Crispy Fried Banana/Pisang Goreng 炸香蕉

Everybody knows how to fry a banana. But the ultimate test is to have your bananas crispy and the crispiness to last for hours. I have been experimenting quite a bit with different batter recipes but each time I was left wanting. The problem was always the durability of the crunch. Somehow it does not last as long as those I bought by the roadside. There are many batter recipes out there. Even fried bananas sellers have differing recipes. I personally love the Indonesian method whereby the pisang goreng is coated with another layer of "kremes" or crispy bits. After learning the traits from an actual fried banana seller, I finally managed to come out with a most crispy fried banana.

This recipe is just what I wanted. The batter is light and airy when fried, giving the banana that perfect crunch. It uses only one type of flour which makes it even more convenient. The batter is also flavoured and tinted with a hint of turmeric powder. The frying banana is coated with another layer of fried batter that gives it that extra lasting crunch. This could be achieved by pouring the batter onto the frying banana and quickly rolling the banana on the crispy bits.

The crunch lasted for a good two hours. If this was not banana, it could easily make it to three hours. That was good enough for me. My family couldn't agree more. They devoured the whole batch of fried bananas. My only grouse was the looks of it. I definitely need to practice on how to better coat the crispy bits to make it more even. Definitely not picture perfect but still as yummy.

There are a few pointers that is crucial in making this crispy banana:

1. Find bananas that has a hard texture and would not go brown after the heat. The more popular species would be pisang raja (sorry, don't know what is it called in English).
2. Oil should be hot when you put the bananas in. If the batter immediately turn brown after in contact with oil, this means the oil is too hot.
3. Once mix, batter should be used immediately for best effect.

Crispy Fried Banana/Pisang Goreng 炸香蕉

Makes 8 fried bananas

Ingredients

8 bananas (pisang raja)
oil for deep frying

Batter
100 g rice flour (or slightly more if batter is too watery)
120 g water
2 tsp sugar (I prefer 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ammonia bicarbonate
1 tbsp hot oil


Cooking Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients for batter, except hot oil, into a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

2. Heat oil for frying. Oil must be able to submerge the whole banana. When you are ready fry, scoop one tablespoon of the hot oil, add to batter and mix quickly.

3. Coat the bananas with batter. Add into hot oil and fry until golden brown.

4. While frying, drip some batter into the frying oil. Quickly coat the bananas with the crispy bits that have formed. This would create another layer of crispy batter for the banana.

5. Remove bananas when it turned golden brown. Drain oil and serve.

Want a drink to go with your Crispy Fried Bananas? Try this: