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Easy methods to Make Completely Crispy Tostones, In response to a Puerto Rican Chef

Why It Works

  • Frying the plantain slices twice ensures the tostones are tender inside with a brilliant crispy exterior.
  • Shallow-frying as a substitute of deep-frying the tostones requires much less oil and creates much less mess.

Tostones are one among my favourite snacks to make when introducing mates to Puerto Rican meals. These twice-fried plantain slices are nice solo, with sauces, or as an accompaniment to varied meals. They even make a fantastic chip for hearty dips, ceviches, and salsas, or as the bottom for constructing phenomenal nachos.

To make tostones, unripe inexperienced plantains are peeled and reduce into slices, fried till golden and tender, smashed with a tostonera (plantain press) or different heavy implement comparable to a consuming glass, then fried once more till crisp on the surface. A fast toss with kosher salt and a few garlic powder and these golden morsels are irresistible. 

Critical Eats / Deli Studios


Easy methods to Serve Tostones

In Puerto Rico, tostones are sometimes served with a dipping sauce known as mayoketchup, aka salsa rosada, that—you guessed it—is a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup, plus a wide range of spices. Whereas they’re scrumptious this manner, I desire my tostones easy and with out sauces—to scoop up rice and beans or for dunking into saucy stews. One other—what I take into account fancier—choice for serving tostones is making tostones rellenos, that are stuffed twice-fried plantains made by utilizing a distinct curved press known as a tostonera rellena (as a substitute of a flat tostone press) to type a small cup that holds meat sauces, dips, or salsas.

Tostones vs. Maduros

These savory snacks are one of many many fritura—deep-fried fritters or treats—which can be a typical avenue meals in Puerto Rico. They differ significantly from their relative maduros (aka amarillos) that are one other type of fried plantain slices. Each tostones and maduros might be discovered throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, together with in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and extra, with the names various primarily based on the place you discover them: patacones, plátano frito, bannann peze. 

Whereas each tostones and maduros are deep fried plantain slices, the important thing distinction is within the ripeness of the plantains used. Tostones use very inexperienced unripe plantains, that are starchy and related in texture to a potato that you’d use for french fries. Maduros, then again, are made with very ripe plantains. When the plantain begins to ripen and switch yellow after which black, it softens in texture and sweetens in taste as its starches flip into sugar. The result’s a sweeter, very tender fried plantain. Whereas I get pleasure from each kinds of fried plantains, I favor savory, garlicky, crisp tostones over candy maduros.

Easy methods to Fry Tostones

Frying tostones is pretty simple. As famous above, it’s all the time vital to start out with inexperienced, agency, unripe plantains. Whereas many recipes name for deep-frying tostones, I desire shallow-frying them in a skillet. It requires much less oil, which implies much less mess and a neater clear up.

The important thing to reaching their golden and crisp exterior and tender inside is a double-fry approach: The sliced plantains are first fried at a decrease temperature till mild golden, then they’re smashed skinny whereas nonetheless heat with a tostonera (plantain press) earlier than being fried a second time at a barely greater temperature till crisp. In case you don’t have a tostonera, no worries—you may as well use a tortilla press or perhaps a heavy-bottomed glass or mug to flatten the plantain slices. Don’t be afraid to make use of a number of power when flattening—they need to be very skinny, a few quarter inch in thickness.

Critical Eats / Deli Studios


When smashing the tostones skinny earlier than their second fry, hold an in depth eye on the temperature of the cooking oil. The oil can simply overheat, so that you would possibly want to cut back the temperature in your range between frying classes.

As soon as you’ve got twice-fried your plantains, remember to set them on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet to permit any extra oil to drip off. Then serve them whereas they’re nonetheless piping sizzling. This recipe makes a giant batch of tostones so there will probably be loads to share with others. They’re so good they have a tendency to vanish earlier than making it to the plate.

Easy methods to Make Completely Crispy Tostones, In response to a Puerto Rican Chef



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For Mayoketchup (Salsa Rosada) Dipping Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) mayonnaise

  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) ketchup

  • Kosher salt to style

  • Freshly floor black pepper to style

  • 1/2 teaspoon floor cumin, plus extra to style

  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus extra to style

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, plus extra to style

For the Tostones:

  • 4 massive inexperienced plantains (30 ounces; 850g)

  • 2 cups (480ml) impartial cooking oil comparable to vegetable or canola oil

  • Kosher salt, to style

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or extra to style

  1. For the Mayoketchup Dipping Sauce: In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and ketchup. Season with a pinch of kosher salt, black pepper, floor cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Style and alter the seasoning to your liking; put aside or refrigerate till able to serve.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  2. For the Tostones: In a deep 10-inch forged iron or stainless-steel skillet, add oil and warmth oil over medium-high warmth to 325ºF (160℃).

  3. Whereas the oil is preheating, peel the plantains by reducing off the ends and punctiliously reducing a slit down the edges of every plantain, reducing by way of the pores and skin however not into the flesh. Take away the pores and skin after which reduce the fruit crosswise into 1-inch lengthy chunks.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  4. When oil reaches 325ºF (160℃), add half of the plantain chunks and fry till golden and fork tender, adjusting warmth as wanted to take care of oil temperature round 300 to 325ºF (150 to 160℃), 7 to eight minutes, flipping over as wanted to make sure even colour. Use a slotted spoon to fastidiously take away the plantain chunks from the oil and switch them to a reducing board.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  5. Utilizing a tostonera (plantain press) or tortilla press, smash every plantain chunk till flattened and about 1/4 -inch thick (see notes). Repeat frying and smashing the remaining plantain chunks, setting the flattened ones apart to be fried once more.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  6. Warmth oil to 350ºF (175℃), add half of the flattened plantains again into the oil and fry for a second time till golden throughout and beginning to float, 2 to three minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider skimmer to take away the tostones and switch to a big mixing bowl. Return oil to 375ºF (175℃) and repeat frying course of with remaining flattened plantains.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  7. As soon as all are fried, instantly season with a big pinch of kosher salt and garlic powder, and toss to mix. Switch tostones to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet to empty any extra oil.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


  8. Serve tostones with ready sauce.

    Critical Eats / Deli Studios


Particular Tools

Tostonera (plantain press) or tortilla press or heavy-bottomed glass or mug, slotted spoon or spider skimmer, wire rack and rimmed baking sheet, instant-read or deep-fry thermometer

Notes

This recipe may be very simple to scale up or down.

If a plantain press or tortilla press are unavailable, you should use the flat backside of a heavy-bottomed glass or mug to flatten the tostones.

Make-Forward and Storage

The sauce might be refrigerated for as much as 7 days. Tostones are greatest loved contemporary and sizzling.

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