Banana Fritters
Banana fritters (Kuay Taod or Kuay khek) is a popular street food in Southeast Asia. You can find them at festivals and parties. Here in the States, and especially for me, they are more of a comfort food. It’s fried, crunchy, a little sweet, and nutty from the sesame and coconut. Throw in a scoop of ice cream with a caramel sauce or a drizzle of honey and you have a dessert. You may find them like that at your local Lao/Thai restaurants. For me just the plain fritters are good enough.
Notes:
- Alternatively, you can use plantains, taro, or sweet potatoes instead of bananas. Also, you can use other varieties of bananas. I used the Cavendish variety because that’s what’s readily available at the grocery stores.
- Self-rising flour – if you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute with 1/2 cup regular all-purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Coconut – you can use freshly grated coconut or frozen grated coconut, but I used dried coconut flakes because that’s readily available and it works just as well.
Banana Fritters
Yields: 30 fritters
Time: 30 minutes
½ cup rice flour
½ cup self-rising flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup water (room temperature)
¾ cup dried coconut flakes
1 tablespoon black and/or white sesame seeds
5-6 bananas (I’m using cavendish variety – use whichever is readily available)
- Preheat about a quart of oil to 350F in a heavy bottom pot.
- In medium bowl, mix both types of flours, baking soda and sugar. Slowly add in water. Whisk until batter is smooth.
- Add coconut flakes and sesame seeds and whisk until well combined and even distributed.
- Peel and slice bananas. If you have large bananas, cut in half and then slice into thirds the long way.
- Dip and dredge banana pieces into batter and gently shake off excess batter. Drop into hot oil. Let fry for 3-5 minutes or until they are golden brown. Make sure to turn the fritters for even cooking. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon or spider and place on plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve immediately. Can be served with ice cream or with a drizzle of honey.
