On a peaceful street corner of the silk land of Tan Chau - An Giang, her simple grilled banana stall has existed for more than 20 years, becoming an unforgettable part of the memories of many generations. For Bui Nhut Thanh, a freelance photographer currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, this familiar grilled banana stall is not just a snack, but also a memory from his childhood.
A simple grilled banana stall with over 20 years of experience, associated with many childhood memories.
“In Ho Chi Minh City, there is also grilled banana cake, the ingredients are banana and sticky rice, but the flavor is still not the same as in my hometown,” Thanh shared. In Tan Chau, grilled banana has its own unique flavor - rustic, pure and rich in the flavor of the West. The bananas she sells are usually picked from her garden, without preservatives or chemical fertilizers, helping the banana taste naturally sweet and more delicate.
The type of banana used is wax banana, not old banana or betel banana.
After peeling the bananas, they will be neatly arranged on a bamboo or rattan basket and then brought out to dry in the sun for about an hour to dry and tighten the thin white skin on the outside.
Early in the morning, the street corner suddenly became warmer thanks to her charcoal stove. The simple scene with a round iron grill placed on an old aluminum basin, inside was a small layer of nearly burnt coal. No need for a blazing fire, just a little heat spreading evenly on the grill surface was enough to make each banana, which had been dried in the sun until its skin was wilted, turn golden and give off a fragrant aroma. Her hands quickly turned each banana, paying attention to every detail to keep the banana peel from cracking and still crispy.
On mornings like these, the neighborhood kids were familiar with the aroma of grilled bananas, and couldn’t resist rushing out, surrounding the stove, rubbing their hands and inhaling the sweet smoke. Sometimes, Thanh would join the crowd, biting into the hot, crispy sticky banana, feeling the sweet taste of the banana mixed with the soft sticky rice and rich coconut milk.
When the banana leaves are burnt golden brown and the crust turns yellow, the aroma of the baked banana cake is also fragrant.
Her hands deftly turned each banana so that the skin turned golden brown.
The grilled banana dish here looks simple at first glance but requires meticulousness in each step. To create this unique flavor, she chooses bunches of bananas that are just ripe but still a bit green to keep their flexibility when grilled. The bananas are favored for their superior aroma and chewiness, and after peeling, she will dry them in the sun to make the banana skin firm, avoiding sticking to the grill when grilled.
Nhut Thanh shared that she was always attentive in every step, from choosing bananas, drying them in the sun, to roasting them evenly to create a crispy golden skin while still retaining the natural sweetness of the bananas inside. In that moment, the red-hot charcoal stove in the middle of the peaceful countryside space, like an everlasting mark of many people's childhood.
Bananas must be grilled over hot coals and left whole to be truly delicious.
Grilled banana cake with sticky rice is a harmonious combination of soft ripe bananas, fragrant sticky rice and the rich taste of coconut milk. When the cake is cooked, the burnt banana leaves around the cake bring out a fragrant aroma, making you crave it at first sight. In particular, grilled banana cake with sticky rice from the West cannot lack thick coconut milk and crunchy peanuts - important factors that help this dish conquer the taste buds of every diner.
Grilled sticky rice bananas are considered delicious if they meet the following criteria: the fruit has a crispy brown color of the outer sticky rice layer, the soft white color of the inner sticky rice layer, and the ripe yellow color of the banana to ensure it is edible and not mushy.
Every time he returns to his hometown, Thanh never misses the mornings at his grandmother’s grilled banana stall. Those mornings are not only to enjoy the food, but also to reminisce, when the aroma of grilled bananas spreads, reminding him of his childhood days. His grandmother’s banana kitchen has become a part of Tan Chau, a place that preserves the taste of his hometown and simple memories.
Grilled bananas from the West have spread far beyond the borders of Vietnam, and were once voted by CNN in the list of "The World's Best Desserts", contributing to honoring Vietnamese flavors on the international culinary map. And in that small corner, she still works diligently by the charcoal stove, patiently turning each banana, waiting until the stove is over and the children are full, then she will pack up and go home.
