Turon (Banana Lumpia) With Caramel

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Cool Time: 30 mins

Total: 70 mins

Servings: 8 servings

Yield: 8 pieces

What is Turon?

Turon, sometimes called banana lumpia, is a popular sweet street treat in the Philippines. Eaten as a snack or a dessert, it is made of sliced saba bananas rolled in brown sugar, wrapped in lumpia or spring roll skin, deep-fried, then coated with hard caramel. In addition to the banana, it can often include other fillings like jackfruit, mango, coconut, ube, and even cheese.

The Ingredients

Saba bananas are native to the Philippines and are shorter and fatter than your standard banana. They are square in shape and starchier, thus making them perfect cooking bananas. Lumpia, found in the Philippines and Indonesia, are similar to spring rolls. Their wrappers, in comparison to spring roll wrappers, are usually circular, thinner, and more paper-like or crepey in texture. It can be difficult to source Saba bananas and lumpia wrappers, in which case you can easily substitute regular bananas and spring roll wrappers.

Make Ahead

Turon should be consumed the day they are made but can be prepped in advance and frozen for up to three months before deep frying.

“Wow, that crunch! This recipe is amazing for a dessert that isn’t overpoweringly sweet and tastes quite complex for such a simple recipe. I served mine with ube ice cream, which worked perfectly. The outcome of this recipe looks very impressive but is surprisingly simple to make.” —Cara Cormack

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

8 lumpia or spring roll wrappers
2 large bananas, preferably saba
1 can jackfruit in syrup, optional
1/2 cup (107 grams) dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cool water
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, divided, for the caramel

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Peel apart 8 lumpia wrappers and set aside. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap so they don't dry out.
Peel the bananas and cut them in half lengthwise and then in half crosswise, so you have 8 total pieces.
If using, drain the jackfruit from the syrup and place 4 pieces on top of a paper towel and pat them dry with another paper towel. Slice the jackfruit into quarter-inch strips.
Place the dark brown sugar in a shallow dish or bowl and set aside.
In a small dish, combine the cornstarch with the water and mix—this will be the glue to seal your turon.
Take one lumpia wrapper and place it on your work surface (if it's square in shape, place it with the corner facing you, so it looks like a diamond).
Take one piece of banana, roll it in the brown sugar to coat, and then place it in the center of the wrapper about two inches up from the bottom.
Top the banana with 4 slices of jackfruit, if using.
Fold the bottom of the wrapper over the fruit and roll upwards once.
Fold the sides inwards and continue to roll the rest of it up until there is about an inch of wrapper left.
Using a pastry brush, paint the edge of the wrapper with the cornstarch mixture and finish rolling the turon. Repeat with the remaining wrappers, bananas, and jackfruit.
In a medium pot heat the vegetable oil to 350 F.
Using a pair of tongs carefully lower the turon into the hot oil. Fry in two batches, so as to not overcrowd the pot. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until browned and crisp.
Place them on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes.
Once the turon have cooled for about 20 minutes, start making the caramel. Place half a cup of the sugar into a clean saucepan. (Make sure all your tools are clean for making the caramel so it doesn't crystallize).
Heat on medium-high until the sugar starts to melt and turns amber in color. At this point, you can swirl the pot to incorporate any unmelted sugar granules.
Sprinkle the other half cup of sugar into the caramel a little at a time, swirling constantly until everything is melted and the caramel is clear dark amber brown. Turn off the heat.
Using a pair of tongs pick up one turon and dunk it in the caramel to coat. Place on top of a piece of parchment paper or a Silpat. Repeat with the other pieces. Let them set on the parchment until the caramel is hard, about 5 minutes. Enjoy immediately!

Tips

The utensils and pan used for making the caramel need to be clean with no specks or residue for the sugar to cling to, or it can crystallize.
Keep a close eye on the oil temperature during frying. Ideally, use a deep frying thermometer that clips to the side of the pan so you can be hands-free. Remember that the temperature of the oil will drop when you add the turon, so you may need to adjust the heat under the pan to keep the oil temperature stable.
Serve turon for dessert with a scoop of vanilla or ube ice cream for an extra special treat.

Recipe Variations

Substitute regular bananas and spring roll wrappers in place of the Saba bananas and lumpia.
Switch up the fillings and use mango, coconut, ube, or cheese.

How to Store

These are best the day they're made, but keep the leftover jackfruit refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Here are a few easy ways to use the remaining jackfruit:

Freeze it and add it to a smoothie.
Serve it with vanilla ice cream or yogurt.
Chop it and stir it into muffin or quick bread batter.

Make Ahead and Freeze

Prepare the turon ahead of time, but stop before deep-frying and freeze in a freezer-safe airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. They can be kept frozen for up to three months. You can fry the turon from frozen, adding a couple minutes to the frying time.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	299
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g	12%
Saturated Fat 1g	4%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 4mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 55g	20%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Total Sugars 40g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 3mg	15%
Calcium 13mg	1%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 147mg	3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.