Need a tasty snack idea? This Lumpiang Puso ng Saging recipe makes the best spring rolls with shredded banana hearts, pork, and oyster sauce. Great as an appetizer or main dish with steamed rice!
Lumpia ranks as one of the most popular foods in the Philippines and comes in different variations. It's usually made with paper-like crepes called “lumpia wrappers,” which encase sweet or savory fillings.
It's a staple on holidays or get-togethers and can be done fresh (unfried), such as lumpiang sariwa and lumpiang ubod, or fried, like lumpiang shanghai, dynamite lumpia, and today’s featured dish, lumpiang puso ng saving.
What is Lumpiang Puso ng Saging
It is a crispy fried lumpia made with banana heart filling. The vegetable is sliced thinly and cooked with ground pork, onions, garlic, and oyster sauce. It's then wrapped in thin spring roll wrappers and deep-fried into crisp, golden perfection.
Ingredient notes
- Banana heart– an edible flower the banana plant shaped like a tear or cone.
- Ground pork– you can substitute diced pork belly or chopped shrimp
- Shallots– a milder and sweeter variety of onions with a touch of sharpness. You can also use brown onions.
- Oyster Sauce– adds a salty, savory flavor with a hint of sweetness.
- Spring roll wrappers- made from a paste of rice flour and water; available at the frozen section of most Asian supermarkets
- Thai chili peppers- for a slight kick of spice
- Salt and pepper- enhances flavor and adds zing
- Oil- use neutral-tasting, heat-stable oils such as avocado, safflower, grapeseed, or peanut oilf for deep frying
How to prepare banana heart
This recipe is straightforward, but handling and preparing the puso ng saging require some work.
- Remove the fibrous outer layers of the banana heart until you reach the lighter, softer core.
- Cut the stem using a knife and discard. Slice the blossom in half, lengthwise, and cut each half into thin slices.
- Place the shredded banana heart in a large bowl with salted cold water and soak for 15 minutes.
- With hands, squeeze well to dispel the bitter sap. Using a colander, rinse a few times under cold, running water.
- If you're not going to cook the shredded banana heart straight way, keep in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration. Drain well before using.
Cooking tip
The rows of yellow-tipped florets are also edible but require tedious cleaning. If you want to cook them along with the core, remove and discard the matchstick-shaped center pistil as well as the outermost petal or calyx. Finely chop the cleaned florets and saute with the rest of the banana heart.
Assembling and Frying
- Drain the vegetable mixture very well and cool completely before wrapping as the steam and excess moisture might tear the wrappers. Refrigerate for a few minutes to speed up the cooling process.
- Cover the spring roll wrappers with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Do not overfill the lumpia wrappers to keep them from bursting when frying.
- For the best texture use enough oil for deep frying. Heat the oil to the deal temperature of 350 F to 375 F.
- Cook in batches to prevent the oil from plummeting. Heat the oil back to 350 F and clean of any stray food between batches.
- Drain fried lumpiang puso ng saging on a wire rack or mesh sieve over a baking sheet. Do not drain on paper towels, as this will make them soggy.
How to serve and store
- Serve lumpiang puso ng saging with a side of spicy vinegar for dipping.
- Enjoy them freshly fried as they tend to lose their crispiness over time.
- To make ahead, cook the filling and transfer to container with a tight-fitting lid. Use within 3 days. Assemble the lumpia when ready to be deep-fried.
More lumpia recipes
Ingredients
- 2 banana hearts
- canola oil
- 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 Thai chili peppers
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ cup water
- 12 spring roll wrappers
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and discard the outer, fibrous skin layers of banana heart until you reach the lighter, softer core. Trim off stem and discard. Cut banana core into half and slice thinly.
- In a bowl of cold salted water, place shredded banana and soak for about 15 to 20 minutes. Using hands, squeeze to release bitter sap. Rinse with cold water and drain well, discarding liquid.
- In pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add pork and cook, breaking apart with back of spoon, until lightly browned.
- Add banana heart. Season with salt to taste and generously with pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until softened and releases liquid.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.
- Add oyster sauce and chili peppers. Stir to combine.
- Continue to cook until liquid is reduced and vegetable and pork are cooked through.
- Separate wrappers into individual sheets. On a flat working surface, lay wrapper like a diamond.
- Remove from heat and drain well in a colander. Allow to cool completely.
- Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of vegetable mixture in the middle of diamond. Fold bottom pointed end of wrapper over filling. Fold side ends of the sheet inward and roll into a log. Wet the pointed edge of the wrapper with water to completely seal. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat about 1 inch deep of oil. Add lumpia seam side down and fry, turning once or twice, for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from pan and drain on wire rack set over a baking sheet. Serve hot with a spiced vinegar dip.
Notes
- The rows of yellow-tipped florets are also edible but require tedious cleaning. If you want to cook them along with the core, remove and discard the matchstick-shaped center pistil as well as the outermost petal or calyx. Finely chop the cleaned florets and saute with the rest of the banana heart.
- If you're not going to cook the shredded banana heart straight way, keep in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration. Drain well before using.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Jecelle Mae Paler says
ano po yung shallots?
Lalaine Manalo says
Sibuyas Tagalog po 🙂
Ann Jocel Calzado says
Great! I should try this. . alternate for toge and ground pork . . less gastos . 🙂
Lalaine says
Hi Ann
Yes, mas matipid siya at mas masarap 🙂