Ian Lau
ANN/THE STAR – Have you ever seen a giant tulip-shaped purple bud among the herbs at the wet market and wondered how these banana blossoms are used for cooking?
Unfortunately, dishes made from banana hearts, also known as banana flowers, have been labelled as “peasant food” because this part of the plant usually gets discarded.
My dad has been growing bananas for decades but gives the blossoms away because he doesn’t know how to prepare them.
The trick is in knowing which parts to keep and which to discard.
Outer bracts that have shrivelled and discoloured have to be discarded. Keep only the blossoms that are fresh and moist.
For this recipe, we are only using the blossoms, but the rest of the heart, where the bracts are white or light pink, is also edible.
When preparing the blossoms, discard the black stigma and the white outer sepal.
To eliminate the bitterness, soak the blossoms in a mild solution of vinegar and salt to neutralise the alkali in the banana sap.
After marinating the blossoms in the flavoured batter, dredging them in rice flour not only helps separate each flower but also gives a nice crispy finish to the fritters.
Fry in small batches so that the temperature of the oil isn’t lowered too much.
Each batch takes less than five minutes to cook, and the blossoms are done when they are crispy and take on a light golden hue.
I like to serve them in the banana bracts with a side of sweet chilli sauce or mayonnaise spiked with a bit of lemon juice.
BANANA HEART FRITTERS
Ingredients
– Two banana hearts
– Three cups cooking oil for frying
– Half cup rice flour for dredging
– Half teaspoon salt
Batter
– 60 grammes self-raising flour
– 20 grammes rice flour
– 10 grammes cornstarch
– One teaspoon meat curry powder
– One teaspoon salt
– Half teaspoon sugar
– Half teaspoon white pepper
– Half cup cold water
– One teaspoon cooking oil
DIP
Mayonnaise with a squeeze of lemon juice or sweet chilli sauce
Remove the outer bracts of the banana hearts and discard any shrivelled and discoloured blossoms. Discard the bitter stigmas and sepals from each blossom.
Soak the blossoms in a salt-and-vinegar solution for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Sift dry batter ingredients into a mixing bowl, then whisk in water and oil until combined.
Add banana blossoms into batter and stir until well coated, then set aside for about 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a deep pot for frying.
When ready to fry, dredge battered blossoms in rice flour and immediately drop into hot oil to fry five minutes until crispy and light golden.
Blot excess oil using paper towels. Continue frying in small batches.
Salt to taste and serve immediately with lemon mayonnaise or sweet chilli sauce.
