Pisang Goreng/Bakabana (Fried Plantain)

This is an Indonesian street food, also very popular in Suriname. It doesn't actually use bananas as you or I might know them, but plantains, a cousin of the banana used mainly for cooking. Plantains come in many varying degrees of ripeness. For bakabana the plaintain should be ripe, with the skin yellow getting towards black and you should be able to press down on the flesh. Don't get too ripe plantains, however, or these will fall apart when you try to fry them.



For the batter, use normal plain flour, and either baking powder and water, or, as is common, mix the flour using carbonated/mineral water. The bubbles give a much fluffier batter.

Ingredients

2 ripe Plantains

100g plain flour

1/2 packet of baking powder - about 1 teaspoon

100ml water

a pinch of salt

300ml sunflower oil

Method

Peel the plantains and cut lengthways into strips of about 1/2 cm thick.

Make the batter by placing the flour and baking powder into a bowl large enough to lay the plantain strips lengthways without bending, slowly add the water, stirring gently as you go. You may not need all the water. The batter should be a smooth consistency with no lumps of flour. 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

Place the plantain strips one at a time in the batter and smother completely. Remove carefully with a fork and allow any excess batter to drip back into the bowl.

Fry the strips in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Fry up to 3 or 4 strips at a time. If the oil is too hot turn the heat down slightly. You don't want the batter to burn. 

When ready, remove the pan and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil.

These bakabanas are delicious with some spicy saté sauce, Indonesian peanut sauce. You can also eat them with a sprinkling of icing sugar or cinnamon powder.

Njang Switi! Enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW?

Plantains are a crucial source of carbohydrates for many people in tropical countries; they fruit all year round, and can be eaten in various stages of ripeness.

DID YOU KNOW?

Plantains are higher in starch and lower in sugar than bananas. They are mostly cooked rather than eaten raw. Green plantains are hard and need to be boiled first; yellow plantains are much sweeter and are usually fried.