Woo Can Cook | Fried Banana Fritters (Zha Xiangjiao)
Woo Can Cook | Fried Banana Fritters (Zha Xiangjiao)
by WooCanCook
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WooCanCook
Hello! Hi everyone. Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with maybe the only scenario where I have ever actually enjoyed a banana, which is a Chinese fried banana fritter, or “zha xiangjiao.” For those unfamiliar, some may recognize the Chinese banana fritter as a dish that frequently appears on the dessert menu of Chinese American restaurants, featuring a crispy battered and fried banana, often served with ice cream (the presence of dairy of course, should be your first tip that we are deep into the belly of Americanized Chinese cuisine).
For our version today, we’ll be serving ours with a bit of honey and Chinese five spice, though I can tell you that I have come across a wide variety of toppings on this dish, including things like powdered sugar, maple syrup, or even nothing at all. What’s most interesting to me about this dish is that while your more typical American style fritter would involve breaking down the banana, and working it directly into the batter itself (not unlike an apple fritter, for example), our Chinese styled fritter will involve keeping the banana in whole chunks, then coating it in a quick tempura batter. This is gonna yield a lighter and softer texture to our fritter, which is pretty unique from your more typical American styled donuts. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/EhtFEqqJAKs) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**INGREDIENTS** – 2 bananas – honey – chinese five spice – vanilla ice cream – 64 oz fryer oil
**INGREDIENTS (tempura batter)** – 1/4 cup corn starch – 1/4 cup AP flour – 1/2 cup seltzer water – 2 egg whites – pinch kosher salt
**PREP** – COMBINE all tempura batter ingredients, then whisk until a smooth batter forms – SLICE the banana into 2 inch pieces, then toss in the tempura batter to coat
**ON THE STOVE** – HEAT the fryer oil to 350F, fry the bananas for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and rest for 5 minutes – REHEAT the fryer, then fry the bananas for a second fry for 3-5 minutes until golden brown – SERVE with vanilla ice cream, and finish with honey and chinese five spice
1 Comment
Hello! Hi everyone. Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with maybe the only scenario where I have ever actually enjoyed a banana, which is a Chinese fried banana fritter, or “zha xiangjiao.” For those unfamiliar, some may recognize the Chinese banana fritter as a dish that frequently appears on the dessert menu of Chinese American restaurants, featuring a crispy battered and fried banana, often served with ice cream (the presence of dairy of course, should be your first tip that we are deep into the belly of Americanized Chinese cuisine).
For our version today, we’ll be serving ours with a bit of honey and Chinese five spice, though I can tell you that I have come across a wide variety of toppings on this dish, including things like powdered sugar, maple syrup, or even nothing at all. What’s most interesting to me about this dish is that while your more typical American style fritter would involve breaking down the banana, and working it directly into the batter itself (not unlike an apple fritter, for example), our Chinese styled fritter will involve keeping the banana in whole chunks, then coating it in a quick tempura batter. This is gonna yield a lighter and softer texture to our fritter, which is pretty unique from your more typical American styled donuts. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/EhtFEqqJAKs) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**Recipes**: [Woo Can Cook (Youtube)](https://youtube.com/woocancook?sub_confirmation=1)
**Music**: [Woo Cooks Beats (Lofi Beats to Cook to)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9McCfCIkWtc&list=PL72dM3fKnbHupDC0cIOHxaHBvjZLY3TdT&index=13)
**Woo Can Cook Fried Rice Pop Up (Every Thurs-Sun @ Wondrous Brewing!)**: https://WooCanCook.com/eats
**TikTok** (short recipes and Woo Cooks Beats): [Woo Can Cook](https://www.tiktok.com/@woocancook)
**Instagram** (pop-up schedule, music, and random Taki cameos): [@woocancook](https://instagram.com/WooCanCook)
**RECIPE**
https://woocancook.com/zha-xiang-jiao
**INGREDIENTS**
– 2 bananas
– honey
– chinese five spice
– vanilla ice cream
– 64 oz fryer oil
**INGREDIENTS (tempura batter)**
– 1/4 cup corn starch
– 1/4 cup AP flour
– 1/2 cup seltzer water
– 2 egg whites
– pinch kosher salt
**PREP**
– COMBINE all tempura batter ingredients, then whisk until a smooth batter forms
– SLICE the banana into 2 inch pieces, then toss in the tempura batter to coat
**ON THE STOVE**
– HEAT the fryer oil to 350F, fry the bananas for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and rest for 5 minutes
– REHEAT the fryer, then fry the bananas for a second fry for 3-5 minutes until golden brown
– SERVE with vanilla ice cream, and finish with honey and chinese five spice