Turon

Turon

Have you ever tasted fried bananas? If you haven't, then you should. This is just the right place for you to begin, because today I'm going to create Turon. Turon is a Filipino dessert that is found in almost every corner of the Philippines, from local street vendors to high-end restaurants. The traditional Turon is a banana with brown sugar wrapped in lumpia style. But for today, I am going to create a different variant of Turon, which makes use of Filipino sweet preserves. Some of the ingredients I'm going to use maybe new to you, but you can easily buy them in any Filipino or Asian grocery stores.

Let's start cooking!

Ingredients:
20 pieces lumpia wrappers
5 pieces bananas, peeled and cut into halves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup nata de coco
1/2 cup kaong
1/2 cup macapuno
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooking oil


Procedure:
1. Lay down lumpia wrapper and put one banana strip in the middle. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon each of nata de coco, kaong, and macapuno over the banana strip.
2. Gently wrap the banana with the lumpia wrapper into a narrow roll, making sure to close all sides.
3. To seal the lumpia wrapper, moisten the edges with egg wash.
4. To ensure turon is securely sealed, wrap it in another piece of lumpia wrapper and seal with egg wash.
5. Heat cooking oil in a deep frying pan, and fry the turon until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.

(Ozaeta 118)

Timpla Tip:
"While wrapping the Turon in lumpia, keep the remaining lumpia wrappers covered with a clean damp cloth to prevent the wrappers from drying" (Ozaeta 119). This Timpla tip is helpful, because throughout the years I've been making Turon with my mom, the drying of the wrapper is a common problem of ours.

Making Turon isn't new to me. Ever since I was a child I would always help my mom in preparing it. Though, this experience is different, as I made a different kind of Turon all by myself. The entire process was easy for me and I believe that it won't be difficult for you too, as long as you follow the procedures correctly.

The Turon I made was crispy and sweet, just as it should be. Just like the Turon I made, Filipinos are known for our sweet tooth, as well as our sweet nature of interacting with people, especially to those within our family. While eating the Turon I made, with my relatives, it made me reminisce my days when I was still living in the Philippines. The afternoons where my cousins and I eat Turon for merienda (snack time), while telling stories. Through this another cooking experience, it made me realize the significance of food, not just for survival, but also on how it connects people together. Turon is one of my most favorite Filipino desserts, and this new recipe that I learned made me love it even more. How about you, do you have any favorite food when you were a child that is still your favorite until now? What is it?

Works Cited:

Fontanilla, Marilen, and Anne Marie Ozaeta, eds. Timpla. First Edition ed. Makati City: Hinge Inquirer Publications, 2010. Print.