One of many variants of banana, the “Saba” banana originated in the Philippines. The “Saba” banana though can be eaten raw, Filipinos considered it as a cooking banana like plantains. Saba is deem as one the most important varieties of banana in the Philippines. Saba bananas are robust and large with a white and starchy meat that makes it ideal for cooking and extensively used in Philippine cuisine. However, the most famous way to cook the Saba bananas among Filipinos is by deep-frying them and adding brown sugar at the end of cooking and called Banana-Q.

From the name itself, it has a similar concept of barbecue or kebab wherein the meat is in a skewer. Since Philippines is a tropical country and with the Filipinos’ ingenuity, the Filipino version of  skewer is made of bamboo. It is relatively one of the favorite afternoon snacks all over the country. In every town, small villages or even in the city you will find a small store that cooks and sells Banana-Q.  Because it is deep-fried, therefore, Banana-Q is served hot and with the brown sugar it gives an extra sweet flavor to it with a gooey texture. There could be a slight difference in preparing Banana-Q in different province; some can have more sweetness to it like coconut custard or “matamis na bao” in Tagalog, a different technique or presentation of Banana-Q. Still, at the end the idea will be the same Saba bananas on stick.  Commonly accompanied by a glass of water on the side, but the current generation prefers to have soda instead of enjoying these fried bananas on stick. With the simple the ingredients on this snack, the price of Banana-Q is pretty affordable to every Filipino.

Though almost everything comes in an instant today and regardless of the influences of the Western culture when it comes to food, Banana-Q remained as an unbeatable snack of all times in the Philippines.  It still belongs to the top choices of every Filipinos when it comes to snacks. Banana-Q also proved that in a busy world, it does not mean that everything is fast especially with food. A simple snack prepared with passion and Filipino tradition. That’s why it is not just a simple banana…it is Banana-Q.

One of many variants of banana, the “Saba” banana originated in the Philippines. The “Saba” banana though can be eaten raw, Filipinos considered it as a cooking banana like plantains. Saba is deem as one the most important varieties of banana in the Philippines. Saba bananas are robust and large with a white and starchy meat that makes it ideal for cooking and extensively used in Philippine cuisine. However, the most famous way to cook the Saba bananas among Filipinos is by deep-frying them and adding brown sugar at the end of cooking and called Banana-Q.

From the name itself, it has a similar concept of barbecue or kebab wherein the meat is in a skewer. Since Philippines is a tropical country and with the Filipinos’ ingenuity, the Filipino version of  skewer is made of bamboo. It is relatively one of the favorite afternoon snacks all over the country. In every town, small villages or even in the city you will find a small store that cooks and sells Banana-Q.  Because it is deep-fried, therefore, Banana-Q is served hot and with the brown sugar it gives an extra sweet flavor to it with a gooey texture. There could be a slight difference in cooking Banana-Q in different provinces; some will add more sweetener to it like coconut custard or “matamis na bao” in Tagalog, a different technique or presentation of Banana-Q. Still, at the end the idea will be the same Saba bananas on stick.  Commonly accompanied by a glass of water on the side, but the current generation prefers to have soda instead to enjoy these fried bananas on stick. With the simple the ingredients of this snack, the price of Banana-Q is pretty affordable to every Filipino.

Though almost everything comes in an instant today and regardless of the influences of the Western culture when it comes to food, Banana-Q remained to be as an unbeatable snack of all times in the Philippines.  It still belongs to the top choices of every Filipinos when it comes to snacks. Banana-Q also proved that in a busy world, it does not mean that everything is fast especially with food. A simple snack prepared with passion and Filipino tradition. That’s why it is not just a simple banana…it is Banana-Q.

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Con mucho amor,

Imelda❤