banana flowers

[shahar]

Ok so I got these weird purple banana flowers.
I checked about them. You cut the top, discard outer leaves, throw away all the little bananas inside, slice thin, salt, wash and cook in coconut cream. Not bad.
Any other ideas?

[StrangeBrew]

A friend of mine made this Thai salad one time i ate at his house...it was delicious

100 grams Smoke Sausage (cocktail)
1 scoop (Hand full) Banana flower sliced
1 Table spoon Thai red Onions
2 tablespoons Crushed Peanuts

boiled egg sliced for topping garnish


2 Tablespoons Chilli Paste - The type cooked in oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
Green Chilli - lightly crushed to full flavour 5 chilli
2 Tablespoons Soup stock - Chicken
2 Tablespoons Coconut Cream

1). Slice bannana flower like Onion ring size and cover with lemon juice to stop discolouring like on would with an apple.
2). Put sausages like hotdos in boiling water and heat. Remove and dry.
3). Mix all ingredents on a boil and then take a outer petal of the flower and use as a basket and fill with salad and garnish with egg. Serve

Also a favorite Samoan recipe...

BANANA FLOWER SOUP

Four servings:
2 cooking banana flowers
1 cup shelled shrimp or prawns
1 onion, sliced
4 tablespoons oil
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
Lemon and salt to taste.

1. Remove the tough covering of the flower. Slice across into thin pieces. Squeeze it with salt and rinse. Ser aside.
2. Mix the shrimp or prawns with the sliced onion and lemon juice.
3. Fry the garlic in the oil. Add the shrimp mixture.
4. Add the water and continue cooking.
5. Add the flowers. Turn over constantly until tender. Season with salt.
6. Serve hot.

[Nicko]

Where would you find bannan flowers if you wanted to experiment with them? I have never heard of them before.

[StrangeBrew]

I've looked around for these at quite a few places...only way i have been able to get ahold of them is from my uncle who lives in Hawaii...i'm guessing some sort of specialty food store that deals in that type of ethnic food...but i don't have any stores like that where i live...i'll keep askin around though

[tigerwoman]

I've seen banana flowers being sold in the produce section of a large Indian supermarket called Patel Brothers in Jackson Heights (Queens, New York) Patel Brothers is a national chain of Indian Groceries which seems to be in major cities where there is an Indian presence.

Besides interesting produce (I once got fresh in the pod chick peas or chana as they are called in India) they have a great array of spices, canned and bottled goods, rices, dried pulses, great frozen stuff, etc etc. I love looking at the wierd and wacky produce and trying to figure out how to use it. They sell stuff like fresh ganagal (relative of ginger)

[Risa]

I thought I responded to this thread yesterday, but it looks like it was just my imagination.

Banana flowers are available in most Asian markets. Up in Chicago, I've seen it at the international warehouse place off the Pulaski exit (if you're on I-55). In St. Louis, I've bought the banana flowers at Jay International. They look more like large (size of a football), purplish/brownish flower buds than actual flowers.