Puerto Rican Tostones Al Ajillo
These tostones al ajillo are the perfect side to any meal. Crunchy, butter and delicious!
Servings: 2
Calories: 323kcal
Ingredients
- 1 green plantain
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 6 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon msg optional
Instructions
- Cut the ends of the garlic and peel. Roughly chop the garlic into about ¼ inch thick small pieces and set aside for later.
- Cut the ends of your plantain. With a knife, make a vertical line from top to bottom, making sure the tip is through the skin. Now start peeling from any top corner of the line you just made. If you have any skin left, just remove it with your knife. Once peeled, cut the plantain into small cylinders of about 1 inch each.
- In a medium-sized pan, add your oil over medium heat. Add the plantains to the oil and fry for 3 minutes on each side. Remove them from the oil into a small bowl with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- Smash your plantains with a tostonera or a plate. Smash until they are about ¼ of an inch thick. Just enough so they look like a big flat circle. Heat oil again, but this time on medium-high heat. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil into a paper towel or wire rack to drain.
- In a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat, add the garlic and butter. Let the garlic cook for 4 minutes and then add the tostones. You can also use dehydrated garlic (*see notes*). If you're going to add msg, add it now. Saute this for a minute so the tostones can absorb the butter. Serve right away and enjoy!
Notes
- Chinese restaurant garlic. In most of the restaurants, the garlic used is dehydrated garlic. This will definitely give you that authentic taste. All you have to do is rehydrate the garlic with enough water to cover it. Then just add it to the recipe.
- MSG. If you want these tostones al ajillo to taste just like the ones sold at the Puerto Rican Chinese restaurants, use a little bit of msg.
- You need green plantains. If they are starting to turn yellow, they won't be savory but sweet. A little yellow is also delicious, so you can still make this.
- Frozen tostones. You can use frozen tostones for this recipe, but I always suggest making your own.
Nutrition
Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 479mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1712IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg
