Turon

Turon (banana lumpia) are sweet and crunchy fried snacks filled with jackfruit and saba bananas and popular in the Philippines. Growing up, my grandfather made them with plantains which are more readily available in the US. The key to delicious turon is to use very ripe plantains that are mostly black and semi-soft. Turon are delicious served piping hot right out of the fryer but if you’re looking to take them up a notch, top the turon with a scoop of coconut or ube ice cream, like my grandfather did.

Ingreadient:

• 24 8-by-8-inch square frozen lumpia wrappers or spring roll shells
• 4 very ripe plantains 
• One 12-ounce jar jackfruit in syrup 
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for frying

Direction

1. Defrost the spring roll shells in the package on the countertop for 30 minutes. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Trim both ends of each plantain and do not remove the skin. Cut each plantain in half across and then cut lengthwise into 3 planks. Peel the plantain pieces.  
3. Drain the jackfruit and reserve the syrup in a small bowl. Cut each piece of jackfruit into 1/2-inch wide strips.  
4. To assemble the turon, lay the wrapper on a clean surface with a corner pointing towards you (it should resemble a diamond). Place one slice of plantain horizontally about 2 inches from the lower corner and top with 2 strips of jackfruit. Fold the nearest corner of the wrapper over the plantain and jackfruit tautly and roll twice over. Fold in the left and right corners and continue to roll upwards until about 1 inch of wrapper remains. Dip your finger into the reserved jackfruit syrup to moisten the top corner and seal. Repeat with the remaining fruit and wrappers. Reserve the syrup. 
5. Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of oil. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Dip each turon into the jackfruit syrup, allowing any excess to drip off and carefully place into the oil. Fry, turning occasionally, in batches of 6 at a time until deep golden brown and crisp all over, about 3 minutes per side. Place the turon on the wire rack and let cool. Repeat with remaining turon and serve hot.