Banana Cue Is The Popular Filipino Street Food That Uses A Unique Variety Of The Fruit

Perhaps you've cooked every imaginable type of banana dish, from 'nana pudding to banana bread, bananas foster, and torched banana flambé. But there's a good chance you haven't experienced one of the tastiest, most interesting banana creations out there. It's a Filipino treat called banana cue, typically served as a street food or afternoon snack during the traditional merienda mid-afternoon snack break. When written as a single word, "bananacue," it personifies the merging of bananas and barbecue, referring to the way this snack is prepared. Though not cooked on a grill in Western-style barbecue tradition, it does involve heat and skewers, and the result resembles browned meat on a stick.

But banana cue is definitely not a savory food like barbecued meat — it's pure sweetness from a special type of banana called saba. Banana cue comes to life through deep‑frying ripe saba bananas, which are commonly available in the Philippines. These short saba bananas get coated in brown sugar and fried until they're perfectly caramelized, then skewered on bamboo sticks for easy eating. The experience brings warm sweetness, sticky crunchy texture, and the irresistible aroma of caramel to your kitchen and tastebuds. 

You can find these tasty treats at Filipino restaurants (including this one situated at a waterfall), but when making them at home, you'll simply caramelize fried bananas using brown sugar. As you might have surmised, saba bananas may not perch in your local grocery-store produce section — but no worries: There are places to find them, as well as options for using similar types of bananas when available. 

Part of banana-cue magic lies in simplicity and the accessibility of saba bananas, which are typically inexpensive and abundant in Southeast Asian countries. True aficionados will no doubt say that saba bananas are essential for this sticky, sweet snack. They're starchy, sturdy, stubby, and thick, making them ideal for frying without turning into a mushy mess. A moist, chewy flesh and slightly tangy taste pairs perfectly when fried with brown sugar, melding the banana's inherent fruity sweetness with the rich caramel flavor. 

Sabas bring a good bit of nutrition to the snacking table, including vitamin C, vitamin A, B‑vitamins, potassium, iron, fiber, and health-enhancing antioxidants. The quest to find them in the U.S. may not be as hard as you'd imagine, especially at specialty grocers. Your best bet is Filipino or Asian grocery stores like Seafood City, Island Pacific, or H Mart. These stores sometimes stock them in the freezer section for year-round availability. Once thawed, these still work just fine for frying into dreamy, skewered bananacue treats. 

If saba isn't available, some Latin grocery stores may carry similar varieties for substitution, such as plantains or cardaba bananas. To make banana cue, just fry the peeled bananas in oil for up to five minutes until they turn light golden brown. Reduce the heat and sprinkle with brown sugar, flipping and stirring until the sugar melts, caramelizes, and coats the bananas. Remove and let the sugar harden — now, you have crunchy, delicious banana cue for your own merienda snack!