Filipino food – something that’s near and dear to me but is usually left behind or neglected amongst it’s Southeast Asian siblings (see Food Safari and the absence of Filipino food in Series 1 & 2. I do hope they venture outside the popular cuisines and into more exotic cultures).
Ah but I digress. I don’t really blame them – as I’ve mentioned in my previous Filipino posts here before, Filipino food isn’t really a mainstream Asian cuisine and alot of the non-Filipinos aren’t familiar with it.
Being a Filipino who was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines, I myself constantly ask questions about what it is really that makes Filipino food, well, Filipino? Is it the use of native ingredients and produce, the mix of cultural influences from the many invaders of the country, the migration of people from different countries, or a mixture of all?
To answer these questions, I was privileged to have met two Filipino foodies who share the same passion for food as I do. Meet Trissa of Trissalicious and Kath of A Cupcake or Two. Together, the three of us came up with a plan for world domination to promote the wonderful colours and flavours of the Filipino cuisine. Somewhere we can showcase different Filipino dishes – from the weird and wonderful, to the mysterious and exotic flavours of the Pearl of the Orient Sea country. So without much further ado, I would like to introduce… the Kulinarya Cooking Club!
Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.
Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.
If you’re interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment – we would love to hear from you!
For our first dish, we wanted to show something simple and easy to make, and yet can be palatable to both the Filipino and non-Filipino tongue. We chose to feature Turon not only because it involves less than 3 (or 4, maximum!) ingredients, but it is also absolutely delicious! It’s great for breakfast, as a snack or dessert and can be very easy to prepare.
Saging na Turon (Banana Turon)
Makes 5 snack servings
5 cooking bananas (fresh or frozen ones – thawed of course)
10 sheets spring roll pastry
10 tsps raw or brown sugar
1. Cut the bananas lengthwise in half. Set aside.
2. In a flat plate, lay out the pastry sheet in a “diamond” shape and place one half slice of banana in one of the pointy ends.
3. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar on top of the banana slice.
4. Fold the pastry sheet like an “envelope”
5. Wet the last pointy end of the pastry sheet with water to help it stick to the rest of the turon.
6. Fry in a pan with enough oil to cover 2/3 of the turon. In medium heat, fry the turon for about 3 minutes until golden brown.
7. To remove excess oil, place the fried turon in a strainer and let stand for a few minutes. Serve warm. Enjoy!
…
The Kulinarya Cooking Club will feature a new Filipino dish every month – other versions of the featured dish are found in Trissalicious and A Cupcake or Two.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Kulinarya Cooking Club or would like to join us, feel free to ask us by visiting our foodblogs and leaving a comment.
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Congratulations Trish! Reading your post I could really feel your passion for Filipino food – and I still remember way back then when you would feature Filipino food in your blog. I loved reading all about it! I loved the detailed instructions on how you folded the turon… believe it or not I didn’t even know that – this was my first time to make turon and didn’t realize you had to put the banana on a diagonal! I guess that’s why the KCC is perfect – we learn something new all the time!!
Favorite namin na merienda to.
I am liking your plan for world domination,
er I meant your plan to promote Filipino food for I too think our cuisine is underated. Is the cooking club limited to Sydney only since I am interested in cooking along with you gals. I also posted about turon a few weeks ago (and even adapted it for cupcakes!) but I like how you show every step of the process. That last pic made me drool!
I love the idea of your Kulinarya Cooking Club and look forward to following it! As a Filipina living in the Midwest USA, I have had to teach myself how to cook my favorite dishes because there are absolutely no Filipino restaurants here and all my family are either back in Manila or in California. It helps tremendously that my husband absolutely adores our food so I never have to worry about putting a new dish in front of him and getting an “What’s this?” response.
I wholeheartedly share your desire to spread the word about the marvelous cuisine that is Filipino food. It deserves so much more attention!
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soooooooo simple!
At the risk of sounding ignorant, your turon are kind of like the banana fritters you get at the fish and chip shop! Nice effort on your part, and I really like your step-by-step instructions.
It is interesting how Filipino cuisine ofte gets neglected in mainstream media. Have often been curious but it seems that even Filipino restaurants are few and far between. Great to see you filling a much-needed niche
What a fabulous idea. I love that you will be showcasing information on dishes that many of us probably don’t know much about. Look forward to reading – and trying! – them!
Hehe at World Domination! I think you just about could with these in your arsenal! They look fab and even though I’m not Phillipino I’d be happy to volunteer for taste testing
I prefer to use the saba banana for this recipe. Do you have saba bananas available in your local? In many culinary circles the plantain is looked on as the cooking banana, which I would consider inappropriate for this recipe.
I agree – saba is perfect for making turon and is the banana of choice, and maybe I should’ve included that in the recipe so thank you.
whoa trish these look great! my step mom makes this as well but i never eat it.. I think its the banana that i cant eat
cos its not the usual banana everyone is familiar with. =( one day i’ll learn to eat it..
Well done with the club! Great effort and deserve a loud applaud. Looking forward to many more delicious filipino cuisines!
My mum cooks those frozen bananas with syrup then I eat it with Evaporated milk. Oh yummmmm..
Great way to use bananas! Thanks for sharing
Great plan. Many Filipino bloggers, in the Philippines and around the world, used to celebrate Filipino food via a monthly food blogging event called Lasang Pinoy, but after about two years it fizzled out due to lack of blogger-hosts. You’ll be sort of continuing it with your Kulinarya Cooking Club. Hope you keep it up. Mabuhay!
Looks delicious! I look forward to following more of your cooking club adventures, as I’m not too familiar with Filipino food and would love to know more.
turon is just one of the many delicious Filipino foods that I love and proud of.. I would love to join Kulinarya, I have quite a few Filipino dishes on my site but there are still lots that I haven’t tried.. how do I become a member?
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We use honey instead of brown sugar and tend to use the round wrappers instead because they come out a bit crispier.
Also, my sister in law would put langka or a dollop of macapuno with the saging. It’s mighty tasty whatever way you put it together!
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