Banana Fritters
– GORENG PISANG –
MALAYSIA / INDONESIA / PHILIPPINES / SINGAPORE
This is exactly what its delicious name suggests – deep-fried battered bananas. Malay/Indonesian street vendors often serve goreng pisang plain; and if you’re using good sweet ripe bananas, you need nothing more really. If you want to up your game, though, a scoop of creamy condensed milk or coconut ice cream serves as a perfect contrast to the hot crispy banana fritters.
Makes 8
- 4 ripe medium bananas
- coconut or groundnut oil, for frying
For the batter
- 100g rice flour
- 50g self-raising flour
- 1 tablespoon unrefined light brown sugar
- a big pinch of sea salt
- 200–250ml ice-cold water
To serve (optional)
- coconut or condensed milk ice cream (see here)
- Halve the bananas lengthwise, then cut each half into two pieces.
- Sift all the dry ingredients for the batter together, then stir in just enough ice-cold water to give you a thick smooth mixture. Be careful not to overmix the batter; a few lumps are OK.
- Pour about 5cm of oil into a wok. Heat it to 190°C – you can test this by dropping a bit of batter into the oil; it should sizzle and turn golden in seconds.
- Dip the banana slices into the batter and gently slip a few pieces into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, then drain and set aside on kitchen paper while you finish frying the rest.
- Serve immediately, with a scoop of ice cream if you like.
