Sarawakian Local Delights : Banana hearts and chicken

Banana hearts and chicken - a wonderful dish

When a bunch of bananas is ready to be harvested, the tree is chopped down too as each banana tree bears only one bunch of bananas in its life time. So it is very logical that if the heart of the plant can be eaten, it should be eaten. However, one must realise that it is a good vegetable.

It may be a bit of a mess to cut the harder layers of the stem away. Only the innermost layers are cooked.

You can use a banana leaf or two to layer the top of your working table top to do the cutting of the stem. the sticky part of the stem may stain table cloth, clothes and other textiles.

Once cut, the banana stems must be submerged in water and sprinkled with a bit of salt, or even a bit of lime juice to prevent rapid discolouration.

Most housewives would suggest blanching the stems first. It is adviseable to cut the stems  in half

inch sizes.

Prepare the chicken soup and then add the banana stems. Cook over a fairly strong fire until the stems are soft. It makes a very tasty and sweet dish.

It can also be cooked in a curry with chicken.