Platanos Fritos

D

danceguy

New Member
I know we don't have much in the way of food threads at DF, so let this be the first!

I have question for anyone here who has experience with making fried plantains - specifically the REAL ones, not your regular bananas.

I went out to a Cuban restaurant a while ago (for Salsa dancing of course) that had the most amazing fried plantains I have ever had. I tried frying some bananas on my own and they weren't even close...then I remembered, I had to get plantains...the big giant ones.

A quick Google search found a recipe, so I was all set!

Luckily my local grocery store carried the giant plantain bananas...so last night I bought a few (must have weighed a pound each) and fried them up.

Well, I learned quickly after reading a few more recipes that people weren't kidding when they said to wait until the plantains are fully ripe. The ones I had were very green and came out tasting HORRIBLE!

Yuck-a-mundo! :headwall:

So, if there is anyone here who knows how to make fried plantains and wouldn't mind giving me a few pointers, it would be much appreciated. I'm going to pick a few more up today and perhaps go to the local flea market to see if I can find some that are already ripe as I've seen them for sale there before.

Hopefully in a few more tries I'll make some that come out edible. :banana:

Best,

SG
 
I know no recipe but, as with most of my cooking, just sort of play it by ear...

All I do is use ripe plantains, butter (or light oil), and brown sugar...

Haven't done this in a while, but mmm-mmm-good!
 
Thanks for the tips guys. After an hour of googling I found that the ripeness of the plantain varies considerably depending on what you are trying to achieve. "Plantanos Maduros" means ripe plantains...so I think this is the key here for making mine like the ones I had tasted a few weeks ago.

Some people use them green and double fry them...getting the more starchy end product like I did. I found a thread on another forum about how to get them sweet like in the Cuban/Caribbean restaurants, and some people said that the plantains need to be very ripe, but not too ripe or they will be mushy.

Like SD suggested, other folks use sugar, but I also read that many don't. Hmm, I see this is going to be a trial and error process, but it ought to be fun! :P

Yikes...I'm fasting today so no food until about 7 pm. 4.5 hours to go...patience, patience... :?

SG
 
Umm, how did we get from plantains to potatoes, beer, and chocolate?

(Not that I mind any of the above mind you!)
 
More than ten years in a relationship with a West African (another place where they make fried plantains). So here are some tips:

You can make plantains lots of ways. The fried ones do not require sugar if they are ripe enough. Ripe means with dark brown or black spots on yellow peels, but still firmish to the touch. If the peels look greenish with brown spots, they are not ripe. They're bruised. If they're all yellow, they're not ripe enough. Must have yellow with brown spots. (If they're all black, the plantains are too ripe.) If you buy them at the store yellow, about four days at home not in the fridge should do it. Peel the plantains, then slice them in diagonal wedges. Fry them in an inch of HOT vegetable oil about 45 seconds to a minute on each side. And voila! Or go to pollo tropicale restaurant. Same dish. Nice and easy.

For a variation, make kele wele, a spicy dish. Marinate not quite as ripe plantains (think all yellow peel, very few brown spots) in water, a little vegetable oil, a couple teaspoons of ground ginger and about a teaspoon of ground red pepper. Marinate at least a couple hours, then quick fry as above. Slightly sweet, and very spicy. Yum.

The non-sweet recipes I guess you don't want. But you can make plantains mashed, boiled fried. You name it. And every stage of ripeness is okay, depending on the recipe.
 
Thank you so much Pygmalion, this is exactly what I needed! I didn't have any idea what I was doing last night...so what I got was some starchy platanos...but they weren't too bad. :o

I remember going to a county fair a while back and there was an African man selling fried plantain...it was kind of mashed up but was pretty tasty as I recall. That Cuban place I went to...I wish I could get their recipe....mmm...yummy! :P

Now I have to wait until these I have ripen...I just bought 4 more...darn it...its gonna take a few days....faster....faster! :oops:

Watch out little banana man, you're coming over to SG's place for din-din! :banana: :twisted:

On that note...I went to an El Salvadorian place the other day that had really good Horchata. That's next on my list!

And all this from Salsa...life is good. :D
 
Ooooooohhhh, fooooood 8) ........!

Since we are talking salsa related foods, does anyone know this little favourite of mind call completo.....?

It's a Chilean hot dog with everything in it. We used to get it all the time at outdoor/community festivals, but not so much these days. That's why I make my own.

You begin with long hot dog buns (soft ones), spread them with mash avocado then add boiled skinless frankfurts. Then top with saukrut, salsa (made with chopped tomatoes, chilli, Spanish onions & cilantros etc.) and a nice, rich home-made mayonnaise......

Now try to eat it without making a mess...... :wink:

Yummmmmm.......
 
I don't know about completos, salsachinita. I can't stand avacado. *shiver* :lol:

For the plantains recipe, I should have said that sugar is not required, but you can certainly use it it you want. They get pretty darn sweet on their own, though. And slice them into wedges about 3/8 inch (1 cm) thick.
 
SDsalsaguy said:
Umm, how did we get from plantains to potatoes, beer, and chocolate?

(Not that I mind any of the above mind you!)
Click to expand...
:roll: :roll: :roll:
I thought you were talking about Pommes frites... which are potatoes... :roll: :lol:
 
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