I’d say I’m an adventurous eater and an adventurous cook. I’ll try anything once… except for deep frying, because we really don’t need to get the fire department involved.
For a long time I had never had a plantain. They just seemed… odd.
I mean, look at that—isn’t that kind of creepy? But also familiar looking. It took a freelance job to lure me outside of my comfort zone and try a plantain for the first time. And you know what? It wasn’t bad; in fact, it was good. The flavor was surprisingly sweet compared to what I expected. In fact it was cloyingly sweet, more like an apple than a banana. But the savory oil helped to balance out the flavors. Since then I’ve bought plantains and made them for myself a few times and I can’t figure out for the life of me why more cultures haven’t tapped into this delicious starch.
How To Fry Plantains
You’ll need(for 4 side servings)…
- 2 plantains
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil*
*or other neutral oil.
Method:
- Peel the plantains and slice them on a bias.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Fry the plantains in the oil, turning every minute or so to brown each side.
- When browned all around, remove from the heat, drain from the oil, and serve hot.
I really like the subtle flavor of coconut with the plantains for a true tropical flavor. If you’re serving this as a dessert, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of brown sugar into the pan towards the end of cooking.
Have you ever tried a plantain? If not, would you try one now?
I love fried plantains! I’m definitely going to try this at home.
I tried to fry plantains once in college for my boyfriend…I almost burned his apartment down. Sigh. Kitchen fail.
Haven’t tried plantains… yet!
I love plantains, but I don’t make them nearly enough. They’re awesome with rice and a coconut sauce!
Growing up I had a neighbor/friend whose parents were from Dominican Republic. Every time I ate dinner over their house we had plantains which I thought were the best thing ever! I tried to convince my mom to buy them but she never gave in.
I’ve made plantains a few times – I make a dish with caramelized plantains, black beans, and coconut rice; it’s to die for!
I’ve had fried plantain in Miami. So good! My mom tried frying some plantains a few weeks ago. For one, I’m surprised the whole house wasn’t engulfed in flames. Two, I can’t even describe the texture… she’s made good plantains before, though. Guess it was an off day. I’m tempted to go to the store and stock up on plantains!
Maybe they were a different amount of ripeness?
The ripeness could be it. She did oven roast some alongside pan frying those. The oven roasted ones turned out yummy! I have plantains written on my grocery list this week. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love fried plantains. A bit of sea salt is my favorite thing to add. They were the best side dish at my local Puerto Rican restaurant. Maduros are better than tostones in my heart.
YES. One of the best foods on the planet and so easy to make at home.
My aunt from Venezuela introduced us to plantains years ago, and I love them! Have you ever had plantain chips? Amazing.
No, I haven’t. I’ve had banana chips but I’m guessing they’re nothing alike
I love plantains, but I usuaully use them before they are ripe so it is more starchy. I like the idea of the coconut oil though, so I might have to try them once they are more ripe!
I’ll have to try them at different stages of ripeness; these did taste a little sugary to me, although I wasn’t complaining because I like sugar.
Plantains are one of my favorite saides, i have never heard of them in Europe, but when I tried them in NY ( my husband cooked them from me) it was love at first bite!
You bet your life. Rob’s stepdad is Puerto Rican and he grew up making tostones with a little smasher! Let’s get you one.
The extent of my plantain experience is from plantain chips that accompany Mexican meals. Now I want to try it for myself!
I thought you were telling us how to “fly plantains”.
I was more excited by that. I’ve never seen plantains in Australia, and have only had them as packet chips in America. But oh! How I want to try this recipe of yours!
Fried plantains are AMAZING! We had incredible ones in Grand Caymen. They were so good that I know there is a picture of them somewhere on my blog. I never think to make my own, but I wil have to now!
I’ve never had plantains before but now I want to try! Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by neutral oils?
An oil without much flavor in itself so that it doesn’t add taste in the final dish, like canola, peanut, safflower, etc. Coconut oil actually doesn’t have that subtle a flavor but I like how it tasted with the plantain.
I love plantains, though to be honest I have only had them in restaurants. never made it at home – yet!
Oh, plantains are wonderful! If you let the skin get black and the fruit get soft, they’re _delicious_ raw–a banana to the power of a hundred! Sweet, rich, dense, surprisingly complex flavor. Nectar oozing in the middle. You have to get over the squishy black skin, though.
How does a freelance job connect you with plantains?
Well I had to make a breakfast dish and my options were REALLY limited, so I look towards other cultures and saw something that sort of looked like a banana and went with it.
This makes me crave bananas foster. I bet it’d be cool to make a plantain version of that!
I have had plantain at a restaurant, but I have never cooked with one.