I was going to make this last week. With my sisters.
Cause it’s kind of a Filipino thing and I wanted to be a good Philippines host and everything.
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I made these 5 years ago for Christmas and still think about them! They are indeed a labor of love but oh so worth it! Thanks for sharing ā„ļø
Alana Altmann
But we did this instead, which is like the most adventurous thing I’ve done in the last 6 months. Woohoo! I live on the edge.
I’ve actually been meaning to make banana lumpia (aka turon) since I saw it in a Filipino cookbook a few months ago. A FEW MONTHS AGO. It’s one of those recipes that you almost just… don’t want to make. I mean, you do, and you know you’re going to love it when it’s all said and done, buuut do I really have to? Because it involves finding something new – lumpia wrappers – at the grocery store, and then pulling apart those paper-thin, or actually, thinner than paper lumpia wrappers, which could make anyone look and feel like a fool. Plus it involves frying. Which, in the Philippines, also involves sweating and changing clothes for the 8th time this morning and makeup melting off my face. Can’t eat it for lunch tomorrow, makes a mess, and generally makes me feel like I have no cooking skills. It’s not all that practical.
The thing is, I had a kitchen full of super sweet baby bananas, lumpia wrappers, and coconut milk left over from my sisters thinking we could squeeze some lumpia frying into our crazy week. It’s like they planned on dropping the stuff and just leaving the country to see what I would do with all of it. Ha ha to me.
So I was definitely forced to make it.
And hellooooooo.
Once I got started, I just sort of lost myself in the process of rolling and frying these little guys. A little music in the background, the front door open, fan blowing directly on me, just thinking about life {read: coconut caramel sauce} and taking it all in. It was one of those times where I had absolutely no concept of what time it was when I finished because I didn’t need to be anywhere. Sigh.
Can we get more of those times?
So let’s talk about the moment that I first dipped my face in coconut sauce.
It was also the same moment that I stood over the stove, stirring it, which was actually about 30 moments. I am conservatively calculating that I liked my daily calories in sweet brown sugar coconut sauce off of that wooden spoon.
Realistically, you guys are not going to make this tonight unless you are some sort of extremely ambitious cook who also happens to have lumpia wrappers and bananas and coconut milk laying around the kitchen. What you should do is save this for a day when you can lose yourself in something. Like, for example, something sweet and soft and wrapped in super light thinner-than-paper layers of golden brown crispiness. That paper thin-ness that made me the world’s clumsiest cook 3 seconds ago? I LOVE IT when it’s fried. It’s so thin and delicate and perfectly crispy.
And I sincerely, with all my heart, hope you make this sauce just so you can lick the wooden spoon more than is appropriate. Or just try not to and let me know how that goes for you {evil villain laugh}. It’s so sweet, so creamy and dark, so perfectly simple.
I feel faint.
Banana Lumpia {Turon} with Coconut Caramel Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
This banana lumpia is my take on a tasty Filipino treat! Bananas, fried in lumpia wrappers with brown sugar, and covered with caramel. Includes a video!
Ingredients
- 10 small bananas
- 20 fresh lumpia wrappers
- 1–2 cups oil for frying
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- water
Instructions
- Pour the coconut milk into a medium saucepan over low heat. Heat until bubbling slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and stir until smooth. Thicken the sauce to your desired consistency by keeping it at a low boil and stirring very frequently. I kept mine on the heat for almost 30 minutes. It thickens slightly as it cools, but you should be able to see it thickening in the pan as well.
- Steam the lumpia wrappers for a few minutes to soften them and make them easier to pull apart. I just held mine over the top of the steaming sauce pan for a few minutes. š
- Peel the bananas and cut them in half lengthwise. Place the banana on the lumpia wrapper. If they are still too long to fit inside your lumpia wrappers, cut the ends off or cut them in half again. Dip your fingers in water and run them along the edge of the lumpia wrapper to make them easier to fold. Fold the top and bottom over the banana, and then roll it sideways, sealing the banana inside and using a little more water to make the wrapper stick together.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or frying pan over low heat. When water sizzles across the top, add the lumpia, a few at a time, and fry for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Filipino
Keywords: banana lumpia, lumpia, filipino banana lumpia
How To Make Our Banana Lumpia:
Would it be wrong to say that I’m having visions of that sweet, dark, coconut caramel sauce poured over ice cream and sliced bananas?
Someone please make that happen and get back to me.
I’m excited to try your recipies,as I adore food and cooking .I look forward to making your recipies!!
I made extra coco caramel sauce can I refrigerate it or does it stay out?
We recommend refrigerating the sauce!
Wow~ this is my favorite here in the Philippines. I grew up eating this (it’s kind of like a street food thing here in Manila). I’ll definitely try your recipe. A more traditional recipe is adding strips of jackfruit with the banana.
You may add jackfruit inside the wrap next time to upgrade your turon. Yummy!
I am Filipino and I am just proud that you take the plunge of doing the Turon. If you happen to make another batch of these, include langka or jackfruit with your bananas. It gives you another layer of flavor.
Hi! Iām a Filipino-American. Although I appreciate that you posted one of our Filipino gems, I feel that I should make a few comments. One, Filipinos call it āturonā not banana lumpia. Two, I feel as though you viewed the process to have unnecessary work! Your writing truly shows that you donāt appreciate the culture and the history behind this recipe. We, Filipinos, love the painstaking process in many of our recipes, and in fact, in many of our ways of life. We take pride in our culture. We often do these together as a family or close friends. We enjoy the process, we tell stories, we laugh, and we enjoy. Thatās how we bond. The Philippines has strong heritage, rich history, and strong culture. We are proud people. Frankly, this article is a bit disrespectful to us! I hope you can appreciate where Iām coming from. If not, feel free to delete my comment and move on.
I made these 5 years ago for Christmas and still think about them! They are indeed a labor of love but oh so worth it! Thanks for sharing ā„ļø
Nice Taste. Like a spice chocolate.
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How do you make banana lumpia with a crispy caramel crunch when you bite into it
I believe you say wrap banana in wrapper but no mention of brown sugar in wrapper. Watching your video you add brown sugar. Does the brown sugar in wrapper come from the 3/4 cup for the caramel sauce? Or is it separate? I’ve made the banana lumpish with brown sugar and love them. Haven’t tried the caramel you mentioned.
Delicious- I’m making right now. Thanks Lindsay
Loved the sauce with the lumpia yum! When i make my lumpia i sprinkle a lil cinnamon brown sugar on the banana before wrapping. I also sumtimes melt some chocolate n dip lumpias in that yum
lkjlk
Hi Lindsay,
I would definitely try your coconut caramel sauce. We use to add brown sugar while frying the turon, it’s kinda messy and its difficult that way. You can see them in a tupical filipino streets or in the markets. We use to add jackfruit (langka) with the banana which you can buy in asian shops in a bottle, canned or fozen.
Making the coconut caramel sauce or Latik takes a lot of patience.
I admire you for being creative! God bless you š
From: New Zealand
Thanks, Joy! š
I loved reading the stories behind your recipes, usually I just skip those and go directly to the recipe so it was infinitely a pleasant suprise when I actually finished reading the whole thing. And honestly speaking, I love reading about it more because I am a Filipino and I love the appreciation you give to our food and culture. Will definitely read more, looking forward to it actually. Keep up the great work.
That’s sweet, Abby! I’ll pass this along to Lindsay for you. š
Your story is funny!
As a pinoy, great job in this!
A small suggestion: when can’t find lumping wrappers, egg roll wrappers would do and can be found in the Asian sections of most major grocery stores.
Haha! Great tip, Kevin. š
Autocorrect said “lumping” when it’s actually “lumpia” lol
Love your blog and adventurousness!
There is relief from the difficulty of separating the wrappers. They now come with paper separating each wrapper just like the cheese from the deli. Just a wee bit more costly but hey it’s a great dish! To get a hint of coconut we fry the Turon in coconut oil. Good high heat and flavor. We also like to take a little fry daddy when we’re going to take a dish to a party. I like them fresh and hot.
Finally, once made but before frying we store them in vacuum sealed food saver bags and freeze them. Just as good and ready when you want to snack without the prep time.
Thanks for your feedback Pete! Super helpful.
Lumpia wrappers are not that hard to find *if* you look in the right place. If you have an Asian grocery anywhere near you, they almost certainly will stock them. I live in Minneapolis and between here and St Paul, there are only about a dozen places with them, but if you go to your local grocery stores, you’ll never find them.
Also, if you are really desperate, you can buy the dry ones online. They need to be soaked in order to work them and I prefer those to the frozen ones since they are easier to get apart.
And if you are going to make them, make a load of them. It’s like make pierogies or cannolis or anything that is small and tedious… And your first few will take a bit, but after the first five or six, you’ll be burning through them.
Thanks for sharing recipes from my native land! It helps to demystify our food a little bit!
Thanks Cristopher! appreciate the tips!
Will surely gonna make this coming weekend! I’m craving already. Thanks for sharing the video too! š
http://nuvali.ph/dine-shop/leasing-opportunities/restaurants
Don’t forget to put langka(jackfruit) inside! š
Hmmm do you think that phyllo dough might work? I am trying to picture the texture of the wrapper and I think both those and wonton would work? I have got to make these.. Makes me think of banana flambe
Hm, I have never thought of that. I think it would taste good, even if it’s not the same as the original, except I don’t have any experience frying phyllo. Is that something that’s done?
I love how you showcase Filipino recipes on your blog! I’m Filipino and here we call them ‘turon’ š you should try banana cue!
P.S.: loving your blog