Natural Parcels

How did people in Asia steam things in parcels before cooking foil was invented? They used banana leaves, of course, and still do (❶, ❷, ❸ below). Wrapping a big fish in a banana leaf is quite tricky, but small parcels are easy. In West Java, we steam prawns this way with grated fresh coconut, you can use desiccated coconut if you wish.