I must confess, I wasn’t really a fan of Saba banana specially the ones cooked in syrup until recently. This type of bananas are typically merienda fare meaning you have it for a mid afternoon snack. Bananas cooked in syrup is called “Kusilba” in Tagalog. You can eat this as is but there in one more popular way of serving it, by making Saba con Hielo.

To make your Kusilba, peel some Saba bananas and place in a thick bottomed pan. Add equal amounts of dark brown sugar and water. For this recipe I used 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar using 7 pieces bananas. Cook over low heat and let it come to a boil. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes until it becomes thick and bananas has a softened but not mushy.

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To serve, place a couple of bananas in a bowl. Pour some milk (Filipinos use evaporated milk which has creamier and richer mouthfeel) and top with a scoop of shaved ice. These is specially good during a hot Summer day.

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