We are so blessed to have Saba in our country. Not the Saba fish but the banana kind. While we are blessed to have so many other banana variety, my favorite is this cooking banana -be it for turon or for banana con yelo, kalamay, banana que or simply boiled banana.
I grieve for my friends in foreign countries who confide that that one of the food they miss so much from the Philippines is our banana. While they have Mexican Plantain, I understand from their frustration that it pales in comparison to our saba variety.
This special banana turon is shared by Ms Myrna Segismundo, chef extra extraordinaire, and one of the most-respected chefs in the Filipino food scene. It’s a simple recipe, brought to perfection with an addition of ice cream, and ahemm, alcohol. What doesn’t taste better with with a dash of whiskey?
We made this Special turon for a Filipino themed Christmas Party with a matching Filipino Food Theme and it was awesome!
Chef Myrna shares that the secret to a great banana turon, just like the best kanto turon, is for the sugar caramelization to happen in the hot oil. Sprinkle the sugar while your turon is cooking and not roll it in sugar before cooking.
You can make a batch to this special banana turon and freeze it. Later you can cook it like french fries – no need to defrost first.
Special Banana Turon – Turones De Manila by Chef Myrna
Ingredients
- 8 pcs Saba
- 10 pcs Lumpia Wrapper (Rectangular Springroll Wrappers), quartered
- 1 ½ cups Langka (Fresh or Bottled Jackfruit, sliced into 1/4 –inch strips
- 2 tsp All- Purpose Flour or Cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
- Oil for deep-frying
- 1 ½ cups White Sugar
- 1/2 gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
- Dash Whisky
- Coffee Powder for dusting Gelato
Instructions
- Peel and slice each banana, lengthwise into 6 strips.
- On each piece of the cut spring roll wrapper, arrange 1 banana strip with 1 or 2 strips of jackfruit on one side. Roll into small cylinders and seal the end of the wrapper with a little flour or cornstarch dissolved in water.
- In a preheated pot with oil, deep-fry rolls over medium heat, tossing continuously while sprinkling with the sugar, a little at a time. This will coat each roll with caramelized sugar.
- Place cooked turron on a tray rack to drain excess oil and to cool. To prevent pieces from sticking together, allow some space between the pieces.
- Serve with Vanilla Gelato spiked with Whisky and Coffee Powder.
