Goin’ Bananas

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippines is quite abundant of bananas, perhaps the reason why the fruit does not earn the people’s highest regards. It’s a fact that anything so commonplace is lowly valued. While Filipinos do not actually regard bananas poorly, they are likely to swap their one kilo of bananas with a piece of apple. Inversely, Americans consume more bananas than apples and oranges combined.

And yet bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world – for good reason. Bananas are rich in potassium and fiber. Eating the fruit can help lower blood pressure, and reduce the risks of diabetes, cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and digestive problems.

Bananas are often eaten ripe and raw by itself, but there are varieties that are good for cooking – like plantains, which are only eaten raw when these have completely ripened to a blacken state, as only then do plantains become sweet enough to be eaten raw. But even the type of bananas that are customarily eaten ripe and raw may also be cooked, according to the creativity of cook.

Fresh bananas are available all year round and are sometimes harvested in bulk, in which case it shall be stored at room temperature. Unlike other fruits, the ripening process of bananas does not slow down after they are picked. And the warmer the temperature, the faster the bananas ripen.

To slow down the ripening process, refrigerating the bananas helps. The outer peel of the banana will darken but the banana meat inside will stay intact longer. Still, there may not be enough refrigerator space to store all the harvested bananas.

This is the reason why at some point there’s just too many bananas around than can be consumed in time – there’s sometimes over-ripe bananas at risk going to waste. But, no, there are a variety of ways to spice up and even bring the bananas to the next level… by cooking it. Ripe bananas can be cooked in sweet recipes for a great snack or dessert.

Perhaps the simplest – and yet the best – way to cook bananas is by pan-frying it. Different ingredients can also be added to the banana to enhance its flavor. The following recipe – a slight tweak from the one at the website www.overseaspinoycooking.net – is a good one to try:

Toron na Saging

Ingredients:

12 pcs small-size ripe Cardava Bananas

12 pcs Lumpia Wrapper

Brown Sugar

1 cup ripe Langka Meat

Cooking Oil

Procedure:

• Trim both ends of each banana and peel off skin, cut into half lengthwise keep aside.

• In a large plate, place one piece of lumpia wrapper, place two slices of banana on top, aligned together. Put about a spoonful of langka with the banana (or equal portions for all 12 rolls). Lightly sprinkle with the sugar.

• Roll lumpia wrapper halfway, fold both ends, now fully roll and wet the end of flap with water to seal. Repeat process with the rest of the bananas.

• In a large wok, heat generous amount of cooking oil at medium to high heat, and then arrange the banana rolls side by side. Lightly sprinkle some sugar over the banana rolls, then once more when the banana rolls are flipped.

• Fry the banana rolls for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until lumpia skins are crisp and golden brown. Remove the fried banana rolls from the wok and drain excess oil.

Serve while the skins are still crisp. Enjoy!