Banana cue, bananacue or BananaQ, is one of the most popular street foods in the Philippines. Since bananas are abundant in the country, almost every street food corner has banana cue. It is commonly eaten as an afternoon snack.
The name is simply a combination of the words banana and barbecue. Although barbecue involves marinating and grilling, the word was only adopted because of the way banana cue looks when served. Skewered bananas are actually just a way of selling the snack easily in the streets.
Usually served on skewers made of bamboo sticks, banana cue is made using saba banana, one of the most used varieties of banana in Philippine cuisine. To cook banana cue, the semi-ripe saba banana (yellow-green peel), is deep-fried and then coated with caramelized sugar and sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds. Ripe bananas (yellow peel) can be used as well but many prefer to use semi-ripe as it is not too soft when cooked and doesn’t fall off the stick too easily. Additionally, it doesn’t have that mild sour taste compared to the fully ripe bananas.
Where to buy Banana Cue?
Whether in the city or town, it’s easy to find banana cue as it is commonly sold along with other street foods. It is often sold during the afternoon by eateries and street vendors although it can be spotted any time of the day since it is also eaten as a dessert. It is sometimes sold in malls and food courts anywhere in the country.
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Additional Information
Read more about the popular street food, Banana cue. Check out the links below to learn more about Filipino Food and Drinks.
