Fried Bananas (Goreng Pisang Recipe)

Fried bananas are a popular dessert/snack food in Thailand and throughout Southeast-Asia. The dish is more often known as 'Goreng Pisang' in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and surrounding countries. It's difficult to make fried bananas as good as those sold by food hawkers on the streets of Thailand - that said, I've been working on this recipe for awhile now, and think it's pretty yummy. Note that you will need a variety of flours (the rice flours can be purchased at Asian food stores), and while Asian bananas are normally called for, I used regular bananas and they turned out perfectly delicious. ENJOY!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• SERVES 4+
• 3-4 regular bananas, OR 6-8 mini bananas
• 1/2 cup regular white flour (OR 3/4 cup rice flour for gluten-free diets)
• 1/3 cup glutinous rice flour (plus up to 2 Tbsp. more to thicken), available at Asian food stores
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup cold sparkling/carbonated water (club soda or tonic water, or sparkling spring water all work)
• OTHER: 1 cup oil (or more) for frying
• optional: a little icing sugar for serving

Preparation:

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients (3 types of flour, baking powder, cornmeal, and salt).
2. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, sugar, oil, and coconut milk, stirring until the sugar has more or less dissolved.
3. Add this wet egg mixture to the dry flour mixture, then lastly add the carbonated water. Stir to create a thick batter.Tip: if you prefer a thicker crust on your fried bananas, add up to 2 Tbsp. more glutinous rice flour to make a very thick batter.*
4. If using mini bananas, you can either leave them whole or slice them in half lengthwise. For regular bananas, peel and slice them in half lengthwise, then into 3 to 5 inch segments. If the bananas are thick, slice them again lengthwise until they are a manageable size (they will appear thicker once covered with batter).
5. Now you can either dip the banana segments one at a time in the batter (this can be messy), or place all the banana pieces in the batter at the same time (I chose the latter way, as it's easier). Either way, be gentle, or the bananas will break in the batter.
6. Pour some oil (coconut, canola, sunflower, peanut, or your preferred type) into a wok or small frying pan, and set over medium-high heat (oil should be at least 1 inch deep). Tip: the more oil you use (especially if it is very hot), the less greasy your fried bananas will be.
7. To test if oil is ready, drop 1/4 tsp. batter into the hot oil. If it sizzles and fries right away, your oil is ready.
8. Using tongs or your fingers, OR a large spoon, quickly remove bananas from the bowl of batter and place in the hot oil (I used a spoon, which I find allows me to scoop up more of the batter with each banana, making them a little thicker). Allow bananas to fry at least 20 seconds each side before turning them.
9. Bananas are done when the crust turns light to golden brown, and is fairly firm.
10. Drain fried bananas on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and serve while still hot. You can serve your fried bananas plain, with vanilla ice cream, or the Thai way, with Coconut Ice Cream. Another way Thais enjoy fried bananas is with a light caramel sauce, such as my Thai Sweet Chili Caramel Topping.

An optional serving tip is to place 1 tsp. ice sugar in a wire mesh strainer and tap it over your fried bananas to create a sprinkling of powdered sugar. ENJOY!

*Additional optional ingredients: Some Thais also add a few Tbsp. of either sesame seeds or dry shredded coconut to the batter. This adds a little extra texture, but I find them just as delicious plain.

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