Ok Mrs. Rosario wherever you are, I know you went back to Puerto Rico and we lost contact we are missing you like crazy over here. I am sending a shout out to one lady that knew my mother and me when I was growing up. She explained to me how to make Puerto Rican dishes way before I watched youtube videos. I have boiled yucca or cassava on the side as you see here on the plate with my mofongo.
I use frozen yucca because it saved me a lot of time having to peel wash and cut a whole one but you can use the fresh if you like to. I used the frozen one because it is a lot faster and next best thing to fresh in case because it is more convenient. I cut and removed the sting from the yucca or cassava then washed and put them in a pot to boil until tender on medium heat. Make sure the water covers the Yucca or cassava. Boil the yucca or cassava until they are tender for 30 to 35 minutes.
In the mean time while the yucca or cassava is boiling away, in a small mixing bowl add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 pinch of adobo, crush 1 clove of garlic in the mortar and pestle or use garlic press, add 4 tbs of lime juice. This is called mojo, Check yucca or cassava to see if it is tender. It should be soft at this point. Drain it in a colander and add this to the mojo or garlic lime sauce and mix and set aside. At this stage it is ready to eat.
Now for the mofongo . Do you remember the chicken skins that has been made in advance? This is for this recipe too. At the end of this post I am going to link this recipe with the one for the halal fried chicken skins.
Firstly you need to peel and slice 4 raw or green plantains in to round slices. You peel them the easy way by cutting off the bottom and top off on the plantain and score them straight down using the ridges as your guide and taking a knife and prying it away from the plantain. That is how you peel them. Then you can cut them just like how I instructed and fry them in a skillet until they are golden until you have done them all. In a mortar and pestle first add 1 tsp of olive oil, crush a clove of garlic first then a fried chicken skin. This gives it a nice crunch, then add the plantains you fried and mash them for every 10 to 15 fried green plantains you will add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and 5 to 6 pieces of halal fried chicken skins and keep doing It until you have everything well mashed in the mortar and pestle. Mix in 1 pinch of adobo seasoning. Also I have used small dried shrimp in there because I want this for a meal not a snack. Another is you can use crab, tuna, sardines in water which need to be drained or sardines in oil too is great for this and taking shrimp and cooking it until it turns pink. Shrimp is done at this stage and no need to over cook them. Put it in the mofongo mixture take a plate to cover the mortar and invert it and lift it of to mold it. Put cold water in a kettle put it on the stove to boil. As soon as you hear the steam, turn the burner off and in a bowl take a bullion cube and add that and then the hot water and let the bullion cub dissolve by stirring, Finally take another bowl to make the sauce which is a combo of ketchup and mayonnaise. Add 1 pinch of adobo and stir and dinner is complete.
As you can see I loved Goya malta once upon a time and this I gladly gave up along with my white sugar, You can have your malt beverage of choice with this one.
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