My Banana Pancake Recipe is a replcation of the crispy sweet banana pancakes found on the travellers Banana Pancake Trail throughout Asia.

This banana pancake recipe isn’t what you might expect, it’s crispy, sweet and delicious. It also pays homage to the infamous banana pancake trail throughout Asia, specifically Laos.

South East Asia is a mecca for travellers and the Banana Pancake Trail (a nickname for the non-descript route that travellers take through Asia) was coined due to the number of street food vendors selling this very type of banana pancakes along the well trodden travellers route.

My banana pancake recipe pays homage to those street food vendors dishing out delicious crispy banana pancakes, fried in butter and then drizzled with condensed milk.

Banana pancakes are ubiquitous all over south east Asia, but I was introduced to them while backpacking through Laos, so this is my Laos Banana Pancake Recipe.

Read more about my travels here.

Now I think we need to clarify something; don’t confuse my street food banana pancakes with those big fluffy american style pancakes or those European crepes – the pancakes I’m talking about are thin, crispy, sticky golden discs.

They are also made with a pancake dough opposed to a wet batter. That might not seem like a big deal, but it changes everything. You cook these in butter which crisps up the dough and melts the bananas inside. It’s like a little sweet envelope of banana love.

Using a dough creates a crispy outside, gooey banana centre and usually comes with a drizzle of condensed milk.

But lets not dumb this down; watching the making of a Banana Pancake in Asia is an art form in it’s own right.

It’s difficult to explain so thankfully a fellow travelling enthusiast (Anna from 2Forks) kindly sent me her video clips and picture from when she was also indulging in these wonderful treats..

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Banana Pancake Recipe – Ingredients:

1 cup white plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

Condensed milk

Butter

Sugar

Vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas – sliced 1/2 cm thick

Banana Pancakes Recipe – Method:

Banana Pancake Dough:

Yes, I said dough not batter.

1. Make the pancake dough – mix together the flour, salt, water and a tablespoon of oil until combined then kneed with your hands until it forms a smooth dough (if too sticky add some more flour and if too dry add a drop of water until you get a nice dough texture).
2. Oil your hands with cooking oil and then form the dough into small balls (about the size of a golf ball) and flatten and then roll out as thin as you can get it.
3. Make your pancakes – in a hot pan add a tablespoon of butter to coat the pan and then add your flattened pancake dough to it.
4. Immediately place some of the sliced banana into the centre of your dough leaving a couple of inches of space around the edge so you have enough space to fold each corner of the dough over making an envelope. It doesn’t have to be neat or pretty – just do it quick!
5. Flip it over, add a tiny bit more butter and fry for another minute or until golden.
6. Remove and put on a plate. Cut the banana pancakes into roughly 9 pieces, drizzle over some condensed milk and a sprinkling of sugar and enjoy!

Goes well with a pair of flip flops and nostalgic stories of street food in Laos.

Note – if you want to make the dough in advance I noticed most of the street food vendors would store their pancake dough by being submerged in oil. But I guess clingfilm would work as well…!