Fold leaves for Nigeria's equivalent of pasteles
For many Nigerian expats abroad, moi moi leaf food wasn't a thing because of the difficulty of finding the special moi moi leaf. The leaf is called uma and is native to West African rainforests. The leaf is used mainly for moi moi as it produces a sweet taste to whatever its being cooked in it. I personally don't see an issue with Banana leaf. I prefer it over steaming it in a bag or within an aluminum tin. I'm big on Nigerian cooking and would love to share with you the way I fold my moi moi.
Moi moi can be tedious because it requires peeling beans. My favorite beans are honey beans or black eye beans. But a recipe for that will soon come - I've decided to document the process of folding the authentic moi moi leaf. I'll write a post for banana leaf moi moi after I complete the stack of uma leaves that I bought back from Nigeria.
The Process
1. Overlap two leaves as shown below, this will give you more surface area to play with your fold.
2. Grab the right end of one leaf and roll into a cone shape, grabbing hold of second leaf
3. You should now have a wide opening at the top, keep a tight grip
4. Fold the base backwards, this will stop the blended beans from dripping out. Go ahead and scoop about ½ cup of paste into the leaf. Once you get a hang of the fold, you'll be able to judge whether or not its too full.
5. Gently push in the top of front of leaves, slightly above your filling
6. Afterwards, fold the right side over the front, do the same for the left side.
7. Lastly, fold back the top of the leaves. It should be the direction of your bottom fold from step 4. And boom! You have yourself your first moi moi. Repeat until you're out of filling.
I hope this post was helpful in showing you how I fold my moi moi leaves. This method provides you the best flavors for your moi moi dish. Let me know what your favorite methods to making moi moi are.
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