Home › Forums › WSB Reader Recommendations › Where can I find banana leaves?
- This topic has 18 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by JayDee.
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March 18, 2017 at 10:21 pm #877505
NitroParticipantI’ve got a recipe I want to make and it calls for banana leaves (not banana peels!!). Is there anywhere in West Seattle that sells them? Thanks!
March 18, 2017 at 10:45 pm #877510
KBearParticipantI think I’ve seen them at C&T Market or Hung Long in White Center.
March 19, 2017 at 8:36 am #877527
JayDeeParticipantIf the recipe is for kalua pork I’ve substituted an actual banana and it turned out fine.
March 19, 2017 at 9:36 am #877530
biankatParticipantI’ve seen them at the Hispanic market next to Goodwill on SW 128th.
March 19, 2017 at 4:50 pm #877567
dhgParticipantSalvadorean Bakery on Roxbury has them. We buy them for steaming tamales.
March 19, 2017 at 9:44 pm #877585
NitroParticipantMarch 19, 2017 at 9:46 pm #877586
NitroParticipantJayDee- it is for kalua pork! I have bananas at home, so that would be easier than making a trip somewhere. Do you put the whole banana in there or just the peel? Keep it in there the whole cooking time?
Thank you!!
March 20, 2017 at 4:14 pm #877641
JayDeeParticipantEven if you don’t have an imu, you can still make Hawaiian kalua pig at home from pork butt purchased at your local supermarket.
Ingredients:
• 4-5 pound pork butt
• 2½ tablespoons Hawaiian salt (substitute kosher salt)
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1 banana leaf (substitute 4-5 whole, unpeeled bananas)
• 4-6 ti leaves (substitute aluminum foil)
Preparation:
Trim any excess fat from the roast. Make several shallow long cuts along the roast or pierce liberally with a fork. (This allows the salt and liquid smoke to penetrate the meat.) Rub with salt and liquid smoke. Wrap the roast with banana leaf or in the absence of same, place whole bananas on top of meat .
Cut the ribs from the ti leaves and wrap over the banana leaf. Substitute aluminum foil, if ti leaves are not available. (Ti leaves can often be obtained from a local florist). Tie securely with twine.
Roast in a 325-350 degree oven for about 45 minutes per pound. When meat is done, remove ti leaves, banana leaf (or bananas) and shred pork.
Recipe courtesy of Mel Tootoo’s Lu’au & Catering
4418 Shipyard Blvd.
Wilmington, NCMarch 20, 2017 at 4:18 pm #877642
JayDeeParticipantNow I hate liquid smoke, but start it in my smoker for 1/2 hour using apple. One could also used smoked salt for the seasoning (like that sold by Rockridge Orchards. I made it a week after getting back from Kauai and it was a pretty good substitute.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by JayDee.
March 20, 2017 at 10:20 pm #877693
NitroParticipantThank you, JayDee. Super helpful!!! Can’t wait to try it!
March 21, 2017 at 9:13 pm #877793
cjboffoliParticipantNitro: Banana peels can contain significant amounts of toxic pesticide residue, as Cavendish banana production is a monoculture under attack by a range of fungi. Bananas are a heavily sprayed food crop. If you wash them really well you can maybe get a significant amount of the residue off. I’m not sure what the heat of cooking might do to improve them. But in general one should avoid eating banana peels for that reason.
March 21, 2017 at 11:06 pm #877799
dhgParticipantThe recipe above is the same or close to Paula Deen’s recipe and she’s an idiot. Bananas are not a substitute for banana leaves. Substitutes, if you google it, include aluminum foil and corn husks.
March 22, 2017 at 12:18 am #877812
NitroParticipantHoly smokes! Thanks for the info on that cjboffoli! I actually swung into the Salvadorean Bakery earlier today and picked up some banana leaves (only $2.25 for a package, if anyone is wondering). So glad I did that now, after reading your post!!
Thank you!
March 25, 2017 at 8:29 am #878139
JayDeeParticipantWow. Thanks for the advice CJboffoli. I certainly didn’t intend to poison anyone. I am glad to know that about banana peels. Would the leaves be OK? Organic bananas might be a solution. The point of using banana leaves or bananas is the slight sweetness they add to the meat, which foil won’t duplicate. @ dhg my kaulua pork tasted fine to me so maybe I am idiot like Paula. @ Nitro: Please report back about how you liked your recipe. Maybe I can learn a new trick and not be an old dog.
March 25, 2017 at 5:45 pm #878173
dhgParticipantJayDee, I apologize. In the back of my mind was that I shouldn’t have said it, but I just couldn’t resist taking a shot at Deen.
March 26, 2017 at 5:50 pm #878255
JayDeeParticipantMarch 27, 2017 at 10:48 pm #878357
NitroParticipantSo, I made the kalua park and it was great!! Glad I got the banana leaves. It added great flavor.
I didn’t have a smoker, so I used liquid smoke. The recipe I had was a slow cooker recipe- I wanted something quick and easy. With the slow cooker, no need to do the outer wrapping with Ti leaves or foil. The slow cooker kept the moisture in.
So I first cut a few deeper slits in the pork butt (mine was about 3 lbs) and inserted 4 garlic cloves. Lightly scored the surface of the pork. Took about 2 tsp of liquid smoke and rubbed it on the pork (the original recipe called for more, but I went light on my first time as I wasn’t sure how it would come out- too much liquid smoke doesn’t taste good to me). Then rubbed about 2 tsp of medium coarse Hawaiian sea salt on it. Maybe could have used a little more salt, which I’ll try next time. Laid a banana leaf in the bottom of the slow cooker and then wrapped the pork butt in a few more banana leaves like a birthday present. Plopped it in the slow cooker on low for 10 hours.
We were pretty happy with it considering it took me all of 5 minutes to put it together in the morning and it was ready to go when we got home after work. The meat was super moist and melted in your mouth!
I can only imagine how much better it would be with a smoker instead of the liquid smoke! But for a quick and easy meal to cook while you’re away, it was good. I’ll make it again- probably with a bigger pork butt so we can have more leftovers! I saw some really good sides to make with it, and will maybe try that next time also.
Thanks, everybody for all of your tips and advice!!
March 29, 2017 at 12:41 pm #878514
2 Much WhineParticipantJust in case anyone still cares, I saw a couple different brands of frozen banana leaves at Uwajimaya just yesterday. They were $1.95 per pound. Yet another reason to have Uwajimaya move into the ex-Whole Foods location.
March 29, 2017 at 7:49 pm #878551
JayDeeParticipantThanks Nitro!
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