I am currently testing recipes for my friend Christy Morgan and her upcoming cookbook, Blissful Bites: Plant-based Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet. It is a vegan cookbook featuring recipes from Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
I was honored and excited when she asked me to be a tester, and have been having a delicious time the past few weeks. Using ingredients I have never worked with, we are tasting new and wonderfully complex flavors.
blissful banana fritters
This was my first time making anything fried, and I was nervous. Turns out it was easy, and this recipe will definitely be making repeat appearances at our house.
What is your favorite Asian dish?
Do you shop at Asian markets and use exotic ingredients?
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
well done! those look really light too, for being fried. Just the perfect amount of crispiness!
thanks, Lindsay! they were great – and yes, very light and perfectly crispy – just a pan fry, and in coconut oil too!
Oh so jealous of your recipe-tasting gig. How cool. The cookbook sounds like it’s going to be awesome!! I started shopping at an Asian market when I was on the hunt for kabocha. It’s not exactly en route to anything for me so I don’t get there often. I can’t say I tried anything terribly exotic.
yes, I have an inside knowledge that it WILL be a great book!
we have a couple great Asian markets that are worth the trip for… and one of them has seen a lot of me lately!!
This looks delicious!
thanks, Liz!!
Kristina that is so exciting to be a tester! These look delicious (and what a surprise, they are super adorable too!)
it is!! I’ve been having so much fun, and I was REALLY excited to be asked! yep – I had no idea if they’d be photogenic at all, but they turned out well, I think!
These look yummy! I’d be a little iffy on the frying too—but I’m sure they’re delish. They look similar to some fried plantains I made once upon a time
I bet they are similar. These were tasty – and I won’t be frying a lot, but I don’t have to be intimidated by it. it was a pan fry, I still don’t think I’d (want to…) do a deep fry!
These look SO good! They almost look like scallops at first glance!
ha – I hadn’t seen that, but now that you say, they kinda do!
How yummy!!
Indeed!
This looks amazing.
If I had any talent whatsoever, I would recreate this for myself.
http://glamkittenslitterbox.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
Bonnie, you should try! it was really very easy!
Yay, beautiful photo! This is actually recipe testing for my 2nd book. Blissful Bites is my first cookbook which is out in September. Everyone can pre-order it here http://amzn.to/eAtr04
And I hope you all with subscribe to my blog for more recipes and awesomeness! <3
oops! sorry Christy, I didn’t know I also had recipes for the second book? I’ll update my post to include the link to the book!
ohhhh man. i never fry anything either, but this looks totally worth it. totally.
I fried in coconut oil, so I felt like it was even better! it was really easy!
I think the better thing to ask is… is there any asian dishes you DON’t like.. haha.. I heart Asian food!!
Those look awesome! Can you package some up when you send my package! hehe
haa! nope, they’re LONG gone!! if I knew they’d travel well I would!
I love asian food! I think pho might be my favorite, but really, I love a lot of different things.
I also love to try new recipes and ingredients, and any day I can go to Uwajimaya is a good day. Have you been there? It’s in Beaverton, it’s a huge asian super market. Very fun. 
I LOVE Uwajimaya!! (and, by the way, I *JUST* realized you live in the Portland area!)
Having a dad from Hawaii, I especially like the Hawaiian Festival they have each year. and because of this recipe testing I have been doing, I’ve made several trips to Uwajimaya lately! when I worked at the clinic (off Hawthorne) I would eat pho several times a week for lunch… I really need to attempt it myself, I really miss it!
My goodness, these look amazing! You weren’t kidding. Great job
I don’t have a favorite Asian dish (I don’t get out much I guess). But I do love a good miso, does that count?
miso definitely counts – I love miso too – great flavor.
These look delicious! Anything with banana, and I’m pretty much sold. Billy made something similar to this when we were dating for dessert with ice cream. Yum!
they were delicious, and VERY easy! they will definitely make repeat appearances here. bananas with ice cream, like bananas foster, reminds me of ski team. we would frequently make or go out for that after races.
the sesame adds another dimension! great topping
I love sesame and their flavor!
Banana fritters sound so delicious! I bet they’d be great dipped in chocolate or peanut butter. Yum.
yep – we dipped them in peanut butter.
then we tried Nutella.
I am a firm believer that a quick dip in oil will never hurt a food.
I will follow wherever you lead, my friend!!
How MAGICAL to get to test! Oh bliss, indeed! What fun—to be like Christopher Columbus, contacting a new recipe with unexpected greatness… (let’s ignore the bad side of that story and focus on FRITTERS!)
…I don’t really know what a fritter is. Is it doughnut-like?
I am loving it – so fun, and a great experience when the recipes are delicious! I suppose a fritter is kinda like a doughnut? a bit denser, but that’s because it full of delectable banana goodness…
You know I am ALL OVER the Asian market!
Mmm, I love asian cuisine! I’m a total sucker for fried rice. I’ve tried a few “healthified” recipes in the past but they are always disappointing…I guess sometimes you just have to go with the “gud” stuff! I LOVE going to this huge Asian market in Nashville that has just about everything you can think of…and a few things you can’t! Haha! I can get kabocha squash there year round for uber cheap! And that def makes me a happy girl!
Funny, my dad was just telling me how great banana fritters are the other day, but I’ve never tried them!
ha – yeah, I love Asian markets – I could spend HOURS there. This was my first banana fritter – SO VERY good… the bananas get really sweet.
these look great! how do you make them? I would love to test recipes, YUM!! lol
where is the recipe???
{ 3 trackbacks }