Banana Fritters

These fritters were every kid’s favourite dessert in the ’70s, commonly served at Chinese restaurants, along with fried ice-cream. Oh, the memories! Recreate your childhood memories or make new ones. These bananas are lightly battered and are truly delicious served with vanilla ice-cream. (Add a cheeky sprinkling of sugar to make them really authentic!)

How to make banana fritters: key tips

The simple batter for the bananas is made from mixing self-raising flour with bicarb soda and water. I find using a whisk helps to create a lovely smooth batter.

Roll your banana pieces in the plain flour to coat, but remember to dust off any excess flour – you will only need a light coating.

Heat around 3 cups of peanut oil in a saucepan until it’s hot enough that a cube of bread will turn golden in 30 seconds. One by one, coat the banana pieces in batter, drain off the excess, and carefully drop them in the hot oil. Fry, rolling over halfway, until golden all over. This should only take a couple of minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer your banana fritters to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Getting rid of any excess oil from frying ensures your fritters will have a deliciously crisp batter.

Key ingredients in this banana fritters recipe

Choose firm, ripe bananas for a sweet dessert that isn’t mushy.

Bicarb soda is the magic ingredient that helps your batter to rise (in addition to the self-raising flour) and become light and fluffy. Meanwhile, the light coating of plain flour on the banana pieces makes them less slippery and will help the batter to stick.

I like to use peanut oil for deep-frying, as it has a high smoke point, along with a neutral taste. It also has the ability to create a crispy, golden exterior with minimal oil absorption. You could also use vegetable, canola, sunflower or rice bran oil, if you prefer.

You might also like these banana fritter balls, and perhaps this delish honey chicken recipe to eat as a Chinese main before your fritter dessert!

This recipe was originally submitted by Tassiezac, a member of the Australia’s Best Recipe community. Introduction and additional recipe notes by Natasha Shaw.