I have read with a smile on my face the many stories told by our readers that have found our sites useful when introducing their foreign spouses to Dominican food or that want to learn about Dominican cooking to the delight of their Dominican spouses. I must confess now that our website has helped me as much as it has helped our readers.
When my now-husband first arrived in the Dominican Republic he didn’t immediately become a fan of Dominican food. The stereotypical image of what Dominican food is (or isn’t) didn’t help much: he thought Dominican food was all about rice and beans. Cooking at home became a tour de force between my ability to cook dishes that were better known throughout the world and my regular craving for Dominican food.
Now my husband has taken it on himself to become an expert on Dominican food, after all, been Aunt Clara’s husband bears some responsibilities, I suppose. Little by little he has learned to appreciate our cuisine and has even shown an interest in how to prepare some of our dishes.
I do not think that he will ever get to like mondongo, but hey, I don’t eat meat so I can live with that. Chances are he will never understand our love forhabichuelas con dulce or agree to even try carne de chivo, but I find pleasure in the fact that he counts some of our dishes as his favorite food, after all, it means that our site has won another another fan of Dominican food.
Every time we receive a letter thanking us for our site I remember that I should be thanking our readers too. Your letters and constant support has made this job easy and enjoyable for us, I suppose that I should also thank our readers because in a way you are responsible for our marital bliss.
If you also have a reluctant spouse, do not despair, be patient, eventually they all fall. You would not believe the powers of a hot asopao in a rainy day. I just hope that when the groom said “I do” free tostones wasn’t the only thing he had in mind.
Tostones is, without doubt, Dominican's favorite side dish and it feels just as home at a street food stand or at the family table.
Ingredients
- 2 unripe plantains
- 1/2 cup of oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Peel the plantains and cut into 1 inch thick slices.
- In a deep frying pan heat the oil and fry the plantains till golden.
- Flatten the plantains using a tostonera to about a third of an inch thick.
- Fry the plantains again until golden yellow on both sides.
- Serve immediately.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican recipes, recipes inspired by Dominican flavors, as well as the chronicles of the Aunties' adventures in the kitchen and outside.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
this is how i make my fried plantains. a dominican friend taught me how! but he puts hot sauce in his sauce…. gives them a little kick!
I made these just this morning! I do it pretty much like this, but I use a cutting board to flatten them instead.
Guess you had to grow up with it as a side dish. I bought some frozen and deep fried them. I don’t like them green, but I’m a fan of ripe plantains sweet dish. The taste is bland, a Columbian friends wife made them once when I was younger guess I forgot the taste.
How many frozen dishes have you bought that turned out as good as the original? Try making yours from scratch before you make your mind.
THANK YOU AUNT CLARA FOR THIS RECIPE! AS A WEST AFRICAN(SENEGAL) I CAN TOTALLY RELATE TO YOUR FOOD AND METHODS OF COOKING. I MADE THIS AS THE SIDE DISH OF FRIED WHOLE TILAPIA THAT WAS SEASONED WITH SALT, BLACK PEPPER AND A BIT OF FLOUR FOR THE CRUNCH. IT WAS DELISH! MY LARGE FAMILY LOVE IT LOL!
I was born and grew up in Puerto Rico. My family for over 10 generations are Puerto Ricans and I have never heard the name of “patacon” for “tostones” anywhere in the island. “Patacones” (a very uncommon dish) is the name for “tostones” made from green bananas as opposed to “tostones” made from plantains, which is a very common and popular dish.
Delicious. I make them like this but I use the back of a glass to flatten mine