Sometimes called banana heart for their shape and color, banana flowers are vegetables, used from India right across South East Asia.

In Thailand they're sliced raw and served with nam prik, the spicy chili dip, added to coconut milk and galangal soup, or stir fried with noodles. They're key in Filipino cooking, used in the beef stew, kari-kari.

You'll find them in Asian markets like H Mart in season. Buy unblemished ones and keep them unwrapped in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.

Remove all the outer leaves and curious white bracts till you reach the paler inside. If you need to steam them, you can microwave them wrapped in clingwrap.

1 Comment

1. mary bartlett

   Recently, a Vietnamese friend made a soup with banana blossom. It was quite a peeling job! When she finally got to the pale 'stalk', she sliced it very thinly, dropped the slices into lemon water (to avoid discoloration) and put it in the soup. It reminded me slightly of heart of palm.