This post was originally published on July 26, 2021 at https://thekresges.com/2021/07/26/day-7-whos-ready-for-dessert/.
As we wrap up our blogging adventures on Day 7, I thought it would be appropriate to end on a sweet note. Today we’re making pisang goreng–fried bananas. Put on your apron and invite a friend or three, because these things are dangerously delicious!
I’m really good at trying new dishes without instructions. And after I’m done, Jared’s really good at telling me I should have asked for the recipe. That’s what happened last week when our neighbor gave us a generous bunch of cooking bananas. I thought, How hard can this be? and proceeded to use half the bunch on a very tough and tasteless batch of fried bananas that the kids graciously devoured anyway. (It might have something to do with the fact that they smother all their pisang goreng with chocolate.)
The next day I asked the expert. Yenny is our lovely friend and helper who cooks fabulous lunches for us every weekday. Her pisang goreng can’t be beat, but when she sent me her “recipe,” I realized that she, too, measures with her heart. It went something like this: Two spoons of this and four spoons of that, a little of this and a little more of that...you get the idea. But it worked, and now you get to try it, too!
First, purchase some cooking bananas. If you’re not near an Asian market where you can buy this type of banana, plantains will work fine. Just let them ripen on your counter before you cook them (let the skins get brown).
Peel and cut your bananas into dice-sized pieces.
Mix up your batter and add the sliced bananas.
Drop batter by the spoonful into hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
Drain the fritters and cool slightly before eating.
Around here, people eat their pisang goreng with spicy sambal (a sauce of hot peppers, tomatoes, and garlic). We prefer them as a dessert with sweet chocolate spread. Gabriel shows us how:
Yenny’s Recipe for Pisang Goreng:
5-6 c. cooking bananas or ripe plantains, peeled and diced
4 heaping serving spoons all-purpose wheat flour (or cassava flour for GF people)
2 heaping serving spoons fine rice flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 egg
Enough cold water to make a thick batter (somewhere between a brownie batter and a cake batter)
Oil for frying
Peel and dice the bananas. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, egg, and water. Add the bananas and toss to coat. Heat oil in a frying pan or wok and drop the banana mixture by the spoonful into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning to cook evenly. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towel. Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Don’t forget to lick the chocolate off your fingers and wash your face when you’re done.
It’s been a fun week, Friends. Until next time!