Rinse the glutinous rice and black beans. Soak them for at least 30 minutes. While waiting, you can prepare banana leaves by wiping, tearing, or cutting them as needed.

Set up a steamer to steam the glutinous rice and boil the black beans at the same time. Put the beans in boiling water and the rice in a fine-mesh basket to steam for 23 minutes. Then flip the rice so the bottom is on top and steam for another 7 minutes. Check if the rice is cooked—it should be edible but the grains won't be fully expanded. Check the beans; if they're still hard in the center, boil for another 10-15 minutes. (If you soaked them for more than 2 hours, they should be done at the same time as the rice.)

Next, put the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a pan for mixing with the rice. Add all the ingredients and stir until dissolved. Taste to make sure it's more salty than sweet.

Once everything is dissolved, turn the heat to medium and stir until the coconut milk starts to boil. Then lower the heat to the lowest setting and add the steamed glutinous rice.

Gently use a spatula to fold and press the rice, being careful not to break the grains. Don't chop down into the rice or the grains will break.

The rice grains should stay separate. Then increase the heat to medium and stir the rice in one direction.

Continue until the mixture is dry and the rice becomes sticky and glossy. Now it's ready to wrap.

Cut the bananas into 4 pieces each. Scoop some rice onto a banana leaf and spread it out. Add some black beans, then a piece of banana, and top with a little more rice. Wrap it up however is easiest for you. (Wrapping instructions are not included—if you don't know how, you can look it up online.)

Don't worry about using bamboo ties; kitchen twine works fine. Use whatever banana leaves you can find. Next, bring water to a boil (tip: boiling the water first helps keep the banana leaves from turning dark).

Arrange the wrapped Khao Tom Mud upright in the steamer so the steam can reach each one. This also saves space, since laying them flat means you'll need two layers and the top layer may not steam evenly. (If you have a small kitchen like me, you can use a pot with water and a perforated rack to hold the wraps upright.)

Steam for 30 minutes, then check the water level (especially if using a small pot). If you're using a traditional steamer, steam for 45-60 minutes.

For this batch, 45 minutes is enough. If you're making them to sell, this works well. You can also freeze them and re-steam for about 20 minutes when hungry—they'll taste just like fresh.

If you want the bananas to turn a deeper red color, steam for 60 minutes.

Normally, you should wait until they cool so the rice sets and the flavors come together. But if you're impatient and hungry, go ahead and eat! The sticky rice is soft and rich with coconut, a little salty, with sweet banana and nutty beans—delicious!