flipPisang goreng — market fried bananas
Pisang goreng — market fried bananas
Why this dish? Wallace was enthusiastic about the tropical fruits he discovered in the archipelago's markets. Fried banana, sold hot on every street corner from Singapore to Ternate, was the snack every traveler encountered: a sweet comfort between stages.
Bananas sliced, dipped in a light batter, and fried until golden and crispy, soft and sweet at heart. They are bought piping hot in a leaf cone, to nibble while walking.
As soon as you land in an archipelago town, you are besieged by itinerant vendors, and among them the one who fries bananas on the street corner. He dips them in a light batter, throws them into boiling oil, and hands them to you all golden and steaming in the hollow of a leaf. It is a poor man's treat, I admit, but after weeks of rice and dried fish, I assure you it seemed worthy of a gentleman's table.
- •Cooking bananas — according to appetite (base)
- •Rice flour and water — for batter (coating)
- •Coconut oil — for frying (cooking)
- •Palm sugar (gula) — a little (sweetness)
Pisang goreng — market fried bananas
Bananas sliced, dipped in a light batter, and fried until golden and crispy, soft and sweet at heart. They are bought piping hot in a leaf cone, to nibble while walking.
Why this dish? Wallace was enthusiastic about the tropical fruits he discovered in the archipelago's markets. Fried banana, sold hot on every street corner from Singapore to Ternate, was the snack every traveler encountered: a sweet comfort between stages.
As soon as you land in an archipelago town, you are besieged by itinerant vendors, and among them the one who fries bananas on the street corner. He dips them in a light batter, throws them into boiling oil, and hands them to you all golden and steaming in the hollow of a leaf. It is a poor man's treat, I admit, but after weeks of rice and dried fish, I assure you it seemed worthy of a gentleman's table.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cooking bananas — according to appetite (base)
- Rice flour and water — for batter (coating)
- Coconut oil — for frying (cooking)
- Palm sugar (gula) — a little (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Plantains or very ripe bananas — 4 (base)
- Rice flour — 120 g (batter)
- Wheat flour — 30 g (batter structure)
- Ice-cold water — 180 ml (batter)
- Pinch of salt — 1 (balance)
- Frying oil — for deep frying (cooking)
- Palm sugar or brown sugar — to sprinkle (finish)
Method
- Mix flours, salt, and ice-cold water into a smooth batter that coats the back of a spoon.
- Cut bananas lengthwise in half (or into thick chunks).
- Heat oil to 175°C.
- Dip each piece in batter and fry until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
- Drain, sprinkle with a little palm sugar, and eat burning hot.
How it was made : Banana fritters in rice flour batter were a classic of the Malay archipelago markets, once cooked in coconut oil in large cast-iron woks by the roadside. Sold individually in a banana leaf, they were the quintessential popular snack, accessible to all.
The contemporary twist : Today they are served drizzled with chocolate or sweetened condensed milk — a contemporary street food version from Kuala Lumpur.
Alfred Russel Wallace · Charactorium
