Num Ansom

Method

Soak the glutinous rice and split mung beans separately for 2 hours, then drain well. Cook the mung beans in 300ml water until just tender but not falling apart, approximately 20 minutes, then drain. Toast the black sesame seeds briefly in a dry pan to enhance their flavour. In a pot, combine the drained rice and mung beans with 300ml fresh water, salt, and half the palm sugar, stirring gently and cooking over medium heat for about 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is mostly cooked. Prepare the banana leaves by lightly charring them over a flame to make them pliable, then divide the rice mixture into 4 portions and form into balls. Place each ball in the centre of a banana leaf, wrap firmly into a parcel, and seal the edges. Steam the wrapped parcels for 20 minutes in a steamer basket over boiling water. Meanwhile, dissolve the remaining palm sugar in the coconut milk over gentle heat, then strain through muslin. Serve the warm sticky rice parcels with the black sesame seeds scattered over and the sweetened coconut milk drizzled on top.