon and started eating. The banana, sweet potato, and jackfruit were chewy, sweet, and rich, mixed with the rich, fragrant taste of coconut milk and the fatty taste of roasted peanuts, it was wonderful.

It is strange that there are things that are very simple and rustic but leave us with deep flavors. Perhaps because in it there is the rustic quality and affection of a mother in the countryside for her children far away.

Stir-fried bananas, a rustic but unforgettable dish

Then she washed and boiled some sweet potatoes. After removing the bananas and potatoes, Aunt Muoi continued to pour coconut milk into the pot and put it on the stove. She took out some tapioca starch and chopped some green onions. She said: "Mix the tapioca starch into the coconut milk until it thickens and becomes smooth. Add green onions to create the unique flavor of this dish."

I wondered: "I only see you boil bananas, why do you call them stir-fried bananas?", Aunt Muoi smiled gently: "It's in the little green onion leaves, my child. There are green onion leaves in coconut milk, when you eat it, you will feel the flavor of the stir-fried dish."

When I returned to the city, just like when I was a child and went back to school, Aunt Muoi packed a big bag of boiled bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and roasted peanuts, and told me to take it with me: "Bring it up there and eat it to your heart's content, then when you have time, come back here and I'll make more for you."

Source: https://nld.com.vn/diem-den-hap-dan/dan-da-mon-chuoi-xao-20210121211624342.htm