Chuoi Dap Nuong (Grilled Banana with Coconut Tapioca), Sweetened with Monk Fruit

Method

1. Peel 500g chuoi sap, put them on a tray and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 200 degrees C, or grill them over charcoal until evenly golden.
2. Put 40g tapioca pearls in a pot with 700ml water and cook until the pearls turn clear, then turn off the heat. Drain off some of the water and add 200ml coconut milk.
3. Add 1/3 teaspoon salt and 36g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, cook over medium heat until it just comes to a boil, then stir in 1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch mixed with water and turn off the heat.
4. Put the bananas in a zip bag and flatten them, tip them onto a plate and cut them into bite sized pieces.
5. Spoon the coconut tapioca sauce over the bananas and top with roasted peanuts or toasted sesame seeds and shredded coconut.

Tips

• Mature chuoi sap with skin already turned yellow is sweeter and chewier than fruit still green.
• kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so it goes in while the pot is hot and takes another round of stirring.
• Coconut milk comes off the heat as soon as it simmers, since a hard boil splits the oil out.
• Tapioca pearls need to cook until fully clear, because white centers stay chalky.
• Flattening the bananas inside a zip bag keeps the hands clean and the pieces in one piece.
• Roughly crushed roasted peanuts go on at the table, since scattering them early leaves them soggy in the sauce.