Turon, Glorious Turonfeatured

It never ceases to amaze me how magical it is when you taste something wonderful for the first time.

What a rush it is when you bite down, and your tastebuds are all like, “Whoa. Whoa! What is this?!”

This is exactly what happened to me the other day when I tasted Turon, a deep fried, banana and jackfruit filled, burnt sugar coated, Filipino treat that rocked my world.

My co-worker Marlyn brought a box of these goodies in from Pampanga’s Bakery & Donut in Pacifica.

Mmmm that crunchy, caramelized crust shattered in my mouth like the top of a crème brulee…combined with that chewy soft, sweet banana filling…and flaky eggroll-like shell…I had to know more!

Marlyn educated me. The filling is made of saba bananas and jackfruit. Saba bananas are shorter and fatter than normal bananas. They are also starchier, like plantains, so they hold up well when cooked.

Photo Credit: Alibaba.com

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit that has a prickly skin similar to durian, but its flesh is sweet, with a taste similar to pineapple, but milder and less juicy.

To make turon, the bananas are sliced and rolled in brown sugar, then wrapped with the jackfruit in a lumpia wrapper (which are thinner than eggroll wrappers). They are then brushed with water or eggwash, rolled in more brown sugar, and deep fried.

Magic.

Can someone please, please, pretty lumpia-wrapped please with sugar on top, tell me where I can find turon of this caliber in SF?