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.

Telo met Bakkeljauw (Fried Cassava with Salted Cod)

One of the great things about tropical countries is that most of your time is spent outdoors, and that means there is a huge selection of street food on offer. Suriname is no different, and this following dish, Telo with Bakkeljauw, is one of the most popular street foods in Paramaribo. It reminds me in particular of the roadside snackbar at Paranam, by the aluminium smelter, right before you hit the Afobaka Highway and the entrance to the interior of Suriname. We used to make this trip regularly and would nearly always stop here for some Telo. Lovely!

I mentioned the other day about how versatile cassava is, and this is one of the many dishes that can be made from the humble root. It is of Javan origin, and is great as a midday snack!