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Sundancer7 17 years, 10 months ago.
They look just like bananas, Sundance. Must be one of G-d’s little "tricks". [:)] Good analysis by Alirush.
Plantains are a much more starchy type of banana, and Bushie is right, you don’t want to eat them raw! They can be fantastic cooked, however. I like the sweet fried version, which comes with arroz con pollo (and all kind of other yummy dishes) at any good Puerto Rican restaurant. The salty version is a PR favorite, though. I think Sundancer should try frying them himself and then post us a review!
Bushie, how come they look like bananas??? Or at least I thought they did. Maybe they don’t
Paul E. smith
Knoxville, TN
I love plantains, but they are definitely not the same as a banana as we know it. Try to eat a raw plantain, and you’ll see! [xx(] I love them stewed sweet (I guess they use brown sugar or something); I think they’re really tasty although my wife hates them.
Here’s something I’ve done that you should try, Sundance. Slice them super thin and deep-fry them, just like you’re making your own potato chips (I seem to recall you do that). Salt them right out of the fryer, and eat them while still warm. They are great! Served with some kind of sauce, they make a great appetizer. [:p]
I was in the Dominican Republic working with a pharmaceutical company a few months ago and they took me to this restaurant that specialized in food particular to Santa Domingo. Being from East, TN, I am familiar with only one banana, but this restaurant served many different types cooked many different ways. It seemed that every dish, appetize, veggies, bread had a different type of plantain/banana as an ingredient. I am not sure that plantain and banana are the same, but they look similar. Some were not sweet, some were somewhat sour, some had no taste. They fried them, boiled, them, BBQ’d them, served them with meats and fish.
I guess if you got a bunch of them, you use them.
I found the food to be similar to Spanish food which I thought was bland.
I suppose they should have Spanish food as Christopher Colombus landed there and built a house there. Sorta funny as I had always thought Ole Christy discovered North America and the museum indicated he was never here.
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN
Around here the Salvadorian restaurants take a plantain, peel and slice it in half, coat it in flour with salt and red pepper powder and pan fry. Then they serve it with crema (a sort of sour cream) and seasoned black beans. They serve it as an appetizer but if you eat a whole order you will be done eating!
You can deep fry plantains – dip them in milk and very fine breadcrumbs and deep fry in peanut oil or you can put the slices on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Good both ways. [:)]
In Florida plantain chips are in most supermarkets very good [even Lays makes them but only in Central and South America.
Peel dem, grate dem, season wit lime and sugar. Mix wit egg and lickle flour and fry up dem cakes. Jah breakfast.
quote:
Originally posted by Bushie
Good choice of words, Jennifer; "interesting things". My wife and daughter have another word; WIERD. They always make fun of the things I like to eat. Last Christmas, my daughter gave me a big basket full of stuff she bought at World Market. She said, "I just went through and picked up anything that looked wierd." I loved it!
Bushie, sounds like my friends in high school trying to be diplomatic, when asked for a description of me and my tastes in food, they used the word, "unique".. btw.. as I was growing up, my parents would buy all my Christmas presents at World Market.
Good choice of words, Jennifer; "interesting things". My wife and daughter have another word; WIERD. They always make fun of the things I like to eat. Last Christmas, my daughter gave me a big basket full of stuff she bought at World Market. She said, "I just went through and picked up anything that looked wierd." I loved it!
I just bought a package of frozen, deep fried plantains, haven’t tried em yet though.. they were in a section of the supermarket along with empanadas, guyaba pulp, tamarind pulp, and other..interesting things.
There is not a huge variety of plantain in East, TN. We are lucky we got bananas. If it was not for Walmart, I am not sure we would have air. Just kidding as East Tennessee is very green, but there is not a lot of variety here.
I also had the same menu on the south coast of Puerto Rica in Ponce. That is the arid/desrt part of Puerto Rica. Lotsa plantain. Had them as chips, veggies, sides etc.
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN
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