Khao tom

Khao tom can be either savory or sweet. This one from Laos, with a pork fat and mung bean filling, is savory.
Alternative names	Khao tom mat Khao tom phat
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Laos, Thailand
Region or state	Laos, Thailand
Associated cuisine	Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam
Main ingredients	Sticky rice, banana leaves, coconut milk
Variations	Khao tom mat sai kluai, Khao tom mat sai mu, Khao tom mat sai phueak
Media: Khao tom

Khao tom (Lao: ເຂົ້າຕົ້ມ) and khao tom mat (Thai: ข้าวต้มมัด) are a popular Laotian and Thai dessert made of sticky rice, ripe banana, coconut milk, all wrapped and steamed-cooked in banana leaves.^[1][2] A similar dessert is enjoyed throughout Southeast Asian countries where it is known as Num ansom in Khmer, lepet in Indonesian, suman in Filipino, bánh tét and bánh chưng in Vietnamese.

Variants

This dessert can be either savoury (filled with pork fat and mung bean) or sweet (filled with coconut milk and banana). In Thailand, Khao tom mat is sometimes colored blue with Clitoria ternatea flowers. Typically Khao tom mat have black beans and Thai banana as the main ingredients. The Khao tom and Khao tom mat various flavors by the ingredients used inside i.e. taro, banana, pork, etc., brought each name to Khao tom mat; Khao tom mat sai pheuak (taro), Khao tom mat sai kluai (banana), Khao tom mat sai mu (pork).^[3][4]

Traditions

In Laos, sticky rice is a national staple food and steeped in the Lao culture and religious traditions. Lao people use sticky rice to prepare khao tom for ceremonies connected with the plantings, rainfall, harvest and death.^[5] Khao tom is offered during the Lao baci ceremony held to commemorate special occasions, such as starting a new job, marriage, housewarming, birth of a new baby, and celebration of Lao New Year. Khao tom is prepared for alms giving to monks during the annual religious events in buddhist temples. Furthermore, khao tom is a popular snack sold during festivals, in markets and food stalls around the country. It was listed in a collection of recipes for favorite dishes of the former Lao royal family written by Phia Sing (1898-1967), the king's personal chef and master of ceremonies.^[6]

In Thailand, the Sai Krachat tradition (ประเพณีใส่กระจาด), also known as Suea Krachat or Soe Krachat in Phuan language is a merit-making Buddhist tradition of the Thai Phuan people of Ban Mi District, Lopburi Province. It takes place on the eve of the Great Birth Sermon celebration. One day prior to the Sai Krachat Day, people wrap khao tom and grind rice for khao pun rice noodles. The next day is the Sai Krachat Day when people bring things such as bananas, sugar cane, oranges, candles, and joss sticks or other items to put into bamboo baskets at the houses of the people they know, while the hosts bring prepared food to welcome their guests. When the visitors wish to go home, the hosts give khao tom mat as a souvenir, called Khuen Krachat.^[7]

In Thailand, khao tom mat is the symbol of couples because for boiling usually the leaf wraps are bundled to sets of two. Thai people believe that if a pair of people offer khao tom mat to monks on Khao Phansa Day, which is at the beginning of the 3 months of Buddhist lent during the rainy season and the time when monks retreat to a monastery and concentrate on Buddhist teachings,^[8] married life will be smooth and love will be stable.

Khao tom mat is also a traditional Thai dessert for Ok Phansa Day (the end of Buddhist lent in late October.), but it is then called Khao tom luk yon (Thai: ข้าวต้มลูกโยน). This variant is wrapped up in a young mangrove fan palm leaf (Thai: ใบกะพ้อ) with long-tails to hold before tossing them to a Buddha image, after which monks can carry them away.

In 2014, the Department of Cultural Promotion under the Ministry of Culture registered the Khao tom mat as an intangible cultural heritage, in the 'Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe' category, to prevent them from being lost along with other cultural heritage.^{[9]: 31 [10]}