Thai Bananas in Coconut Milk

📝 Ingredients

• 4 bananas, still firm (about 120 g flesh each)
• 1 tin full-fat coconut milk, about 18% fat (400 ml)
• 150 ml water
• 40 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 15 g desiccated coconut
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (about 10 g)

🍴 Utensils

• Frying pan
• Medium saucepan
• Knife and cutting board
• Wooden spoon
• 4 bowls

📖 Steps

1. Toast the sesame seeds and desiccated coconut in the dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly golden and fragrant. Tip them into a bowl straight away: they burn in seconds.
2. Peel the bananas, cut them in half lengthways, then into pieces about 4 cm long. Choose bananas that are barely ripe, still slightly green at the ends: if too ripe, they fall apart when cooked.
3. Shake the tin of coconut milk before opening. Pour the coconut milk and water into the saucepan, add the sugar and salt, then heat over a medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
4. As soon as the mixture comes to a simmer (small bubbles around the edges), lower to a gentle heat. Never let it boil hard: the coconut milk splits, separating into fat and water, and turns grainy.
5. Add the banana pieces and let them poach over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, spooning the coconut milk over them rather than stirring. They're ready when the tip of a knife slides in without resistance but they still hold their shape.
6. Remove from the heat and taste the milk: it should be nicely sweet, with a slight salty note that lifts the coconut. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, divide the bananas and their milk between the bowls, then sprinkle with the toasted sesame and coconut.