Chef Jan Parker came to the culinary field later in life after a career in banking. At the age of 30, with two small children and a husband deployed with the military, she attended and graduated from the Culinary School at the Art Institute of Seattle. Today, her culinary creations are inspired by her Filipino heritage and her travels around the world as a military brat and as a military spouse.
With her business, Jan Parker Cookery she has become a fixture at local farmers markets in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington, introducing Filipino cooking to the South Sound. Her recipes often include ingredients from small businesses she meets at the markets, which is how this recipe came to be — Parker met Alan Davis, a co-founder of Chambers Bay Distillery in nearby University Place, at a market and got cooking.
This recipe is a modern twist on the classic Filipino dessert, turon lumpia. Parker says she has used all the typical ingredients for the classic recipe, but spiked it with Chambers Bay Distillery straight bourbon whiskey for the holiday season.
“Your guest will be amazed by the richness of the dessert from the butter and bourbon from Chambers Bay,” she explains. “The bananas add a great sweetness and a firm textural component. [Jackfruit] has a great chew and sweetness and has notes of vanilla. You will have more time to spend with your guests.”
Pro tip: you can find lumpia wrappers and jackfruit at any Asian specialty markets or online. The jackfruit syrup comes from the can or jar of jackfruit.
To boot, Parker promises this recipes takes just 15 minutes to complete.
Bananas & Jackfruit Foster with Caramelized Lumpia Wrapper Shards
Serves 2
1 cup vegetable oil
2 lumpia wrappers
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoon butter, like Plugra European-style butter
6 lady finger bananas, peeled; or 2 regular bananas, peeled and quartered
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons jackfruit
¼ cup jackfruit syrup
1 pinch salt
¼ cup Chambers Bay Distillery straight bourbon whiskey
For the caramelized lumpia wrapper shards, heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan over high heat until it is rippling. Gently place a sheet of the lumpia wrapper in the oil. Sprinkle the brown sugar on one side, then flip over and repeat sprinkling. The lumpia wrapper is finished when it turns golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Once the wrappers have cooled, tear into large shard shapes.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the bananas and stir. Add the brown sugar and mix until fully dissolve, then add the jackfruit, jackfruit syrup and salt.
Now it’s time to flambé. On a gas stove, move the pan about two feet away from the heat source and pour in the bourbon. Keep an arm’s length away from the pan and place it back on the heat, tipping the pan slightly until you see a flame. This is the time to start gently swirl. The flame will last about 1 minute. Keep cooking until the flame disappears.
On an electric stove, keep the pan on the heat and add the bourbon. Keep the pan an arm’s length away and light with a long butane lighter, then start swirling gently. The flame will last about 1 minute. Keep cooking until the flame disappears.
To plate, place the flambéd fosters in a mound as the base and place the shards around. Take this dessert to the next level with vanilla ice cream or vanilla whipped cream.
