Keripik Pisang (Crispy Banana Chips)

Lovely Alice of I Love.I Cook.I Bake is hosting the Asian Food Fest for this month and her selected country is Indonesia. I do not know much about Indonesian cuisine, so have to depend on my search from the internet. I came across this Keripik Pisang (crispy banana chips), and it is simple enough for me to attempt. We do have our own local banana chips snacks, which are really crispy and coated with sweet caramel, rather addictive! This Indonesian version is much simpler, where the chips are seasoned with a little salt. Looking at these Keripik Pisang from the website, makes me wishing for some Ngaku Chips (Arrow head chips) which I made for the recent Chinese New Year, of course they do not last long in my house! Got to wait a whole year as arrow heads are only available when it's close to Chinese New Year. Since I can't have my Ngaku Chips, I'll make some Keripik Pisang instead!  :)

Keripik Pisang (Crispy Banana Chips)

To make the chips, get some unripe bananas. The ripe ones would not make crispy chips.

To peel the bananas, use a vegetable peeler or slice off the skin with a sharp knife. Skin of young bananas would not peel off easily as when they are ripe. I use a mandolin to slice the peeled bananas diagonally to get even thickness. You may slice the bananas thinly with a very sharp knife. The recipe states that the sliced bananas are to be soaked in a solution of lime juice and water for an hour, drain and mix with a little salt. I have however only soaked them for about 15 minutes, drain, shake off excess water, and sprinkle lightly with a little salt. Deep fry in hot oil until crispy and dry. Drain on kitchen paper towels. Store in airtight container when cool.

I bought a comb of medium-sized unripe bananas and they sort of shrink in size when fried. So choose the bigger ones to get really nice big chips.

Keripik Pisang (Crispy Banana Chips)
(source from : indonesiaoriginalrecipes)
1 unripe banana comb
1 teaspoon lime juice mix with 1 liter of water
cooking oil
salt to taste

1. Peel the bananas using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife. Slice the banana thinly, using either a mandolin slicer or a very sharp knife, at a diagonal. (I use a mandolin, slicing the bananas at a diagonal, directly into the water)
2. Soak bananas for 1 hour. (I soaked for 15 minutes)
3. Drain bananas, and shake off excess water. Put bananas slices into a container and sprinkle lightly with salt. Stir gently until smooth (no grainy salt visible), let stand for 5 minutes. Shake off excess water if any. 
4. Heat oil in wok and fry the banana slices, turning them over frequently until they are dry and crisp. Remove with a slotted ladle and drain on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
5. When cool, store in airtight container.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest : Indonesia hosted by Alice of I Love.I Cook.I Bake