October is Indigenous Peoples Month: Kisig’s Special Banana Fritters (Pinaypay) | Amrey’s Kitchen™

The Philippines is one of the known growers and exporters of bananas worldwide. I also shared a post about how bananas are Mother Nature’s Happy Pill. There are several varieties of bananas grown here in the country but am not a banana expert, so to speak. So I only know a few. My favourites being the lakatan variety with its dark-yellow or sunset-like meat and the señorita. These small ones are naturally sweeter than lakatan. I just find joy in seeing how small and cute they are. Lakatan’s skin is also a dark yellow hue and is thicker compared to tondal or latundan. It is creamy in texture and its meat is almost white with a bright yellow thin skin. 

Keep on #GREENing with Amrey! (lakatan banana)

Basta may saging, labing! -Joey Ayala (cardaba banana)

During one of my Solid Waste Management fieldwork for Environweave under IGES and EXRI and the WACS Manual, after collecting the data needed in Panabo, Davao del Norte, the “Banana Capital of the Philippines,” I was gifted with LOTS of cavendish bananas. So, the kitchen was able to produce several types of #vegan banana-based treats which were then shared with loved ones and the neighbours. #notofoodwaste

Davao del Norte is also home to several Lumad like the Ata-Manobo and Mandaya.

When I first learned about the cardaba variety from one of the locals, the child in me (forever curious) was front and center. Since I had the opportunity to actually talk to people and immerse in the community, I did what any curious being would do: ask around. Without any scientific basis, what I gathered was cardaba is smaller than saba, with thinner skin, and is usually grown for personal consumption in most Southern IP areas. I’ve only encountered this variety during my Southern sojourn back in 2015. It was also during that time that I experienced and enjoyed eating saba or cardaba, raw. Growing up, I’ve always thought these types of bananas were meant for cooking and not your table banana varieties like lakatan, señorita, tondal, and/or cavendish. After all, I mostly enjoy saba as minatamis na saging, bananacue, ginanggang, turon, and pinaypay, to name a few.

Basically, it’s already ripe but raw. And I prefer my saba to be somewhat overly ripe whether raw or cooked. Its natural sweetness cannot compare to any other type of sweetener, so to speak. As mentioned, there really is a certain magic to anything fried! Today’s recipe is a glammed-up version of the usual pinaypay and is named after Kisig, Mini Yeti’s son.

The thing is, based on the stories of Yeti’s human owner, they never fed him fruit and/or veggies. As an advocate of #holisticpetnutrition, I slowly changed his diet. And so, I started experimenting with bananas, apples, carrots, bitter gourd, lettuce, cabbage, radish, etc. What I deduced is that Yeti does not like sweet and starchy food. He doesn’t even like pure peanut butter which is a fave of most dogs as per dog owners I’ve chatted with. Yes, he is a picky eater and is the inspiration for Pawntee’s Grub™ Holistic Pet Nutrition.

Kisig is technically my first official dog and I got him when he was only 2 months old. He eats a lot and is not as picky as his dad. Whenever I’m in the kitchen, he feasts on the fruit and veggies I give him. I still am learning about his food preferences to date, but I was so happy when I first fed him bananas. He just could not stop coming for more. Hence, this recipe is named Kisig’s Special Banana Fritters.

Another ingredient that I am also fond of is cinnamon. It is a good antioxidant and lends an earthy taste to any dish both sweet and savoury. And the aroma is so distinct and can be reminiscent of the holidays, which is just around the corner.

Pinaypay is usually sold around late afternoon alongside other Pinoy street food like bananacue aka maruya, kamotecue, turon, ginanggang, boiled mais, and the savoury ones like isaw, toknene, squid balls, kikiam, chicken balls, fish balls, etc. I only get to enjoy this local delicacy together with ginanggang whenever I’m in the South though. As for the rest, you can easily enjoy it almost anywhere in the country, both in urban and rural areas.

Fun fact: it’s called pinaypay because it resembles a paypay aka fan!

As always, I can’t wait to drool over your version of this sweet snack on IG @amreyskitchen (#amreyskitchen #amapolism). Remember, sharing is loving. Let’s keep spreading LOVE with Amrey’s Kitchen™ mindfully crafted recipes and creations!

The music you’ll be hearing with the reels for the whole month of October will be the digitized recordings and collection of my movement mentor in ‘Sanghabi’, Orlan, who has already passed on. With his teachings, and knowing that his spirit is always with us, I am truly grateful to have learned from him. And now that I am ‘digitizing’ his cassette tapes, I can’t help but be nostalgic and very ‘sensitive’ these past few months.

Happy frying, lovelies! #mettalove