Easy Tasty Fried Plantain Recipe

The plantain is spiced simply with cayenne pepper and a bit of salt and served as a starter or side dish. The skin of yellow plantain turns black as it ripens, creating natural sugars in this process, which, when fried, caramelize into golden delicacies unlike any other. They can also be sliced into elegant discs, as many people like.

How to differentiate plantains from bananas

Plantains are larger in size than bananas and also have a firmer texture. Bananas are sweet whether eaten raw or cooked; however, plantains must be cooked.

Plantains have a drier, starchier texture, but the outside will become black when left to ripen. When plantains are cooked, they become incredibly soft, sweet, and delicious. Lastly, plantains have harder skin than bananas, and their curves are usually less noticeable.

Ingredients

4 yellow ripe plantains

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

A pinch of salt

Enough cooking oil for deep frying

Procedure

Skin and slice the plantains diagonally into long discs

In a large bowl, mix the plantain, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt. Gently massage each piece with your hands to evenly coat it in seasoning. Be gentle to avoid mushing the plantain.

Fill a deep frying pan with vegetable oil until it's about 4mm deep, then preheat the frying pan to medium heat.

Fry the plantains in batches by laying the discs face down in the frying pan. The oil should sizzle, and little bubbles should appear around each disc.

Turn each disc over with tongs or a spatula after 3-4 minutes and allow each side of the plantain to turn golden brown. The thinnest parts of each plantain, along the edge, will fry much faster, crisping up and turning darker as a result. 

When the plantains are cooked, remove them from the pan and place them on kitchen paper to cool.

Serve hot with rice, scrambled eggs, pork, beans or plain, and enjoy

Allow for cooling before storing in an airtight container. It'll keep for a long time and can be used for fried plantains again.

Tips for frying plantains.

Allow for appropriate heating of the oil, as frying on low heat would result in oily plantain. You can check if the oil is hot by placing one plantain disc in the oil, if it sizzles, then the oil is ready. You can fry the plantains in batches depending on the size of your pan so that they do not overlap.

Use Ripe Plantains: If your plantains aren't ripe, they won't crystallize properly. When the outsides are dark with a lot of black specks, they're at their best. If your plantains aren't ripe enough, sprinkle them with sugar while they're cooking.

Fry in Garlic for Extra Flavor: Replace the vegetable oil with butter or olive oil and a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic to make your plantains more flavorful. You can add sprinkling coarse sea salt on top for a sweet and salty treat.

Cut them on an angle: It's crucial to cut them diagonally so that they have the right quantity of slightly crispy outsides.

Adding cream/ cheese: To increase the scale-up deliciousness, sprinkle them with a little cream and/or cheese just before serving.

Healthy ways of cooking plantains

Boiling - Place chopped and unpeeled boiling in salted water and boil for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat. After they are cooked, drain any extra water, let them cool, and then peel them. The flavor of boiled plantains is similar to that of sweet potatoes. Boiling the fruit with the skin on helps the fruit retain the majority of its nutrients while also preventing it from becoming soggy. In soup or stew recipes that call for potatoes, boiled plantains can be used as a substitute.

Grilling or Baking - Plantains can also be grilled or baked; unlike when they're fried, this approach allows the fruit to keep all of its nutrients. Grilling or baking is the healthiest cooking technique for plantains preferred by health-conscious plantain eaters. Peel and grill or roasted over an open fire pit until golden brown. This could take anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes. Some people prefer to grill plantains with the skin on, while others prefer to grill them directly over coals.

Oven- roasting – You can roast the plantains in the oven; peel the plantains, preheat the oven to 400°F, and set the whole fruit in the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping occasionally to ensure an even roast, or until golden brown.

Summary

Fried plantains can also be served as a side dish with rice and beans, or in a soup or stew. You can use ripe or unripe plantains for this easy tasty fried plantain recipe. Fried unripe plantains are extremely crispy when fried. Fried, ripe plantains, on the other hand are sweet and soft.