How to use banana blossoms?
How to use banana blossoms?
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How to use banana blossoms?
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Post #1 - April 18th, 2006, 5:24 pmOn a whim, a friend bought a large can of banana blossoms from an Argyle grocery recently, but has no idea what to do with them. Her cursory Internet search turned up some discouraging words (banana blossoms, particularly canned, are funky, and people only eat them out of habit or desperation).
I thought I'd throw the question to the forum: any recipes or suggestions for using canned banana blossoms? All I could come up with was stir fry.
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Post #2 - April 18th, 2006, 6:42 pmSearch for Kare-Kare, a filipino stew usually made with oxtail and /or tripe. I ran across this dish while searching for ways to make oxtail. Seems there are many ways to make kare-kare, but one of the common ingredients is banana blossom. Here is an interesting Kare-Kare recipe from somebody's blog. I like that it calls for 10 cloves of garlic!
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/forklore/archives/2004/05/karekare.html
A good place to get fresh ox-tails and tripe is the Morse Avenue Market in Rogers Park. I always cook oxtails in a pressure cooker. It knocks about 2 hours off the cooking time and removes quite a bit of the fat.
Morse Fruit & Meat Market
(773) 973-3765
1430 W Morse Ave
Chicago, IL 60626
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Post #3 - April 18th, 2006, 10:40 pmLOL - funny, Kare Kare was the FIRST thing that came to mind for using banana blossoms! We use it for kare kare and I like it. I've never heard of it being a "food of desperation"....hahaha.
here are more recipes using your blossoms:
Banana Blossom Salad: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 22,00.html
Banana Blossom Salad #2:
http://www.ethnicgrocer.com/commerce/ca ... 3340753558
Banana Blossom Ginataan (Filipino coconut stew):
http://www.filipinofoods.info/recipes-f ... inataan-2/
Mochar Ghanto (Indian) Banana Blossom Curry):
http://www.recipecottage.com/indian/ban ... ssoms.html
Banana Blossom Kilawin (Filipino)
http://www.filipinofoods.info/recipes-f ... kilawin-2/
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Post #4 - April 18th, 2006, 11:54 pmHI,
You may be surprised: you can easily buy fresh banana blossoms in Chicago on Argyle. When you unfold the banana flower, you need to remove the male bits, which look like tiny bananas. There is more here:
Food matters wrote:Banana Blossoms (Thai: hua blii)
These are the rusty purple buds that contain the sterile flowers of the banana plant. The taste is astringently sappy, yet, when prepared properly, slightly creamily bitter. Banana blossoms are normally shredded and added to salads or curries. The unshredded but separated leaves are sometimes served raw.
When purchasing, choose a fur large bud with a good even colour. Open one or two of the outer leaves, if the inner leaves are beginning to firm, then choose another. There is a lot of wastage, with 2/3 of the bud being discarded in cleaning. Only use a stainless steel knife, as the flesh discolours the moment it touches any other metal. If the blossoms are to be grilled, char them whole and then discard the outer blackened leaves before cleaning.
To prepare the blossoms, remove the outer coarse and coloured leaves to reveal the creamy white heart. Quarter the heart lengthwise, rub quickly with lemon juice or lime juice, remove the core and shake out the very bitter stamens by flapping the quarter against the palm of your hand, then immediately place in salted acidulated water. Repeat with the remaining quarters. Do not slice more than half an hour before use or the blossoms will discolour despite the acidulated water.
A fast and easy way to pickle cleaned banana blossoms is to wash them in salted and acidulated hydrolysed lime water, before squeezing to extract the bitter sap, and then marinating in a strong solution of lime juice, salt and sugar for 2 - 3 hours. Rinse before use. (from David Thompson,Thai Food)
Why not return the canned banana blossoms and get the fresh instead? I admit this may not be an easy thing to explain to your grocer, though you will be much happier with the outcome.
I do hope you will report on what you did eventually make.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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Post #5 - April 19th, 2006, 9:06 amCathy2 wrote:HI,
You may be surprised: you can easily buy fresh banana blossoms in Chicago on Argyle.
Food matters wrote:Banana Blossoms (Thai: hua blii)
When purchasing, choose a fur large bud with a good even colour. Open one or two of the outer leaves, if the inner leaves are beginning to firm, then choose another. There is a lot of wastage, with 2/3 of the bud being discarded in cleaning. . . To prepare the blossoms, remove the outer coarse and coloured leaves to reveal the creamy white heart. Quarter the heart lengthwise, rub quickly with lemon juice or lime juice, remove the core and shake out the very bitter stamens by flapping the quarter against the palm of your hand, then immediately place in salted acidulated water. Repeat with the remaining quarters. Do not slice more than half an hour before use or the blossoms will discolour despite the acidulated water.
Reading these directions for preparing fresh banana blossoms makes some sense out of the fact that I always think of artichokes when I eat banana blossoms. I wonder if they have some common properties from a chemical/botanical perspective?
For those who are interested, fresh banana blossoms are also available at Marketplace on Oakton in Skokie. A banana blossom is a thing of beauty, the leaves being delicately striated with a subtle purple. Before I knew what they were, I used them as a table decoration in a big bowl along with bumpy bright green bitter melons.Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.
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Post #6 - April 19th, 2006, 1:29 pmHai Yen Vietnamese restaurant on Argyle has a delicious banana blossom salad similar to the one from the Food Network posted above. I think they use fresh banana blossoms.
P.S. Bangkok has a banana blossom salad made with coconut milk and banana blossoms (probably canned judging from the texture)--also delicious and very different from Hai Yen's.
Anyway, reading the posts above makes me want to buy some banana blossoms and experiment. Let us know how your banana blossom recipes turn out.
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Post #7 - April 19th, 2006, 1:31 pmHI,
Since we are naming restaurants where to find Banana Blossom Salad, then please add Spoon Thai to the list.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
