While it might seem unusual to those unfamiliar with it, banana ketchup is a staple in Filipino cuisine. This ketchup offers a unique flavour profile that is cherished by Filipinos and appreciated by adventurous food lovers worldwide.
What’s Banana Ketchup?
Have you ever tried Banana Ketchup? A Filipino staple, this unique ketchup is one of the main components of our Filipino Fried Chicken.
Press play to learn more about this delicious delicacy from our Culinary Director and Executive Chef Ben Murray! pic.twitter.com/Kx8YNm9xpn
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A mixture of mashed bananas, vinegar, sugar, and spices is called banana ketchup. In the Philippines, it is a common condiment and a mainstay on almost every table. A touch of sweetness and tang can be added to almost any dish with the flavour of banana ketchup. Despite being named ketchup, it is not at all like the tomato-based sauce. Alternatively, banana ketchup can be used to liven up almost any dish with its sweet and tangy flavour.
The origins of banana ketchup can be traced to the Philippines’ tomato ketchup shortage during World War II. Food manufacturers looked to the nation’s plentiful supply of bananas to create a condiment akin to this one. They made a sauce that tasted like tomato ketchup by mashing bananas with vinegar, sugar, and spices. The outcome was a successful condiment known as banana ketchup, which immediately gained popularity in the Philippines. The product’s inventor is recognised as Maria Y. Orosa (1892–1945), a Filipina food technologist.
Though banana ketchup is a condiment that is constantly being reinvented, these fresh interpretations go beyond simple choices. They are part of an extensive legacy of adaptation that extends from the creation of Filipino food during colonisation to contemporary interpretations of the cuisine.
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Can You Whip Up Banana Ketchup?
What you know about spicy banana ketchup 👀 pic.twitter.com/EuHXjYz6r8
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The fruity overtones of banana ketchup are expertly balanced by the addition of black pepper and alliums. This results in a cosy blend of sweetness, acidity, and heat. The condiment’s flavour makes it ideal for a wide range of applications. It may be used as a dipping sauce for almost anything, on top of burgers and hotdogs, in marinades. You can even find it in dishes like breakfast silog, spaghetti, and adobo. Its fire-engine-red bottle, a mainstay in Filipino and other Southeast Asian homes, is a sentimental item for many.
According to Serious Eats, sauté a small onion diced, two minced garlic cloves, a jalapeño pepper cut finely, freshly grated ginger, crushed turmeric, and ground allspice in a medium pot until aromatic. Four mashed bananas, white vinegar, honey, rum, tomato paste, soy sauce, and salt should all be added to the mixture and simmered. After turning off the heat, take the pot and let it cool for ten minutes. After the mixture cools, move it to a blender or food processor and process it until it becomes extremely smooth and has the consistency of ketchup. If it’s too thick, thin it up with a small amount of water and taste as you go to add more salt.
To this day, banana ketchup stands as a symbol of the innovative spirit of Filipino cooking
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