Banana Cue, A Popular Philippine Snack

Banana cue

A Banana cue or Banana Q (Tagalog: Banana kyu) is a popular snack food in the Philippines of deep fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar. Banana cue is made from Saba bananas. It is usually skewered on a bamboo stick, and is sold on the streets. The skewer stick is just for ease of serving and eating, but is not cooked on the skewer

Saba (Cardaba banana), or Saging na Saba is used, which is the most common cooking variety of banana in the Philippines.

The 'que' (pronounced 'Q') on banana-que must have been coined to mean 'on a stick', which is taken from the the word barbecue, since we, Filipinos call our Grilled Pork on a stick 'barbecue'.


YOUR BANANAQUE SHOPPING LIST:

IN THE PANTRY:

Light or Dark Brown Sugar
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Bamboo Skewers
INGREDIENTS

12 pcs. Saba Banana
1 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
4-6 cups Vegetable Oil for Frying
6 pcs. Bamboo Skewers
PREPARATION TIME : 3 minutes

COOKING TIME :15 minutes

1 Cut one end of the banana and remove the peel.
2 Heat up the oil on medium heat add the brown sugar. Cook for a couple minutes.
3 Put the banana and stir gently and continuously.
4 Cook for 10 minutes or until the sugar has stuck on the banana.
5 Skewer the banana directly while taking out of the pan.
6 Let it cool down for a bit on a wire rack before serving. Do not cover or the hardened sugar will melt down from steam.

TIPS:

• Choose bananas that are a little soft but not ripe, so they do not get mushy when cooked.
• If Saba Banana is not available, you can use Ripe Plantains. Slice into 1 1/2 inch lengths, but make sure the plantains are ripe as they are not as sweet and soft as the saging na saba if unripe.
• Adjust the brown sugar according to your taste. If you want a lot of caramelized sugar sticking to the banana, have at least 1 cup sugar per 4-5 bananas.
• Out of brown sugar? Caramelize white sugar first on low to medium heat (without water) to make it golden brown, then add the oil and banana.
• After frying, set aside the oil for later use. As long as you use medium heat when frying, there will be no burnt sugar on the oil. But make sure you strain before you set aside.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_cue
http://www.filipino-food-recipes.com/bananaque.html