Backpacker Banana Pancake Recipe
Every Budget Traveler to Asia Knows This Famous Fruit Flapjack
Mar 9, 2009
There are as many versions of this most famous of Asian fusion foods, the banana pancake, as there are white sand beaches and palm trees in Southeast Asia.
They range from the thin crepes smothered in condensed milk of Bangkok's Khao San Road to thick and hearty budget guesthouse flour feasts to the Indonesian version described by EatingAsia which relies on the best of bare basic ingredients to create "the original banana pancake".
Despite the scorn poured on the banana pancake by some old Asia hands, there is an undeniable element of nostalgia about this simple feast, which evokes memories of warm nights by the beach and lazy breakfasts in faraway lands.
With summer fast approaching, if a Southeast Asian getaway is out of reach, this recipe might be the way to create a holiday feel closer to home.
It makes a hearty breakfast or a quick and easy barbeque dessert, whether cooked in a frying pan or on the flat metal sheet once the fire has died down. The banana pancake was created as the perfect beach food, although it does not carry well and should be served hot.
What makes a great banana pancake is simplicity and good, tasty bananas. Cavendish tend to be big but can be very bland, so use sweet ladyfingers or other small varieties if available.
Backpacker Banana Pancake Recipe
Serves 4-6.
Preparation time 20 minutes.
Cooking time 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 egg (duck egg may be substituted)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- pinch salt
- 3-4 ladyfinger bananas, sliced or mashed
- oil for frying
Method:
- Sift flour, salt and baking powder together into a bowl.
- Add beaten egg and milk slowly, stirring continuously to ensure no lumps form.
- Mix in banana and leave mixture to sit 10-15 minutes for the baking powder to react.
- Ladle batter one pancake at a time onto hot, oiled skillet. Place additional slices of banana on top if desired
- When bubbles begin to show on the surface of the pancake, the base is cooked and it may be turned.
- Serve with syrup, condensed milk, sprinkled with palm sugar, or drizzled with coconut syrup.
Tips:
- As a variation, use buttermilk or faux buttermilk (milk to which a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice has been added before leaving it to sit so it takes on the quality of runny yogurt). Buttermilk tends to give a lighter texture.
- Experiment with consistency. If the mixture appears too thick, add more milk. This is easier than adding flour if the mixture becomes too runny, when lumps may creep into the mixture.
