Alloco

Abidjan's fried plantain, cut thick and eaten hot from the pan with a raw onion and chilli relish

Origin: Abidjan & Côte d'Ivoire

From the journey of Banana.

Alloco is the street food of Abidjan and it is sold by women who do nothing else. A basin of oil over charcoal, ripe plantain cut into thick diagonal coins, and a sharp raw sauce of onion, tomato, and chilli served on the side: the whole business fits on a small table and the queue forms in the evening. It is eaten as a snack, as a side to grilled fish, and as a meal in itself with an egg on top. The plantain is the oldest staple in the region by a long way. It reached the African forest belt from Asia well over a thousand years before maize or cassava arrived from the Americas, and it underwrites the cooking of the whole zone from Guinea round to the Congo. Frying it in palm oil is the simplest thing that can be done with it and remains the most popular. The distinction that matters locally is against Ghanaian kelewele, made a few hundred kilometres east. Kelewele is spiced before frying, marinated in ginger, chilli, and often clove or nutmeg, so the seasoning is inside the plantain. Alloco is fried plain and the heat arrives beside it. Both are correct and each country regards the other's approach as a small mistake.

Ingredients

4 ripe plantains, yellow with black patches
700 ml red palm oil or neutral oil, for frying
1 tsp salt

Sauce

1 large onion, very finely sliced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped
1 stock cube, crumbled
1 tbsp oil
0.5 lemon, juiced

Method

Make the sauce first so it has time to sit. Combine the onion, tomato, chilli, crumbled stock cube, oil, and lemon juice, and season with a little salt. Leave at room temperature; the onion softens and the flavours settle within twenty minutes.
Peel the plantains by cutting off the ends, scoring the skin lengthways, and lifting it away in strips. Cut into diagonal slices about 1.5cm thick, which gives more surface than straight coins.
Toss the slices with the salt.
Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C. Test with one slice: it should sizzle briskly on contact without browning within seconds.
Fry in batches, without crowding, for three to four minutes a side, until deep gold with dark caramelised edges. Turn once only.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper. Salt lightly again while hot.
Serve immediately with the raw sauce alongside, and a fried egg or grilled fish if it is standing in for a meal.

Notes

Ripeness is everything and slightly over-ripe is better than under. A green-tinged plantain fries hard and tastes of starch. If the slices absorb oil and go greasy the pan is not hot enough; if they blacken before the middle softens it is too hot. Palm oil gives the authentic colour and a distinct flavour, but any neutral oil works. Alloco does not keep and does not reheat.

The Gastrographer

Name: Alloco
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Abidjan & Côte d'Ivoire
Ingredients: 4 ripe plantains, yellow with black patches; 700 ml red palm oil or neutral oil, for frying; 1 tsp salt; 1 large onion, very finely sliced; 2 tomatoes, finely chopped; 1 scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped; 1 stock cube, crumbled; 1 tbsp oil; 0.5 lemon, juiced

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control