Throughout Asia, Latin America, and Central Africa food is cooked in packets made from banana leaves or similar leaves. In Central Africa, meat, chicken, or fish, plus other ingredients to make a sauce, are wrapped in large leves (banana or marantaceae leaves) and steamed in a pot or roasted on a grill. Throughout the Congo River area, the Lingala word, Liboké (plural, Maboké) is often used to refer to this method of preparation; Ajomba (or Jomba) is this dish’s name nearer the Atlantic coast. It’s also called Viande en Paquet, French for Meat in Packet. Central Africa’s Baton de Manioc is also cooked in banana leaves.

Liboké de Viande (Meat in Banana-Leaf) Recipe

Prep Time30 minsCook Time1 hr 30 minsTotal Time2 hrsYields4 Servings

Ingredients

 1 lb peanuts, roasted, shelled, and skinned and crushed (optional)
 2 lbs beef (or any stew meat), cut into large bite-sized pieces
 banana leaves
 salt (to taste)
 cayenne pepper or red pepper
 3 tbsp lemon juice
 1 chile pepper, chopped (optional)
 1 onion, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1

If you are using peanuts:
Use less meat, so you have roughly equal amounts of peanuts and meat. Remove the peanuts' shells, roast the peanuts on a baking sheet in a hot oven, or in a large skillet on the stove, stirring often, then remove the skins. Place the peanuts in a saucepan, add enough water to partially cover them and bring to a slow boil, stirring often. Reduce heat. Crush peanuts with a potato-masher. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add meat and continue to simmer until all the water is evaporated (30 minutes or so).

2

Warm the banana leaves for a half-minute in a hot oven, or on a grill, or in a pot of boiling water. This makes them easier to fold. Remove the center rib of each leaf by cutting across it with a knife and pulling it off. Cut the ends off each leaf to form a large rectangle.

3

Sprinkle salt and pepper directly onto the banana leaves. Place the meat (or meat and peanut mixture), onions, and chile pepper into the banana leaves. Moisten the meat with lemon juice and water (skip the lemon juice if using peanuts).

4

Fold the banana leaves to completely enclose the ingredients in a packet two or three layers thick. (Use something like the burrito folding technique. Depending on how many leaves you have you may want to make more then one packet. You can use oven-proof string to tie them closed.)

5

Steam the packets by placing them on a rack over boiling water in a large covered pot, or cook them on an outdoor grill or in an oven. (If using an oven, you may want to place some aluminum foil under them to catch drips.) Turn them every ten minutes. In Africa, banana leaf packets are sometimes first steamed and then grilled. After about an hour carefully open the packet and check the meat, if it is not done, close the packet and continue cooking.

Ingredients

 1 lb peanuts, roasted, shelled, and skinned and crushed (optional)
 2 lbs beef (or any stew meat), cut into large bite-sized pieces
 banana leaves
 salt (to taste)
 cayenne pepper or red pepper
 3 tbsp lemon juice
 1 chile pepper, chopped (optional)
 1 onion, chopped (optional)

Directions

1

If you are using peanuts:
Use less meat, so you have roughly equal amounts of peanuts and meat. Remove the peanuts' shells, roast the peanuts on a baking sheet in a hot oven, or in a large skillet on the stove, stirring often, then remove the skins. Place the peanuts in a saucepan, add enough water to partially cover them and bring to a slow boil, stirring often. Reduce heat. Crush peanuts with a potato-masher. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add meat and continue to simmer until all the water is evaporated (30 minutes or so).

2

Warm the banana leaves for a half-minute in a hot oven, or on a grill, or in a pot of boiling water. This makes them easier to fold. Remove the center rib of each leaf by cutting across it with a knife and pulling it off. Cut the ends off each leaf to form a large rectangle.

3

Sprinkle salt and pepper directly onto the banana leaves. Place the meat (or meat and peanut mixture), onions, and chile pepper into the banana leaves. Moisten the meat with lemon juice and water (skip the lemon juice if using peanuts).

4

Fold the banana leaves to completely enclose the ingredients in a packet two or three layers thick. (Use something like the burrito folding technique. Depending on how many leaves you have you may want to make more then one packet. You can use oven-proof string to tie them closed.)

5

Steam the packets by placing them on a rack over boiling water in a large covered pot, or cook them on an outdoor grill or in an oven. (If using an oven, you may want to place some aluminum foil under them to catch drips.) Turn them every ten minutes. In Africa, banana leaf packets are sometimes first steamed and then grilled. After about an hour carefully open the packet and check the meat, if it is not done, close the packet and continue cooking.

Liboké de Viande (Meat in Banana-Leaf)
IngredientsDirections

Serve with Baton de Manioc (also called Chikwangue) or Fufu.

See also: Liboké de Poisson.

Note: the banana leaves should not be eaten.

Banana leaf cookery

Banana leaf cooking almost certainly pre-dates the Iron Age (though not in Africa, where bananas arrived after the use of iron was already spreading). Banana leaves are used to wrap food in Central America. In Asia, leaves of the Ti plant (Cordyline terminalis) are used in a similar way. Cooking in leaf packets is especially useful on trips away from home, since heavy pots need not be carried.

These leaves give the food a certain flavor that will be missing if they are not used, however aluminum foil can be substituted. If you do not live in the tropics, look for (frozen) banana leaves in International, Asian, and Latin American grocery stores. See also:Liboké de Poisson.