In the island dining hall, we are usually served something sweet with lunch. Usually, we receive fresh fruit, but the cooks occasionally prepare a special postre (dessert) for everyone to enjoy. This week, the dessert was something I didn't recognize. I wasn't sure if I would like it, so I asked my Panamanian friends Yessenia and Alexis to tell me more about the mushy-looking dish.
Yessenia and Alexis told me that the dessert was chocao (cho-COW), a sweet mix of bananas, cinnamon and coconut milk. This version also happened to have raisins sprinkled on top. Chocao is kind of like banana pudding with a bit of a pulpy texture from the fresh fruit used to make it.
I took my first spoonful slowly, unsure how the chocao would taste. But from the first bite, I was in love! The ripe bananas used in the dish made it very sweet. I savored the cinnamon flavor. The bananas were smashed down to a smooth texture, and the splash of whole milk with which they were cooked gave the whole dish a creamy taste. As I scooped up the last bites, I decided to ask the cooks for the recipe so I can make myself some chocao after I leave Panama.
