Khao Tom Mud (steamed sticky rice with banana)

Today we focus on Khao Tom Mud, a Thai dessert that is also eaten as a snack, especially on special occasions.

Khao Tom Mud (ข้าวต้มมัด) is a Thai snack made of banana wrapped in steamed glutinous rice with coconut milk and then wrapped again with banana leaf or young coconut leaf. This dish is also popular in Laos. Dishes similar to the Khao tom-mud can also be found in the Philippines (known as suman), Cambodia (known as ansom chek), Indonesia (lepet), and snacks from Vietnam such as bánh tét and Bánh chưng.

There are actually two varieties, savory (filled with pork fat and mung bean) or sweet (filled with coconut milk and banana). Khao Tom Mud is also part of the Sai Krachat tradition (ประเพณี ใส่ กระจาด), a Buddhist tradition of the Thai Phuan people in Ban Mi District, Lopburi Province.

In Thailand, the khao tom mud is the symbol of couples, because they match and are tied together with a thin bamboo strip (rope). Thais believe that if a couple offer khao tom-mud to monks on Khao Phansa Day (the beginning of Buddhist Lent. It is celebrated on the first day after the full moon in the eighth month of the Thai lunar calendar, the day after Asalha Puja), married life will be smooth and there will be stable love

Khao tom mud is also a traditional Thai dessert for the celebration of Wan Ok Phansa (the end of Buddhist Lent in late October).