Turon (Banana and Jackfruit Lumpia)

Back in August I thought that we would do a deep dive into Filipino cuisine to parallel D's AP Human Geography class. Read more about that here: Beyond Pancit and Lumpia. And, in what feels like a blink of an eye, the school year is over. Good intentions, but absolutely no follow through. Ugh. I hate that.

For their final project, they needed to make something from their assigned country. They asked me to help them make lumpia and turon, banana lumpia. Again with the lumpia. Too funny.

So, D and I went to the Filipino store and the woman at the register commented, "Oh, are you making turon?"

Yes. 

"Do you make it with langka?"

What? No.

She explains that we need to roll the bananas in brown sugar and layer it with jackfruit. D nods and runs back to the aisle with jarred jackfruit as I wait for her to ring up everything else.

The night before they needed to serve these, J came over and they rolled 50 turon and 50 regular lumpia. These guys are pros now.

Ingredients

4 to 5 ripe plantains (they need to be squeezable)

lumpia wrappers (I found ours frozen at a local Filipino market - they told me to get the round ones), defrosted and separated

organic dark brown sugar

langka (jackfruit), drained

water to sealing

oil for cooking (I used a canola oil)

powdered sugar for serving, optional

Procedure

Slice the plantains into coins. Roll them in brown sugar and set aside.

Keep the lumpia wrappers covered so they stay pliable while you roll and have a small bowl of water nearby to seal the lumpia.

Place a lumpia wrapper on a plate. Place about 2 or 3 plantain coins on the wrapper. Lay a piece of langka on top. Fold in the edges and roll it as tightly as you can without breaking the wrapper. But, if you happen to tear one, don't worry. Double wrap it and that one will just have extra crispy goodness around it!

Wet the edge of the wrapper and you complete the roll and place the lumpia, seam-side down, while you finish wrapping the rest.

To cook, heat oil in a rimmed skillet. Use tongs to gently lower the lumpia into the hot oil. Turn them as they brown and crisp.

Ours took about 2-1/2 minutes per side.

Once they are nicely crisped, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Move to a serving platter and serve hot with powdered sugar, if you wish.

Now I know who to call when I need a gob of turon for a party!