From the recipe collection
Folo
B’laan upland rice wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in bamboo, with a steamer method when food-safe bamboo is unavailable.
- Prep time
- 25 min plus soaking
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 6 packets
- Audio recipe
Get everything ready
Ingredients
Clear ingredient amounts are adjusted. Check marked ingredients and quantities within brackets. Quantities in the method and cooking times still refer to the original recipe.
Tick ingredients as you prepare.
Method
- Rinse the rice until the water is mostly clear. Soak for 20–30 minutes, then drain very well.
- Toss the drained rice with salt. Divide it among softened banana leaves and fold into slim packets that will fit inside the bamboo tube or steamer.
- For bamboo cooking, inspect an untreated food-safe tube, line it if necessary, slide in the packets, add about 2 cups water, and plug the opening loosely with banana leaf.
- Set the bamboo at an angle beside medium embers, turning every few minutes.
- Cook for about 20 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
- For a home steamer, arrange the packets in one layer and steam for 25–30 minutes, checking that the steamer does not run dry.
- Rest the packets for 10 minutes before opening. If the rice has a hard core, steam another 5 minutes rather than adding water directly to the packet.
- Serve the rice from the banana leaves with Alnolot or another B’laan-style savoury dish.
