I was eating some matoke chips one afternoon and I started to wonder how they cut them. I wondered if they would still be as nice to eat in a disc shape, which in my mind was a simpler shape to do.
Then I remembered I had some plantain, why not try some plantain discs? And thus began the experiment…
I liked both, how you use them though will depend ones taste. The baked one turned out a lot like dried/dehydrated fruit, like raisins. So it would do nicely in a fruit and nut mix for example. The second one was crunchy, but when left out for more than an hour it became soggy, so better for a quick snack to be eaten immediately. Make them to be ready just as the kids arrive from school for example…
I was just testing so I didn’t make a lot, just three plantain bananas for each batch…
Then place in the oven for about 20 to 30 min at 180°C. watch for the golden colour to start coming in, then they’re done
For the fried version, I was concerned that they would be soggy and I wanted them to be crunchy. So I coated them with a bit of cornstarch before dropping them into the hot oil
When you add them to the oil, do it one piece at a time so that they don’t stick together
They had a nice crunch with every bite.
Plantain is naturally very very sweet so they were both very tasty. I would suggest using plantain that is ripened but still firm. They are sweeter when they start to soften but would be hard to handle at this small size because of the softness.
Of the two methods I would do the oven version again, just because it’s less work and the bites last longer. You can also keep them for a few days and the taste and texture will not change. The fried ones have to be eaten immediately, the texture isn’t the same after an hour.
Remember to share your plantain experiments below!
