9 Delicious Plantain Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak plantains in salt water? ›

But since the unripe plantains don't taste like much on their own, soaking the slices in salt water will help draw out their subtle flavors. Soaking green plantains can also add moisture to the naturally dry starch and help the tostones to crisp up nicely when they're fried.

Definitely more so than a regular banana. They can be consumed green, yellow, brown, or black; ripe or unripe; cooked or uncooked (but not very often); baked, fried, steamed, boiled, or grilled. In fact, I eat them at least three times a week.

The keys to successful fried plantains are choosing ripe fruit and using the right pan, oil, and heat. A ripe plantain's skin should be almost black or, in some cases, have a dull yellow color with patches of black. In addition to being sweeter, the ripe fruit peels easily and cooks in no time.

A ripe plantain is best when it's mostly black with a little yellow, and still slightly firm to the touch, like when you squeeze a peach. Although completely black plantains are still good to eat, they are a little too soft, making them difficult to prepare. But they're still delicious.

Soaking your Tostones in Water

The water soaking step in this recipe adds an extra crunch and crispiness to the plantains that I find totally addicting. Something about this trick helps the tostones to fry up nice and crisp during that second fry.

In a bowl large enough to hold the plantains, combine the salt with ½ cup water and stir until dissolved. Add plantains and set aside to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you're looking for a healthier preparation method, consider baking your plantains instead of frying them. Once peeled, the plantain can be baked whole or in slices. You can also add spices and seasoning, such as salt, cayenne, or cinnamon.

Most commonly used in the coastal areas, plantains appear on menus throughout the republic, including restaurant meccas Mexico City and Guadalajara, in courses from appetizers to desserts, used in various stages of ripeness. They are fried, steamed, grilled, baked, mashed, and made into dough.

They make a great side dish for a Mexican brunch, served alongside fried black beans, enchiladas, entomatadas, white rice, or also as a dessert. You can cut a slit lengthwise in the center to serve the whole plantains.

Cook Plantains On Lower Heat To Ensure No Burnt Flavor

The fruit needs only a few minutes on each side until the outside hits an appealing golden-brown color. Anything darker and the result will be too dry; anything less, and the plantains will remain hard.

Why are my fried plantains not sweet? ›

When you want to make plátanos maduros, you need to wait until they are fully brown. Wait even longer than you'd wait for bananas to overripen if you were making banana bread. There's no shortcut to soft, sweet plantains—you have to let nature do most of the work.

Shelf Life: Plantains will keep for 3 weeks. Green fruit should be kept at room temperature, while more than half-ripe fruit should be refrigerated. Brooks Origin: Ecuador (primarily), Columbia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. Brooks Origin: Ecuador (primarily), Columbia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.

Since fried plantains are usually a salty snack, they usually go best with other salty foods like fried eggs. One of the advantages of fried eggs is that they are cheap and easy to make.

Bananas and plantains have very similar nutrition profiles. Both are good sources of several vitamins, including potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. They're also good sources of fiber. Bananas do have more sugar, though, and plantains have more starch.

From this chart, you can see that plantains are like bananas with the nutrient content ramped up to 11. They have more starch, more vitamins and minerals, more everything. They also compare favorably to sweet potatoes – equally good for you, but containing slightly different nutrients.

Should I soak plantains before frying? That is a personal decision. Green plantains can be a little dry, and sometimes soaking green plantains help them keep their moisture. If making tostones, soaking plantains before the second frying gives them a nice crunchy outside and moist tender inside.

A salted-garlic water mixture is prepared to soak the green plantain slices for a few minutes prior to frying. This will provide a garlicky, salty flavor to the fried plantains.

Olayinka explained that while you could salt them after they cook, she prefers to salt them beforehand because the plantains are stickier when they're raw. Thus, the flavor of the salt is much more likely to be infused into the plantains — allowing them to be as tasty as possible.

1. Don't add salt to plantain to fry: - It's a waste of salt - Plantain is sweet without salt - It can raise your blood pressure - It can harm your kidneys 2. Most foods in their natural forms, including plantains, already have some salt in them because sodium is a natural mineral.