A lighter Asian-style banana fritters that are less calorie-dense and still satisfy your sweet tooth. {Vegan Adaptable}
The Chinese version of banana fritters, or more precisely, fried bananas, is a popular dessert that we splurge on once in a while. It is quite different from the American style banana fritters. Instead of mixing the banana with batter and creating a donut-like texture, this recipe coats the bananas with a thin batter and fries them until crispy. I really enjoy the Asian style fritters, because they are lighter and stay true to the taste of the bananas.
In this recipe, I used a blend of all-purpose flour and cornstarch. It creates a more crispy and crunchy texture than does 100% flour.
The recipe is quite easy to whip together. You simply need to mix the batter, coat the bananas, then deep fry them until golden and crispy. The finished fried bananas are super tender and sweet, with a crunchy coating, and not overly sweet. You can serve them with powdered sugar or some syrup. But most of the time I just snack on them because the bananas are sweet enough themselves.
This is my guilty little pleasure that I don’t cook so often, because I’d easily finish a whole batch by myself 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!
More Asian dessert recipes
- Red Bean Popsicles
- Almond Tofu (Almond Pudding)
- 4-Ingredient No-Churn Black Sesame Ice Cream
- Ginger Creme Brulee
- Tang Yuan (Sweet Rice Balls with Peanut Butter Filling)
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Chinese Banana Fritters (炸香蕉, fried banana)
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 big ripe bananas , cut into 1-inch chunks
- Oil for deep frying
- Powdered sugar (honey, or maple syrup to serve with)
Batter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons milk (or plant-based milk for a vegan dish)
- 1 tablespoon butter , melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the batter in a big bowl. Stir to mix well. It should form a runny batter similar in consistency to a pancake batter.
- Heat 1 inch of oil in a small deep pot over medium-high heat until hot. Test the oil by inserting a wooden chopstick. If the oil sizzles and you can see small bubbles rising rapidly on the chopstick, the oil is ready.
- Line a large plate or baking sheet with a cooling rack. Add the chopped bananas into the batter, a few pieces at a time, and coat well. Gently transfer the bananas into the oil. Fry until all sides turn golden brown. Transfer onto the cooling rack to drain the extra oil. Fry all the bananas this way in batches.
- Wait until the bananas cool down slightly. They will continue to crisp.
- Serve hot with powdered sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
I love how simple this recipe is. These sound just so delicious. I can’t wait to try them – it’s the perfect dessert!
I’m so happy that I found this! I’ve been using your Recipe Box for some time now and just stumbled upon the Banana Fritters that happen to be my all time favorite dessert from my childhood. Obviously I made some right away and I can say that I just felt so happy when I tasted them. They were heaven and I had no idea they were that simple to make. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with the world!!
Best Regards from a German woman living in Denmark, enjoying home cooked Chinese food 🙂
Just made.
Very good. And true. The taste of banana comes out without being bogged down. Was somewhat skeptical with the water in the batter but was an easy coating and fry.
Thank you for sharing.
I never leave reviews, but I just had to tell you… this recipe is perfect!
I wanted to do something fun for our family movie night – we were watching Kung Fu Panda and I make the meal to match the movie. I was stumped on dessert when I came across your recipe. I have tried to fry things many times and always failed, but I had all these ingredients on hand so I thought I’d give it one more try….
Enormous success!! The teenager even gave me his Paul Hollywood handshake, lol! I was even able to make it vegan for me by using coconut milk instead of regular milk and liquid coconut oil instead of butter.
Next time I’ll let them brown a little more to try to get them as pretty as yours, but I was impatient this time. 😉
I can’t wait to explore more of your site! Thank you so much for helping me look like super mom tonight!
I am surprised that the batter does not need baking powder to create airy coating. I will try and will revert to you soon.
I loved making this! It was delicious
They were very nice and I was happy with the results, I had mine with whipped cream yum!
Great recipe! They didn’t last long at our house – everyone loved them and picked their own topping. Thank you for sharing.