Fried Green Plantains with Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
Fried green plantains, also known as Tostones or Patacones, are common all throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They are easy to make and make a really satisfying snack or side dish. Unripe plantains are cut into chunks, fried until soft, flattened with the back of a pan, and then fried again until crispy. They can be served with many different sauces but they go very well with this simple cilantro-jalapeño sauce.
Green Plantains
Plantains are typically sold in two forms, unripe and ripe. In order to make this dish, make sure you are using green unripe plantains. These are starchier than the ripened version and will get nice and crispy when fried. Ripe plantains, on the other hand, are soft and sweet and used to make fried sweet plantains (AKA maduros). Do not use regular bananas for this recipe.
Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
This is one of my favorite sauces to make at home because it is so quick to throw together and works really well with a number of different dishes. There is no cooking involved and you can make it as spicy or mild as you like. I often use it to accompany Lomo Saltado or Peruvian roasted chicken.
Goes well with:
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Fried Green Plantains with Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
Equipment
- Cooking Thermometer
- Blender
Ingredients
Fried Green Plantains
- 2 unripe green plantains (or more, see note below)
- 3-4 cups neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn….etc) or more, depending on the size of the pot
- salt, to taste
Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce (yields about 1 cup, enough to have plenty of leftover sauce)
- 60 grams cilantro leaves (1 bunch)
- 90 grams jalapeño, with or without seeds (3 medium jalapenos)
- 8 grams raw garlic (3 cloves)
- 90 grams mayonnaise, store-bought or home made (1/3 cup)
- 30 grams fresh lime juice (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams salt (1.5 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt, to taste if using another type of salt)
Instructions
Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
- Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Fried Plantains
- Preheat oil in a wide pot or pan to 300F. Oil should be about 1 inch in depth so the plantains can be fully submerged. Do not overfill the pot with oil as it will bubble up a bit when the plantains go in.
- Peel the plantains and cut into 1-inch chunks. The plantains may be difficult to peel and feel very hard, that is OK.
- Fry the plantains for 5 minutes at 300F.
- Remove plantains from hot oil and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
- Use the back of a pot or pan and flatten the plantain pieces into discs. You can flatten them a little or a lot, depending on what ratio of crispy outside to fluffy inside you prefer. The flatter they are the more crispy they will be.
- Increase the oil temperature to 375F and fry the flattened plantains for 2-3 minutes. Stir them as they cook.
- Remove plantains from hot oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Season with salt.
- Serve plantains with Cilantro-Jalapeño sauce for dipping
- Allow your oil to cool down, strain it, and save it for frying something else later on!