Banana Ketchup

Flavor Profile

Banana ketchup aka banana sauce tastes very similar to traditional tomato ketchup, but it is noticeably sweeter with a fruitier, milder tang reminiscent of sweet-and-sour sauce.  Thevery flavorful original recipe was created by Marìa Orosa, a Filipina food chemist, during World War II when tomatoes were scarce in the Philippines.  It has a profile that blends juicy sweet from the natural sugars in bananas, a savory kick from vinegar, onions, and garlic, and subtly spiced notes with a little tingle from chilis.  It smells like caramaziled bananas, but doesn't overwhelmingly taste like fresh bananas.  It ass complexity without being overpowering.  It's deliciously thick, smooth, mildly rich, and less sharply acidic than tomato ketchup.

Eat banana ketchup just like regular tomato ketchup, using it as a dip, a condiment, or a cooking ingredient!  The natural sweetness of the sauce burns beautifully on the grill, creating a delicious glaze that’s sure to impress.

Fat-Free, Saturated Fat-Free, Cholesterol-Free, Sodium-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Vegetarian

Suggestions for Uses

• Use it as a dipping sauce for fried foods like french fries, onion rings, golden-brown spring roll lumpiangs, or chicken tenders

• Squeeze it over hot dogs, hamburgers, eggs, crunchy pork chops, or crispy fried chicken

• Pair it with Filipino silog meals (garlic rice and eggs) or a savory eggplant omelet (tortang talong)

• Mix it into your pasta sauce along with sliced red hot dogs and ground meat for a sweet and savory Filipino-style spaghetti dish

• Combine it with soy sauce, garlic, and citrus or vinegar to brush onto grilled pork or chicken skewers as marinades and glazes

• Create a stir-fry with a variety of vegetables and your protein of choice, then finish it off with a drizzle of banana ketchup for an unexpected burst of taste

• Combine banana ketchup with soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and wine to slather ribs

• Potatoes of all kinds: fluffy, crispy, hash browns, etc.

• Spinach crepe rolls with chickpea filling served with Banana Ketchup

• Make pinoy style pork BBQ

• Add it to ham and cheese sandwiches

• Grill Filipino BBQ park skewers

• Use it in a sauce for Inihaw Na Baboy Grilled Pork

• Add it to your pizza sauce base

• An ingredient for Java Fried Rice

• Make a sauce for Sweet & Sour Chicken Bola-Bola Meatballs

• Glaze an Embutido meatloaf 

• Banana ketchup is also great on eggs, over rice, and as a side for meats, vegetables, and anything you want to add a fruity tang to.

• Put it on puts it on tout bagay

• Dip plantain chips

• Nice on stuffed clams

• Eat it on tortas

• Use it like a mustard

• Try it with sweet potato fries

• Add to adobo

• Dip jerk chicken or fish

• Brush on grilled shrimp

• Use to marinate center-cut pork chops

• Chicken wings

• Try it on your gyros and falafels

• Top buffalo chicken sandwiches

• Rice dishes such as arroz caldo (Filipino rice porridge), garlic fried rice, or biryani (Indian rice dish)

• Grilled vegetables

• Tofu

• Pancit (traditional noodle dishes)

• Great mixed with mayonnaise (to make mayo-chup) as a dip for lumpia, calamares, or Spam fries