Yes, an easy turon recipe! Don’t let the it’s meal in a wrapper cousin, the lumpia, intimidate you. Making the food pyramid filling for lumpia is a day’s task. Not to mention wrapping a pot full lumpia filling consists of a family assembly line. Child Labor Laws not applicable for this job. Your only obstacle is deep frying. Don’t worry if you are not used to cooking with hot oil. You’re not alone. Just a little added, extra caution will help you out.
As a kid, I used to sing the William Tell Overture or Lone Ranger theme song to myself as I ran down the stairs to get my share. Of course, I would replace the popular tune with “Turon”. Sing it with me, “Turon, turon, turon, don, don – Turon, turon, turon, don, don – Turon, turon, turon, don, don – Turon! Turon, don, don.” Okay, back to the Easy Turon Recipe.
Ingredients for your Easy Turon Recipe
The Bananas
When you go out to buy your ingredients for Turon, you are probably going to get most of it at an Asian market. When you get your bananas, you are not getting the bananas that you would find in a banana split. Look for plantains. To get that sweet plantain taste after cooking, the peel needs to be yellow, with brown ends. Not sure if it is just in Arizona, but for the most part, plantains will be pretty green at the stores. You may see one or two that might have some yellowing but they’re not quite ripe yet. You have to consider this when making turon. I suggest buying your ingredients a week in advance, especially if the plantains are pretty green and hard. In other words, the ripeness of the plantains will dictate when you can make turon.
Wrapping will is probably the only challenging task for this dish. To make it easier, you can chop your bananas into small cubes. For our Easy Turon Recipe, roughly 3 big plantains will make 16 pieces.
The Langka (Jackfruit)
Oh yes, turon needs some langka in every bite. This exotic fruit is very interesting. When pulled from a tree, it is a huge fruit, potentially weighing as much as 50 lbs. Not to mention, Jackfruit has a very odd spikey look to it. The fruit part that we eat are actually fruit pods within the armored shell. The health benefits of Jackfruit are through the roof, containing just about every beneficial vitamin. My favorite potential benefit of Jackfruit is that it has a low glycemic index. It is undergoing research for its potential to regulate blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, we like eating the variety that comes in a sugary syrup. Lastly, I have learned that Jackfruit is a very versatile food. I never knew that it is a popular meat substitute.
Again, you’re guarantee bet is to buy your Jackfruit at your closest Asian market. In the Philippines aisle, you’ll more than likely find it in a jar, with syrup. The brand Tropics has a jarred product but if you live in an area that might not have a huge Filipino population, you might not find it. If you find yourself in this situation, skip over a couple of aisles to any other South East Asian country and you can surely find it canned.
Empty the contents into a Tupperware container, if you purchase canned langka (Jackfruit). Fully slice enough of the langka for the amount of turon that you are going to make. I say fully sliced because you don’t want to pull out all of the langka with the first bite. Plus, if burning hot, langka sticking to your chin isn’t fun.
The Wrapper
Personally, there is no messing around with this ingredient. I have tried, by default, different brands and I always come back to the All Purpose Menlo Wrappers. This makes sense because Menlo has been the brand used in my family since I was a kid. I’m sure that there are brands that are just as good, but to be safe, I just stick with Menlo.
Brown Sugar
This should be in your pantry already. The brown sugar does a great job at binding the banana and langka flavors together. During the wrapping stage, I sprinkle some brown sugar on the bananas rather than dipping the bananas in the brown sugar. Both flavors and textures of the bananas and langka are very distinct and they are what make the turon so delicious. So less brown sugar highlights the fruits and does not take away from them.
Also while frying, you can sprinkle brown sugar on the turon to give it a glazed appearance. It will also give it a sweeter and crispier bite. Because so many of us have to make healthier choices, this is optional. I assure you, turon is satisfying either way.
Becoming a Wrap Star
As mentioned earlier, wrapping will be the most challenging part of this Easy Turon Recipe. Your first step is to get into the “Corners” frame of mind. You will always be folding in a corner or rolling to a corner.
Another important tip is to keep your wrappers moist. After you open the package, separate enough individual wrappers to work with the amount of filling that you have. Place the separated wraps on a plate with a moistened paper towel or hand towel on top of them.
On another plate or cutting board, as you work surface, take a wrapper and place it down as a diamond in front of you. Scoop some of your banana filling in a line, just below the halfway point. Make your line about 4 1/2 to 5 inches long, no bigger than 3/4 to an inch thick and center it.
Tightly fold the bottom corner over your filling. To help you get a tighter fold, you can dip you finger in water and moisten the bottom corner before folding. Get it tight by tucking the wrapper back into the filling.
Now your going to close off the sides by folding in the left and right corners. Be sure that the fold is closing off the filling at each end. Again, you can moisten the corners before folding in. Tuck the corner folds next to the filling to get it tighter.
With the top corner remaining, “Tuck and roll” is the key”. Moisten the top corner, preparing it for a completed roll. With your finger tips, tuck in any access wrap against the filling. Roll the filling portion towards the top corner. Tuck before you roll as you go. This might take some practice, but you’ll get it within a few tries. The tighter the rolls the easier it will be to cook them. There is a bigger risk of popping oil with too much air pockets.
If you are not frying them up right away, you can store them in rows in freezer, Ziploc gallon bags. Separate rows with wax paper, as you stack them in the bag. Keep in mind, that when you are frying them frozen, your oil temperature will decrease. Be sure that your oil temperature is at least 350 F before cooking. If it is too low, your turons will soak up too much oil.
Enjoy and feel free to send us pictures of your work of art from our Easy Turon Recipe!
Masayang Pagluluto!
Kain na tayo!
Turon Easy Filipino Dessert
Ingredients
- 3 large plantains ripe, cubed
- 1 jar jackfruit thinly sliced
- 1 package Menlo lumpia wrappers thawed and individually separated and keep under moist paper towel to prevent the wrappers from drying out!
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- canola oil enough for deep frying
Instructions
Wrapping Instructions
- On your work surface, place one wrapper diagonally.
- Add plantain filling in a thin line approx 4.5 inches long, just below the halfway point.
- Sprinkle dark brown sugar on the plantain
- Top with 2-3 slices of jackfruit
- Tightly fold the corner down over the filling.
- Brush water over the corners and edges and fold the ends in and roll.
Notes
