Another scorching weekend. Today I went to a birthday party for one of my students. I was invited so I figured, “What the hell?� I arrived at 12n as requested and there was only one other person there. I waited for 35 minutes before the actual ‘birthday service’ commenced. The praying and singing lasted around 45 minutes. I understood absolutely none of this except the first three words of every service: Mari kita berdoa. Let us pray. After the service (and passing of the plate), we ate. I skipped the dog and went straight to the stir fry vegetable and asparagus soup. Good stuff.
Perhaps one of the most popular street vendor snacks is the battered and fried banana. Simple translated as ‘pisang goreng’ or banana fried. The people of Manado give it a special twist to the other inhabitants of Indonesia. In the south of Sulawesi, one gets ‘pisang goreng’ with chocolate or cheese. Here, you either get full chili peppers or local hot sauce on the side. I’ve gotten used to it even though I sometimes crave a little peanut butter to slap on it.
Pisang Goreng
10 bananas (We’re talking small bananas. A little green wouldn’t hurt either.)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
yellow food coloring (optional, of course)
water
oil for frying (usu. palm oil here but you can use soy bean, corn, sunflower, etc.)
Mix flour, sugar, egg, and coloring well in a large bowl. Add enough water (about two to three cups) to make a smooth, syrupy mixture. Set aside for five minutes. Peel bananas, and cut them once lengthwise. Normally, the bananas are cut twice and spread to create a fan-like shape. If the bananas are longer than 5-6 inches, cut them in half so that it is easier to fry. Coat the bananas with the mixture and deep fry them three to four at a time in oil. When bananas are golden, remove them from the oil.