Banana Catsup (Banana Ketchup)
Recipe created By Margaret Sevenjhazi
This Filipino condiment was presented at SAHOG @ Home
An Instagram Live series featuring our most loved Australian Filipino Chefs, Cooks and Food Lovers
Photo : Courtesy of Margaret Sevenjhazi
This is the homemade Filipino version of bottled ‘ketchup’, except ours is made from bananas not tomatoes. This tropical innovation stemmed from a WWII tomato shortage. The banana isn’t super obvious, to be honest for most of my childhood I didn’t realise this was actually banana! This homemade version has more depth of flavour and a nice salty, sweet, tangy flavour. I originally made this with chicken adobo pies to make use of leftover adobo with this sauce on the side. It pairs well anywhere you’d use tomato sauce, and is traditionally eaten with lumpia shanghai (filipino spring rolls) or torta talong (whole eggplant omelette). I like it as a snack to dip chicharon (fried pork rinds) in, as the tangy sweetness cuts through the richness. For best results, use almost-black bananas that you’d usually reserve for banana bread - using less ripe ones will cause your sauce to jellify at room temperature. It will still be delicious but not quite the right texture.
INGREDIENTS
2 very ripe (almost black) bananas, mashed till smooth (approx. 1 cup)
2 medium eschalots, finely diced (or 1 small brown onion, approx. ½ cup)
1 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
60ml white vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp palm or brown sugar
1 tbsp garlic, finely grated
1 tbsp, ginger finely grated
1 tbsp fresh turmeric, finely grated (or 1 tsp ground turmeric)
¼ tsp ground allspice
½ tbsp tomato paste
METHOD
1. Heat oil in a medium non-stick pan on medium heat. Cook the eschalots until translucent.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric and all spice. Cook till the spices are fragrant.
3. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute, stirring well. Follow with vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and mashed banana. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often until it starts to thicken.
4. Add 60ml of water or more as needed to reach desired consistency. It’s usually best between thick and runny. Taste and add extra seasoning to your liking. Take off the heat. If you want a smoother sauce, blend with a stick blender. To store, allow sauce to cool and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks+. It can be kept longer, but use your own judgement.
For more zero waste and fermentation recipes you can follow Margaret on instagram at @_Bottomfeeder