Pisang Goreng
(Indonesian fried bananas)

These fried bananas are very popular in Indonesia. In my family, we eat them as a treat during special occasions like holidays, or for dessert during special family get togethers.

Don’t use normal yellow bananas for this recipe. That’s a big no-no in my family traditions. For this recipe, go to your local Asian store and find yourself some “almost rotten” looking black skinned bananas instead. The skin feels tougher than “normal” than normal bananas. I believe in English they call them plantain. These special bananas can only be eaten when they are baked or fried

About 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• Flour 3 to 4 cups
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Baking powder
• some salt
• 1 cup of Water
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Oil for deep frying
• 6 Black skinned bananas

Method

• Peel the bananas and slice each of them into 6 to 8 diagonal slices. You could also just slice each banana in half.

• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt well in a bowl. Beat the water and egg into the flour mixture until batter is smooth. The mixture should be thicker slightlty thicker than the kind you use to make pancakes with. Set batter aside to rest for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

• Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer to between 350° and 375°. Working in batches, using a fork to dip pieces of banana in batter to cover. Let any excess batter drip off and drop the bananas in the hot oil to deep fry, turn them a few times until they have browned on all sides.

Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Tips & Variations

1. Use 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup water in the batter for a more tropical flavor if you like.
2. You can leave out the vanilla sugar if you like. The black skinned bananas are sweeter than normal bananas when fried.
3. You can add some rice flour if you like and use 1/2 cups all-purpose flour instead. The rice flour makes it crispy.
4. Can be served with some vanilla ice and a little bit of honey.
5. Serve them wrapped in the leaves of a banana tree. It looks even more exotic that way.