Fried Bananas – Chuoi Su Chien – Mama Snow Cooks and More

Thai bananas, (chuoi su / Musa Balbisiana bananas) seem to be available year round in Orlando and so I started documenting our experimental fried bananas variations. This delightful dessert is commonly found in Japanese and Thai restaurants, or sold as a street food or snack in Vietnamese delis. My favorite fried bananas is the kind that has a thin crispy skin with a chewy texture as soon you bite into the fried batter.

I love the panko crusted fried bananas from ZaBuki in Plano, Texas and the fried bananas from Kura Revolving Sushi Bar; therefore, my goal is to replicate these two tasty variations of fried bananas.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients for Version 1: (12/20/18)

8-10 ripened Thai / Musa Balibisiana bananas
1 1/3 cup “Tempura Batter Mix” Kim Tu Thap brand
1/3 cup glutinous rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup water
vegetable oil for frying

Notes: For this version, I recommend cutting the bananas into round pieces about 1/5 inches thick instead of cutting it into halves and smashing it. These fried bananas can be reheated to its crispiness in the Cuisenart Air Fryer for 5 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg. I would do this after step 2 but my little assistant was too quick before I could stop her cracking the egg into the bowl.

2. Add in 1 cup tempura flour, 1/3 cup glutinous rice flour, and 1/3 cup tapioca flour.

3. Add in the 1 cup water, sugar, and salt. Whisk until the batter is blended with no clumps.

4. The batter was a bit runny so we added 1/3 cup more of tempura flour and now it’s just right.

5. Peel bananas. I cut some into halves and some into round 1.5 inch thick pieces. I let the little one smash a few pieces as well, but not all. My mom always smash the bananas but I don’t think it’s necessary if the banana is ripe enough.

6. I layer a colander with paper towels to soak up the oil. Heat oil about 1 inch high in a deep pan.

7. Dip the banana into the semi thick batter until it is coated with batter well and carefully put it into the hot oil to fry. Do not let the pieces of battered bananas touch one another or else it may stick together. Fry on medium heat (#6 on my GE Spectra stove) until golden. I also tried to fry a few pieces for a second time to make the batter thicker and crispier but it didn’t do much of a difference.

8. Serve the fried bananas with chocolate fudge, powdered sugar, or honey with ice cream of your choice. I prefer Japanese matcha ice cream or French vanilla ice cream with these. Enjoy!