How to Make Plantain Chips (Tostones)

These chips are awesome as a side for a meal, or by themselves as a snack or appetizer. Lilo (boyfriend) and I like to make them as a snack while we cook a meal (he makes the meal and I make these :D )
You can eat them with ketchup, or any other dip. But my favorite is cheese! some hard, salty chese like feta, is perfect. So here it goes!


1. Pick the greenest plantains you can find. Plantains are amazing because if you pick them super ripe (LOTS of big black spots) they will be super sweet, and if you get them while they are green, they can be made into salty chips!

2. Cut off the ends and then cut a slit through the length of the plantain

3. Peel off the skin. It should come off easily, but be careful not to smash it while trying

4. Cut the plantain into cylinders a bit less than an inch thick. 

5. Pour about 3/4 inches of vegetable oil in a pot, and heat to 375 degrees. I just turn the stove a big hotter than medium. 

(To find out whether the oil is hot enough I put a tiny piece of plantain in the pot. When bubbles start forming all around it, and it starts turning brownish, the oil is hot enough)

6. Once the oil is hot, put the little plantain cylinders in. 

7. Leave the plantains in for a minute or two, until they turn golden on one side, and then flip them to the other side. Leave another two minutes, and take out. They should look more golden than in the picture. You want to let their outer layer cook so that they don't fall apart on the next step.  

8. While the plantain is still hot, sandwich it in a napkin (see the picture) and use a bowl, cup, cutting board, or anything hard enough to push down on the cylinder. Since we didn't cook the plantains for too long, they should easily give in, although sometimes it takes a bit of strength.

9. They will look sort of like this. I was on a hurry, so mine are a bit undercooked at this point. Ideally, the cooked parts will be much more brown than the smashed parts around it, but this will work to show how you squeeze them. The thinner you squeeze them the crunchier they will be, but if you squeeze too much they may fall apart. You just have to find some balance. 

10. Put them back in the oil! this time for as many minutes as it takes to get them very toasty! 

11. Take them out and put them on a napkin to absorb the excess oil. At this point add salt.

12. Eat them while they are still warm! you can eat them with ketchup, mustard, mayo, cheese, lime, alone, or with whatever you want! 

(They should be much more toasty than this, but I was in a hurry. I'll make them again sometime and update the pictures. In the mean time, look here: "cooked enough!")