All you need to know about banana cue is that it is caramelized, fried banana, served on a stick.
Its cousin, camote cue? That’s caramelized, fried sweet potato, served on a stick.
Both of the cues, banana and camote, are popular street foods in the Philippines. You are especially likely to find them as a mid-afternoon snack, or meryenda. I imagine they are particularly popular among children coming home from school, but adults adore them, too.
Best of all, for our purposes, they are incredibly easy to make. They may be a little bit messy, especially if you tend to be a messy cook anyway, like me. But clean-up is a pleasure when you have a belly full of banana cue or camote cue.
You may find that, after you are done, you have clumps of cooked brown sugar stuck to the bottom of your pot. It may seem difficult to get it off, but actually it is quite easy: Just put a couple of inches of water in the pot and bring it to a boil. The sugar will dissolve, and any part of it that doesn’t dissolve will be easy to remove.
Your pot will be so clean you’ll want to use it again to make more banana or camote cue.
Camote cue
Yield: 6 servings
3 cups oil, for frying
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pour oil into a large pot. Heat over medium heat until hot enough to deep fry, about 375 degrees.
Carefully add the slices; the oil should immediately start to bubble. Turn slices occasionally until beginning to turn light brown. Sprinkle brown sugar over top and cook sweet potatoes, turning occasionally with tongs or a spoon.
Camote cue is done when the sweet potatoes are a golden brown all over and can easily be pierced with a fork or sharp knife. Remove from oil and allow to cool for a minute. Place 2 or 3 pieces on a skewer, and serve warm.
Banana cue
Yield: 6 servings
Oil for frying
6 saba or burro bananas, or 3 plantains, peeled
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pour oil into a pot big enough to hold all the bananas or plantains; the oil should be at least high enough to come about halfway up the side of the bananas, 2 to 3 cups, depending on the size of the pot. Heat over medium heat until hot enough to fry, about 375 degrees.
Carefully add the bananas (cut the plantains in half first, if using); the oil should immediately start to bubble. Turn bananas occasionally until beginning to turn light brown. Sprinkle brown sugar over top and cook, turning bananas occasionally with tongs and spooning sugared oil over the top of bananas if they are above the oil.
Banana cue is done when the bananas are a golden brown all over. Remove from oil and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Place 1 or 2 pieces on a skewer, and serve warm.