Creole
Bakabana: fried plantain with peanut sauce
Bakabana is fried plantain in a thin batter, nearly always served with peanut sauce. A portion on the street in Paramaribo costs roughly SRD 15 to SRD 40.
Flavour and texture
Sweet and soft with a crisp edge. The salty peanut sauce is what balances it.
Street price, indicative SRD 15–40
The name is Sranan Tongo and means literally "fried banana". It is plantain, not a dessert banana: starchier, less sweet and it holds together in the oil.
The plantain has to be ripe, yellow with black patches, or it turns mealy. It is sliced lengthways or on the diagonal, run through a thin batter and fried until the outside crisps and the inside almost melts.
Plantain is not native here. The crop comes from Southeast Asia, reached West Africa along trade routes, and crossed to the Caribbean on European ships in the sixteenth century, where it became a plantation staple. The same plantain carries heri heri and the tom tom served with peanut soup; bakabana is its snack form.
The peanut sauce belongs to a different strand of Surinamese history. Peanut is a South American crop, but the thin, sweet sauce made here took its shape under Javanese influence, after the indentured migration from the Dutch East Indies that began in 1890. Two histories on one SRD 15 to SRD 40 plate.
Peanut sauce comes with it, and the Surinamese version is sweeter and thinner than the Indonesian satay sauce familiar in Europe.
Frequently asked questions
What is bakabana?
Bakabana is battered, deep-fried plantain served with peanut sauce. The name is Sranan Tongo for "fried banana" and it is one of the best-known Surinamese snacks.
Is bakabana a dessert?
No. In Suriname it is a snack or side dish rather than a dessert, eaten between meals or alongside a main, usually with savoury peanut sauce.
Where does bakabana come from?
The name is Sranan Tongo for "fried banana". The plantain itself reached the Caribbean via West Africa in the sixteenth century and became a staple crop in Suriname; the thin sweet peanut sauce took its shape under Javanese influence after 1890.
Is bakabana vegetarian?
The plantain, the batter and the peanut sauce are all plant-based. Watch two things: many carts fry bakabana in the same oil as chicken or fish, and the peanut sauce can contain trassi (shrimp paste). A portion costs SRD 15 to SRD 40.
What is the difference between bakabana and plain fried plantain?
Bakabana goes through a thin batter before frying and is eaten with peanut sauce; plain fried plantain has no batter and lands next to the rice on a plate. Both use plantain, not the sweet dessert banana.