The banana blossom is the whole trimmed banana heart — the dense inner bud at the tip of a banana bunch once its tough purple outer bracts, wiry stamens and styles have been stripped away, leaving a firm, pale-cream cone of tightly packed tender bracts and florets. Prized as a fleshy vegetable rather than a garnish, it is shredded raw into Southeast Asian salads, simmered into curries and stews, and — famously — battered and cooked as a flaking, fish-like substitute for white fish.