There is most likely not a Malaysian in existence who does not enjoy pisang goreng, or banana fritters – it’s a delicious snack for breakfast or teatime, and is certainly lovely to munch on while watching your favourite movie or TV show.
Here’s a step-by-step-guide to making your own in under five minutes – provided the fritters are prepped in advance and already frozen, waiting to be dunked into piping-hot oil.
Whenever you’re in the mood, simply take out the portioned packets, heat a pan or wok of oil to 185°C, and pop in the frozen pisang goreng. Fry until they turn a lovely golden yellow, then remove, let the fried delights rest on paper towels to cool and absorb the oil, and enjoy!
Note: Not all bananas are created equal. The best for frying are pisang raja, pisang abu, or pisang tanduk.
Ingredients
- 20-25 ripe bananas
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 cup corn flour
- 4 tbsp rice flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 1.5 cups cold water
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- oil for deep frying
Method
- Peel and slice the bananas into halves lengthwise.
- Add the self-raising flour, corn flour, rice flour and salt to the cold water and whisk until you get a smooth consistency.
- Add the melted butter to the mixture. If the batter feels too thick, add one or two tablespoons of water. Note, however, that you don’t want it to be too watery either.
- Add the bananas to the batter and coat them evenly.
- Heat oil in a frying pan or wok until it reaches 185°C.
- Deep-fry four or five coated bananas at a time just until the coating sets. Don’t overcook them at this time; the colour should remain a pale off-white.
- Place the cooked banana fritters on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Once they are cooled to room temperature, bag five bananas at a time and seal with a stapler, or tie off with a rubber band. Freeze.
- When you’re keen to whip up a batch, remove from freezer, heat up some oil, and deep-fry until golden brown.
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com, a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of her people, food and places.