No rant on Puerto Rico; instead, we have a special guest. Please allow me to introduce JJ, an authentic Puerto Rican who will be making an authentic Puerto Rican spicy garlic sauce with authentic Puerto Rican fried plantains.
For those who don’t know, a plantain looks like a banana but kind of tastes more like a potato and is starchy like a potato, too. Kinda like a banana and potato fell in love and mated and out came the plantain... of course, I guess they didn’t have to fall in love first. Maybe the potato had a bit too much to drink and just got over its previous relationship and was a bit vulnerable to banana’s unyielding charisma. We’ve all been there, just ask Kirk Cameron and his friend.
It is best to use green plantains because as plantains ripen they will turn yellow, sweeter but mushier too. Removing the skin can be difficult. A simple trick is to perforate the skin with a knife then microwave the whole thing for 4 minutes. We used an authentic Puerto Rican to operate our microwave.
Let the plantain cool, and then it should peel nice and easy.
Cut the plantain into 2-inch sections.
Then flatten each section into a cylinder. Try to make them the same thickness so they cook evenly.
In the meantime heat up an inch of canola oil or vegetable oil in a pan. When the oil starts to make cool psychedelic patterns, it is hot enough. Drop in each cylinder of plantain and fry for a minute or two on each side or until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on a paper towel. Salt to taste.
Now the garlic sauce. Take a couple cloves of garlic and throw it in your food processor or magic bullet or whatever you have, or just chop the shit out of it until it is a pasty goo. Mix it well with a quarter cup of olive oil.
That is authentic Puerto Rican Garlic Sauce! I recommend some chili oil in that too though; make it a hot sauce! Drizzle over your plantains and enjoy.
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