Ingredients
Filling
- 6saba bananas, or plantains
- 150 gripe jackfruit, langka, in strips
- 150 gbrown sugar, for coating
To wrap
- 12lumpia wrappers
- a little water, for sealing
To fry
- neutral oil, for shallow frying
- 80 gbrown sugar, for caramelising
Sometimes added
- a pinch of ground cinnamon
- sesame seeds
Directions
- Peel all of the saba bananas first. Cut each one in half lengthways. Spread the brown sugar on a plate. Roll each banana piece in the sugar to coat it. Press the sugar on so it sticks. Cut the jackfruit into thin strips. Tinned jackfruit in syrup should be drained well.
- Keep the stack under a damp cloth as you work. Lay one wrapper on the board as a diamond. Set a sugared banana piece across the lower third. Lay two or three strips of jackfruit beside it.
- Fold the near corner up over the filling. Roll it once, keeping it tight. Fold both side corners in toward the middle. Keep rolling upward into a neat cylinder.
- Set it seam side down on a tray. Work through the rest the same way. Pour oil into a wide frying pan to about a centimetre deep. Heat the oil over a medium heat. Sprinkle the extra brown sugar into the hot oil. Lay the rolls into the pan seam side down. Do not crowd the pan at any point.
- Fry them for three minutes on the first side. Turn them with tongs to coat all sides. Keep turning until they are deep golden and glazed. They need about six to eight minutes in total.
- Lift them onto a wire rack over a tray. Kitchen paper sticks fast to the hot caramel. Let them sit for two minutes before touching them. The caramel is extremely hot and hardens as it cools.
- Skewer them on bamboo sticks as the carts do. Sprinkle sesame seeds over them if you like. The caramel should crack when you bite through it.
Technique
- Merienda is the Filipino afternoon snack, and turon is one of the standard things sold for it.
- Turon with jackfruit is sometimes distinguished as turon saba con langka.
Substitutions
- Plantain is the best substitute for saba and should be ripe but firm.
- Spring roll wrappers can replace lumpia wrappers, though they are thicker and less delicate.
Variations
- A plain version without jackfruit is equally common.
- Some carts add a strip of ube halaya or a slice of cheese inside.
- A chocolate version with a piece of chocolate tucked in is popular with children.
History
A fried spring roll, its wrapper enclosing sliced saba banana and often jackfruit, coated in caramelised brown sugar as it fries, developed in Filipino cooking as a popular snack and dessert, using saba, a specific starchy cooking banana variety long cultivated across the Philippines and distinct from the sweeter dessert bananas more commonly eaten raw. Its caramelised sugar coating, achieved by letting sugar melt and stick to the wrapper’s exterior during frying, gives turon a distinctive crisp, sticky-sweet crust that sets it apart from plainer fried banana preparations found in some other Southeast Asian cuisines. It remains an extremely popular Filipino street food and snack, sold hot from vendors and also commonly made at home.
Frequently asked questions
What is Turon?
Turon is a street food from Philippines: caramelised banana and jackfruit rolls in crisp wrapper. A fried spring roll, its wrapper enclosing sliced saba banana and often jackfruit, coated in caramelised brown sugar as it fries, developed in Filipino cooking as a popular snack and dessert, using saba, a specific starchy cooking banana variety long cultivated across the Philippines and distinct from the sweeter dessert bananas more commonly eaten raw. Its caramelised sugar coating, achieved by letting sugar melt and stick to the wrapper’s exterior during frying, gives turon a distinctive crisp, sticky-sweet crust that sets it apart from plainer fried banana preparations found in some other Southeast Asian cuisines. It remains an extremely popular Filipino street food and snack, sold hot from vendors and also commonly made at home.
How long does Turon take to make?
Turon takes 20 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes 12 rolls. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Turon?
Yes, within limits. Plantain is the best substitute for saba and should be ripe but firm. Spring roll wrappers can replace lumpia wrappers, though they are thicker and less delicate.
What is the most important thing to get right in Turon?
Set it seam side down on a tray. Work through the rest the same way. Pour oil into a wide frying pan to about a centimetre deep. Heat the oil over a medium heat. Sprinkle the extra brown sugar into the hot oil. Lay the rolls into the pan seam side down. Do not crowd the pan at any point.
