How to cook Plantains
Plantains look like large bananas. They are technically fruits, but much like the tomato and unlike the banana, they are eaten and cooked as if they were a vegetable.
They are harder to peel than bananas and should not be eaten raw. Plantains are found in most of Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.
Cooked plantains are nutritionally very similar to a potato, calorie-wise, but contain more vitamins and minerals. They are full of fiber, vitamins A, C, and B-6, and minerals like magnesium and potassium.
Plantains are awesome - so how should you cook them?
1) Fried Plantains
What you will need:
Green Plantains - 2 or 3
vegetable oil to fry
Salt
Method:
Cut both ends off the plantains and make 3 incisions before peeling the skin off - yes it’s hard to get off at times. Cut the plantains into 3/4 cm pieces.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high. Carefully place the plantain cubes in the oil. It should be bubbling and the plantains should be turning brownish.
After around 3minutes, turn them around and let the other side fry for 3/4 minutes - don’t burn them.
Once they are done place them on kitchen paper and dry them and salt them and voilà!
Now comes the tricky part - if you want to make fried plantain chips - squish the plantain cubes with a plate or any flat surface and fry them again for another minute. Remove them and add salt while still hot. Easy!
2) Boiled Plantains
What you will need:
Green Plantains - 2 or 3
Water
Salt
Method (very similar to frying them):
Cut both ends off the plantains and make 3 incisions before peeling the skin off - yes it’s hard to get off at times. Leave the plantains in one piece.
Heat water in a large pan as if you were cooking pasta and add some salt.
Once the water starts to boil add the plantains and leave them in 13-15 minutes - poke them with a fork until you feel they are soft enough.
Take them out and mash them! You can eat them with literally anything, add them to your salads, to eggs (this is done a lot!) or simply mash them and enjoy them with some fish/meat.
3) Baked Plantains
What you will need:
Green Plantains - 2 or 3
Salt or Sugar (if you want them to be sweet)
Method (so easy it’s ridiculous!)
Cut both ends off the plantains and make 3 incisions before peeling the skin off - yes it’s hard to get off at times. Leave the plantains in one piece.
Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees - once worm put the plantains inside
Leave them in 30/40 minutes and you are done! How easy was that?
As you have seen, it is super easy to cook plantains and it will really pay off to try them - they are different, extremely healthy and they allow you to play around with their taste and find out what you like them with the most. They are both sweet and savory and can really be enjoyed with almost any food.