To me, this is one of the simplest recipes that I love. It’s just the fried chicken chicharrones (seitan – with lots of flavor, mind you), and fried plantains. However, that simplicity makes it so tasty. It’s the kind of meal I used to eat at my grandmother’s house after school, or after church when there were a lot of people to feed. Puerto Rican cuisine is full of meat-based recipes, but I think we can still prepare those meals around the same concept, but meat and cruelty free!
For this recipe, we will make “tostones”, fried plantains. This is one of the most basic staples in Puerto Rican cuisine. It is usually a side for meals, or it can be an appetizer. Either way, it is very versatile and tasty. For “tostones”, we use a “tostonera”, a simple contraption with two wooden planks hinged together. This is used to flatten the plantains. This makes them thin and crispy, tostones 😉. If you don’t have a “tostonera”, you can use anything with a flat bottom and use it to flatten the plantains. It can be the bottom of a small saucepan, for example. Place the plantain between two sheets of wax paper and use the bottom of the saucepan to flatten it.
To make the Seitan (Chicken Chicharrones)
First off, put the seitan chunks in a bowl, and mix with the garlic, pepper, adobo, oregano, sazón/seasoning (see my post on it here), and olive oil.
Leave the seitan marinating for 45 min, and after that coat it with flour. In a 12-inch frying pan, heat the canola oil on medium/high heat. When the oil is very hot, carefully add the seitan to the frying pan. Use a metal slotted spoon to do this, if necessary. After about a minute, turn the heat down to medium. Fry the seitan for an additional four minutes, turning the seitan chunks occasionally. It’s important that you don’t let them fry for too long, as they will get too tough. With a metal slotted spoon, scoop the chicken chicharrones out, and leave it resting on a plate lined with paper towels.
To make the “tostones”/fried plantains:
Peel the plantains and cut them into ½ to 1-inch chunks. If you have never peeled a plantain and/or are not sure how to do it, see my short video tutorial here. Heat the oil in the pot on high heat. When the oil is very hot, very carefully add the plantain chunks to the pot. After about a minute and a half, turn down the heat to medium, and fry for five minutes.
Scoop the plantain chunks out, and put them on a paper towel-lined colander.
Leave the oil on medium/low so it does not go cold while you work on flattening the chunks. Using the “tostonera” or substitute (see second paragraph above), flatten all the plantain chunks. Then, in a small bowl, mix the water and the garlic salt. Turn the heat back up to medium/high. After the oil is very hot again, drench each piece of flattened plantain in the water/garlic salt mixture. Then, very carefully slide them into the hot oil. This is a very tricky part if you are not accustomed to frying. Since the pieces will be drenched in water, the oil will splatter. One of the things I have done that works for me, is sliding each piece of plantain down the side of the pot, slowly. This minimizes the splattering. Also, you can use a metal slotted spoon to dunk the plantain pieces carefully, while holding a lid or splatter screen to protect yourself from the splatter. Remember, frying can be dangerous if you are not careful. Just follow these tips and use common sense. Fry the “tostones” for five minutes or until golden, and then scoop them out onto the paper-towel-lined colander.
Serve the chicken chicharrones and tostones with mayoketchup (see recipe here), and avocado. Buen provecho!
Chicharrones de “Pollo” con Tostones (Chick’n Fritters and Fried Plantains)
Ingredients
Chicharrones de Pollo/Chick'n Fritters
- 8 oz seitan
- 1/2 tbsp grated garlic
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp adobo
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp sazón/seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
Tostones/Fried Plantains
- 2 medium green plantains
- 3 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Chicharrones de Pollo/Chicken Chicharrones
- Put the seitan chunks in a bowl, and mix with the garlic, pepper, adobo, oregano, sazón, and olive oil. Leave the seitan marinating for 45 min.
- Coat the seitan with flour.
- In a 12-inch frying pan, heat the canola oil on medium/high heat.
- When the oil is very hot, carefully add the seitan to the frying pan. Use a metal slotted spoon to do this, if necessary.
- After about a minute, turn the heat down to medium.
- Fry the seitan for an additional four minutes, turning the seitan chunks occasionally. It’s important that you don’t let them fry for too long, as they will get too tough.
- With a metal slotted spoon, scoop the seitan out, and leave it resting on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve with the “tostones”, fried plantains.
Tostones/Fried Plantains
- Peel the plantains and cut them into ½ to 1-inch chunks
- Heat the oil in the pot on High heat
- When the oil is very hot, very carefully add the plantain chunks to the pot
- After about a minute and a half, turn down the heat to medium, and fry for five minutes
- Scoop the plantain chunks out, and put them on a paper towel-lined colander
- Leave the oil on medium/low so it does not go cold while you work on flattening the chunks
- Using the “tostonera” or substitute (see second paragraph above), flatten all the plantain chunks
- In a small bowl, mix the water and the garlic salt
- Turn the heat back up to medium/high
- After the oil is very hot again, drench each piece of flattened plantain in the water/garlic salt mixture. Then, very carefully slide them into the hot oil. This is a very tricky part if you are not accustomed to frying. Since the pieces will be drenched in water, the oil will splatter. One of the things I have done that works for me, is sliding each piece of plantain down the side of the pot, slowly. This minimizes the splattering. Also, you can use a metal slotted spoon to dunk the plantain pieces carefully, while holding a lid or splatter screen to protect yourself from the splatter. Remember, frying can be dangerous if you are not careful. Just follow these tips and use common sense.
- Fry the “tostones” for five minutes or until golden, and then scoop them out onto the paper-towel-lined colander
- Serve while hot
