Recipes › Pisang Goreng

Pisang Goreng

Pisang goreng is a banana dipped in a thin batter and fried until the edges go lacy and crisp. Sold from roadside carts in the late afternoon, eaten while still too hot to hold. The whole dish depends on two things: bananas that are ripe but still firm, and a batter that is thin enough to fry into shards rather than a doughnut shell.

Ingredients

• 6 firm ripe bananas (plantain or saba if you can find them)
• 150 g plain flour
• 40 g rice flour
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 180 to 220 ml cold water
• 1 egg (optional, for a richer batter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 litre neutral oil for frying
• Icing sugar or palm sugar syrup to serve

Method

1. Peel the bananas and cut each in half lengthwise, then across, giving four pieces per banana. Set aside on a plate.
2. Whisk the plain flour, rice flour, cornflour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. The rice flour is what makes the batter crisp rather than spongy.
3. Add the cold water gradually, whisking to a smooth batter the thickness of single cream. Add the egg and vanilla if using. A few small lumps are fine; overmixing makes the fritters tough.
4. Rest the batter for 10 minutes. The flours hydrate and the coating fries more evenly.
5. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 170 degrees Celsius. A drop of batter should sink then rise immediately, sizzling.
6. Dip each banana piece in the batter, let the excess run off, and lower it gently into the oil. Fry three or four pieces at a time; more than that drops the oil temperature.
7. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack, not on paper, which traps steam and softens the crust.
8. Serve immediately, dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with palm sugar syrup.

Notes and tips

• Use bananas that are ripe but still hold their shape. Overripe fruit turns to paste in the oil; underripe fruit stays chalky and bland.
• Rice flour is the single most important ingredient. Cornflour alone gives a glassy, hard shell rather than a lacy one.
• Keep the batter cold and the oil at a steady 170 degrees. A hot pan browns the outside before the banana warms through.
• Palm sugar syrup, made by melting 100 g of palm sugar with 2 tablespoons of water, is the traditional finish.
• Leftover fritters reheat in a hot oven for three minutes. A microwave destroys them.

Questions

What banana is best?

In Southeast Asia, saba or plantain are used. Outside the region, a firm, just-ripe dessert banana works well. Avoid very soft bananas.

Can I make the batter in advance?

Up to an hour ahead, kept cold. Beyond that the baking powder loses its lift and the fritters come out flat.

Why did my fritters come out greasy?

The oil was too cool. If it drops below about 160 degrees the batter absorbs oil instead of sealing. Fry in small batches and let the oil recover between them.

Is this a dessert or a snack?

Both. In Indonesia it is eaten as an afternoon snack with tea, and it is sweet enough to serve as a dessert.

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