Things I did today

[kelliem]

Today was our 'spring break' day at work. The rest of the university gets the week off, but staff only get a day. I slept in, then went out and ran errands, got a pedicure, and went to the grocery store to get the things I need to make a couple of dishes for my mom's 80th's birthday on Sunday. Tonight I made stir-fry for dinner, and then the kid-unit and I made banana fritters and ate them while watching Dr. Who. We both love the candied banana fritters you can get at some Chinese restaurants, but it seems like fewer and fewer of them are offering them on the menu. Tonight we learned why. Making banana fritters is a lot of work, and you dirty up half the pans and bowls in the kitchen. Not to mention the fact that getting molten sugar on your finger hurts and leaves a nice white blister behind.

'Honey' Banana Fritters

3 large bananas
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 large bowl of ice water
oil for frying

Peel bananas and cut them into 1" chunks. Combine flour, cornstarch, egg, water (Maybe it's just me, but I ended up using about 4 Tbsp of water to get the batter thin enough to dip the banana chunks in. 1 tsp. only yielded a thick paste.) and mix till smooth.

Heat frying oil till moderately hot. Dip the banana chunks into the batter, lift them out one at a time, tap off the excess batter and put them into the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes, till the batter is golden. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Put sugar and sesame seed together in a clean dry pot. Melt the sugar till it darkens a little. Reduce heat to very low, just to keep it warm but not burned. (Make sure the sugar is warm enough to be almost watery in texture or you will end up with too thick a coat on the fritters. The fritters are much better with a thin coating of sugar not a heavy one.)

Have the bowl of ice water nearby. Dip the fried banana chunks in the melted sugar syrup, a few at a time, coat them thoroughly. Transfer them into the ice water to harden, remove them very quickly so they don't get soggy. This dish doesn't keep at all, and you should serve it right away while the fritters are still warm.

Another recipe I found doesn't add the sesame seed to the sugar, but rather sprinkles them on top afterward. I may try that next time.

Comments

[theamusedone.livejournal.com]

OUCH on the blister. Those always just hurt so much. Lavender essential oil is just about the best thing ever for burns though. When I was working with a fryer years ago, I always kept a bottle in my pocket.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have some lavender oil, I'll try that.

[liaison27.livejournal.com]

Sounds fabulous, but I confess that recipe is way too ambitious for me. I have one for a cream cheesy thing that is just layering unbaked turnover pastry with a simple cream cheese mix topped with walnut crumble that I'm going to bake this weekend. I'll try to get the recipe posted soon. It's very tasty.

I love spring break even though we don't get any days off. It's blasphemous, but I can't help loving the peace and quiet of campus and being able to drive places in no time at all. The grounds' crews are cleaning up all the gardens on campus, spredding mulch around like it's chocolate sprinkles on the world's biggest batch of sheet cakes. Okay, the odor is more than a bit manure-y, but I grew up around farms.

Today there was a nice spring rain and the warm air has become an inhalable fix. It's still nice and warm late now in the dark. The Peeper frogs' wall of noise fills the distance, reminding me of being a little kid and thinking it was the sound of starlight. Later I found out they are known as a Chorus Frog.

Singing to the stars. I like that just as much.