How to make authentic tostones that are perfectly crispy

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If you’ve ever wondered how to make tostones, you’ve come to the right place. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ll walk you through how to make the traditional (and delicious) dish.

Tostones are twice-fried plantain patties that are crispy and salty on the outside, sweet on the inside and served with a mojo sauce. They’re eaten as a snack, appetizer or as a side dish in many Latin American and Caribbean countries, although the name of the dish may differ depending on where you are.

To start, you’ll want to make sure sure you use green plantains, and not ripe, yellow plantains. They’re a bit firmer, which is better, since you’ll be frying them twice. Green plantains look similar to an unripe banana. However, plantains differ in that they taste better when cooked — an uncooked plantain is more starchy and similar to an uncooked potato.

To make them nearly perfect every time, you’ll also want to use a tostonera, which smashes plantains between frying, giving them their patty-shape. This bamboo tostonera found on Amazon is under $20 — and it’s so simple to use.

Bamboo Tostonera, $8.97

Credit: Amazon

Check out the video above to watch the full process of making tostones at home using the bamboo tostonera, and see the recipe below.

How to make tostones

Ingredients:

  • green plantains
  • canola oil, for frying
  • sea salt
  • mojo sauce

Instructions:

  1. First, remove the skins of the plantains and cut them into thick, 1-inch chunks. You want them to be pretty thick, so while they’re crispy on the outside, they still have a soft center.
  2. Next, heat up your oil over medium heat. Once hot and simmering, place your plantain slices in. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan. You can work in batches if necessary.
  3. After about two minutes of frying, flip the slices and fry them on the opposite side for another two minutes. Once done, remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.
  4. Next, open up your bamboo tostonera, place one fried plantain inside and smash it. Repeat with remaining fried plantains.
  5. Once you’re done smashing plantains, add them back to your hot oil (over medium heat) and let them fry for about one minute or until they’re slightly browned. Remove them from the oil once done and place them back on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
  6. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with mojo sauce or another sauce of your choice.

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