Fruit for dessert has got to be good for you . . . right? Maybe not when it is combined with lashings of caramel sauce and delicious ice cream. Another street food special, this recipe is one for the kids — they LOVE it.
Serves 4–6 Prep time 10 Cook time 20
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 6 small bananas
- ice cream to serve
Batter
- 1 cup rice flou
- ¼ cup arrowroot
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- ½ cup sesame seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 90 g salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- ½ cup cream
- ½ tsp salt
METHOD
Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer to 190°C. Peel and slice each banana lengthwise, then in half. Combine all the batter ingredients and stir until just mixed together. Dip each piece of banana into the batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels for a few seconds. Serve straight away with coconut ice cream and caramel sauce.
Salty Caramel Sauce
Place the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook, without stirring, until it becomes a thick amber coloured liquid. Don’t let it burn.
When the sugar has melted, immediately add the butter — be careful as the caramel will bubble rapidly. Stir the butter into the caramel until completely melted, about 2–3 minutes.
Drizzle in the cream very slowly while stirring. Again be careful as the mixture will rapidly bubble. Boil the mixture for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Cool before using.
This caramel will last a week in an airtight container.Serve with ice cream.
Reproduced with permission from Chop Chop, by Brett McGregor. Published by Random House (NZ). RRP $45.00.Text © Brett McGregor, 2016. Photography © Jae Frew, 2016.
