1. There are many types of bananas from all over & it depends on what you
can get your hands on but using 'sweet' bananas always helps. By this i mean
a variety that has a firm flesh & sweet taste when ripe, not when it's
over-ripe because although it's sweet the flesh is too soft/over-ripe & it
won't deep fry very well. In SE Asia the 2 most commonly used bananas for
deep frying are called Raja & Awak bananas. Raja's are long & slim with a
pale yellow colour when ripe, Awak's are short & plump & also turns pale
yellow when ripe. Both of these have very little brown spots or blemishes
when ripe & sweet unlike some others that need to be over-ripe to taste
sweet.

2. There's 2 things you need to consider when using oil, one is getting the
right cooking temp. & the other is taste. if you're not too bothered, go for
a good or average veg. oil. Good quality peanut oil like Knife brand can be
very expensive so you might want to mix the 2 oils together. As for taste if
you like it very peanuty, then go for an expensive peanut oil etc. but i
think using the right banana should give you a good enough flavour & taste.
Peanut oil has one added benefit in that it heats up faster & doesn't taste
& smell 'burnt' like some other oils can. As for Cape Cod Bob's comments on
finding a good enough tasting peanut oil or an oil that leaves a distinct
taste, it might be something to do with the oils that most of us use here in
the 'West'. It's highly likely that whatever cooking oils we use are a
combination of 'oils' which are made & produced by bulk for supermarkets &
meant for today's modern Western kitchen & cuisine... ie. rather tasteless
cooking oils that leaves the flavours to come from the food itself. In other
parts of the world, people still use heavily scented or pure oils not just
to cook with but to impart flavour as well. Some may well point out that
it's very unhealthy but where flavours & taste counts... there's no
substitute i'm afraid. Curry w/o Ghee is not the same, Old Chinese dishes
w/o lard is not the same, Pastries w/o butter is not the same etc..

3. The age old technique of re-using cooking oil seems to have been
forgotten with cooking oils becoming cheaper these days. But if you're
worried about wasting oil here's what you can do to save money & your
environment if you're that way inclined. First strain the oil to remove any
bits. You might need to use another clean wok if your wok or deep fryer is
heavily scented by deep frying bananas. Slowly warm up the oil again & add a
few slices of ginger & a spring onion but not to boiling point or deep
frying, just warm enough to simmer & do this for a few minutes. This should
remove any strong flavours from the oil & 'neutralize' it. If you're using
good qaulity Peanut oil, you don't really need to do this too often. Let the
oil cool down & keep/store with a lid. Asian/Chinese kitchens often have
large metal containers with a lids to store cooked or re-used oils. This is
often placed near or next to the deep frying/blanching wok. On the main
shelf, there's often other types of oils/flavouring oils that's used for
cooking.


DC.




Frogleg > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:02:58 -0800, "Heather Fair"
> > wrote:
>
> >I recently came across a recipe for Kluai Khaek (Thai fried bananes) and
I'm
> >anxious to try it. However, it calls for 3 c. cooking oil. What *kind*
of
> >oil? I presume it would do to have a heavily flavored oil such as
peanut,
> >and I'm not sure how hot the oil needs to get so IDK if a simple corn oil
> >would work or not (I'm thinking not). Any ideas?
>
> How many bananas? 3 cups (24 oz -- most of a typical 28-32oz bottle)
> of oil is a considerable amount. I can't imagine re-using oil to cook
> fish or potatoes that had been used to fry bananas. Or vice versa, for
> the most part. So many Asian dishes call for generous amounts of oil
> to deep-fry. Many veg oils aren't terrifically expensive, but at
> US$1.89/32oz a not insignificant cost to the preparation of a dish.
> What *is* the usual practice in Asian kitchens with regard to cooking
> oil?
>
> For Heather, I would assume (with no expert knowledge) that the
> bananas can be fried in any neutral-flavored veg oil. It's the frying,
> not the oil, that is important. I don't find peanut oil (which I use
> for high-temperature stir-fry) has any particularly distinctive
> flavor. I *do* claim to be able to detect an identifiable taste in
> things that are prepared with coconut oil. but that may very well be
> my imagination.
>