Banana ketchup is a staple in any Filipino pantry.

The experience of eating lumpia, tortang talong or even fried chicken won’t be complete without this sweet, red sauce. While Filipinos are used to having bottled banana ketchup from household names such as UFC and Jufran, this condiment can also be made from scratch. Cooking ketchup on your own allows you to tweak its taste — sweeter, spicier, fruitier — and to know exactly what ingredients go into your dip.

Here’s a recipe of homemade banana ketchup which I made for the chef’s challenge feature with Puerto Rican chef Damaris. The challenge was to create a dish that fuses Filipino and Puerto Rican flavors, ingredients, and cooking techniques. I was pleasantly surprised with what we came up with — sautéed beef in sofrito over avocado halves paired with homemade banana ketchup.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ small onion, diced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
2 bananas, mashed (roughly 1 cup)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white vinegar
½ cup water
⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder

Instructions:

Heat the oil over medium heat in a sauté pan.
Once the oil is hot, sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger for about five minutes, or until soft and fragrant.
Add the mashed bananas and brown sugar. Mix well for about one minute.
Mix in the vinegar, water, and cayenne powder. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool.
Once the mixture has cooled, transfer the mixture to a food processor. Blend until the mixture is smooth and has a ketchup-like consistency.

*Note: You may add in ¼ cup of tomato paste to add a hint of tomato to its taste.