Mofongo

Puerto Rican mashed fried plantains with garlic

Origin: Puerto Rico, Caribbean

From the journey of Banana.

Mofongo is Puerto Rico's most iconic dish, mashed fried green plantains seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings (chicharrones), then shaped into a dome and served with broth or stew poured over or around it. The dish is a direct descendant of fufu, a West African technique of pounding starchy foods (yam, cassava, or plantain) into a cohesive mass, which enslaved Africans brought to the Caribbean. The plantain itself arrived in the Americas in the 1500s with Portuguese and Spanish colonizers, who had first carried it from Africa. In Puerto Rico, mofongo became a cultural touchstone, a symbol of Puerto Rican identity that fuses African, Indigenous Taíno, and Spanish culinary traditions. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, served in a traditional wooden pilón (mortar) or shaped into a mound and topped with shrimp, crab, lobster, or braised pork. Every Puerto Rican grandmother has a version of this recipe, and every version is the definitive one.

Ingredients

Main

3 large green plantains, peeled and cut into 2 cm rounds

Seasoning

6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt, plus more for frying
60 g pork cracklings (chicharrones), crushed (or crumbled crispy bacon)

Frying

500 ml neutral oil, for frying

Serving

500 ml chicken broth, warmed, for serving

Method

Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 160°C / 325°F. Fry the plantain rounds in batches for 3–4 minutes per side until cooked through and lightly golden but not crisp. They should be soft when pressed. Remove and set aside.
Using the flat of a heavy glass or the bottom of a cup, smash each piece of plantain to about 1 cm thick. Return the flattened pieces to the oil and fry for 2–3 minutes more per side until golden and slightly crisp at the edges. Drain on paper towels.
While the plantains are hot, use a mortar and pestle (or a large bowl and heavy fork) to mash the garlic cloves with the salt into a paste. Add the olive oil and mash together.
Add the hot fried plantains to the mortar and mash vigorously with the garlic paste, adding splashes of warm chicken broth as needed to help bind the mixture. Fold in the crushed chicharrones. The mixture should be thick, cohesive, and strongly flavoured: not smooth, but mashed well enough to hold its shape.
Shape the mofongo into balls or domes using a small bowl as a mould. Place in serving bowls and pour warm chicken broth around (not over) the mofongo. Serve immediately.

Notes

Mofongo is endlessly versatile. It can be served with garlic shrimp, braised oxtail, or simple chicken broth. Vegan versions substitute olive oil for the chicharrones and use vegetable broth. The key is using green (unripe) plantains: ripe yellow plantains will produce a sweet, mushy result that is entirely different. Mofongo waits for no one: eat it immediately, as it quickly becomes dense and gummy as it cools.

The Gastrographer

Name: Mofongo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 3 large green plantains, peeled and cut into 2 cm rounds; 6 garlic cloves, peeled; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt, plus more for frying; 60 g pork cracklings (chicharrones), crushed (or crumbled crispy bacon); 500 ml neutral oil, for frying; 500 ml chicken broth, warmed, for serving

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control