Banh Da Lon

Posting had been a chore the last few weeks as i was not able to copy and paste.  Only this morning did my friend Ted solved my problem.  What a relieve for me, i could not be happier and it was double happiness as i managed to make this dessert which turned out better than i expected. I tasted this dessert when i was in Paris in 2000 and have been thinking about it since. This is a vietnamese dessert and another name for this dessert is called bánh da heo(literally "pig skin cake").  There is a 'kuih' in Malaysia which is very identical and it is called Kuih Lapis 

Ingredients:

Basic Coconut Batter

200 g tapioca flour

60 g rice flour

250 g sugar
1/2 cup water
1 big can coconut milk Savoy brand 525 ml.plus 100 ml water = 2 1/2 cups

Method:

Heat up ½ cup water in a pot and dissolve the sugar in it.

In a bowl, mix the tapioca and the rice flours.

Add the coconut milk mixture, little by little, and mix so the mixture is well blended.

Add the syrup to the batter and sieve batter.

Mung Bean Mixture

Ingredients:

4 ozs skinless mung beans - wash, soak for 2 - 3 hours and then steam until soft
1/2 of the coconut batter (above)

Method:


Measure 1 cup of the cooked mung beans and put into a food processor/blender and add in half of the above batter and process/blend until liquidfied.  Strain batter through a fine sieve.

Batter should be 3 cups  - to make 4 layers of 3/4 cups for each layer.

Pandan mixture

1 tsp pandan paste diluted with 1/2 cup water/pandan leaves juice
1/2 of the coconut batter (above)

Method:

Blend the 4 - 5 pandan leaves and 1/2 cup water in a food processor/blender if using.  Strain through a sieve and squeeze to obtain 1/2 cup

Drain the pandan leaves through a sieve and discard the pandan remains.

Add to the remaining half of the coconut batter and add in 1 tsp pandan paste.

If not using pandan leaves juice just add water to the remaining half of the coconut batter and add in pandan paste.

Batter should be 2 1/2 cups - to make 5 layers of 1/2 cup for each layer.

Steaming Bánh Da Lợn

Set up a steamer and bring water to a boil.

Grease an 8” pan with  a little oil.

Place the pan into the steamer.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the pandan mixture into pan which should be enough to make a full layer.

Steam for about 4 minutes until the layer is no longer liquid so it can support the next layer.

Add about 3/4 cup of the mung bean mixture and cook for 4 minutes.

Repeat until you have a total of 9 layers (optional) or until you run out of the mixtures.

Continue to steam another 10 - 15 minutes to fully cook all the layers.

Remove the pan from the steamer.

Let cool and cut into pieces.