Indonesian fried bananas
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On one New Year's Eve, when everyone had picked a seat and was waiting for dinner, my aunt was still in the restaurant waiting for a customer who had ordered eighteen pieces of pisang goreng. That year, the customer wanted to eat pisang goreng instead of the Dutch oliebollen that are traditionally eaten during New Year's Eve. Eating pisang goreng on New Year’s Eve is not a tradition in the Netherlands, and we did not eat pisang goreng or oliebollen ourselves that night.But the day after, I started to crave both and decided on a sweet start to the new year by enjoying a pisang goreng and oliebollen lunch on the first day.
In Indonesia, the country of origin, pisang goreng is often made of plantain, also known as cooking banana, which is a kind of banana that is suitable for cooking and less sweet. In fact, the name pisang goreng already tells us a lot: pisang means banana, and goreng means fried in Indonesian. The plantain can be fried on its own or covered in batter and then deep-fried till crispy. There are several variations on this sweet snack that can be found in Southeast Asia, and all are different. In Indonesia, pisang goreng is often eaten with coffee in the morning or in the late afternoon.