Ripe plantain cut into long diagonal slices and fried two minutes a side. Two ingredients, ten minutes, and the ripeness of the plantain decides everything.
Tajadas means long slices
The first instruction said to slice the plantains horizontally, which would give rounds, and rounds are not tajadas.
A tajada is a long slice cut lengthways down the plantain, usually on a slight diagonal so the pieces are longer still. That shape is the whole identity of the dish, and it is why the Spanish name distinguishes them from rodajas, which are rounds.
Thickness is up to you. What is not up to you is the direction.
Black skins
This is the only real requirement of the recipe and it is not written down anywhere in it.
The plantain has to be properly ripe: skin mostly black, flesh soft under a thumb. At that point the starch has converted to sugar, and the slices caramelise at the edges in the pan and taste sweet.
A yellow plantain is a different ingredient. It is starchy, it does not sweeten in the oil, and it comes out leathery. Green plantain is a third thing again and belongs in patacones.
Do not crowd the pan
The third instruction says to add the slices without crowding, and it is easy to ignore when you are trying to get through two plantains quickly.
Ripe plantain holds a lot of moisture. Every slice added lowers the temperature of the oil, and a pan packed full drops below frying temperature entirely. What happens then is steaming: the slices go pale, soft and greasy instead of golden.
Two batches of two minutes a side is four minutes. It is worth it.
Two ingredients
Plantains and oil. There is no salt in this recipe and no sugar, because a properly ripe plantain needs neither.
That also means there is nothing to hide behind. Whether these are good comes down entirely to the fruit and the temperature of the pan.
More plantain
- Cooked ripe plantains — with butter, no frying.
- Patacones — the green plantain version.
- Plantain canoes — baked and filled.
- Plantain balls with cheese — mashed and fried.
Tajadas FAQ
Lengthways, on the diagonal, into long slices. That is what makes them tajadas. Cut across into rounds they fry differently and are usually called something else.
Skin mostly black and the flesh soft enough to give under a thumb. That is when the starch has turned to sugar. A yellow plantain stays starchy and leathery no matter how long you fry it.
Almost always a crowded pan. Plantain releases moisture, and too many slices at once drop the oil temperature so they steam instead of frying. Two batches take four minutes instead of two.
Both work and they are different. Thicker slices stay soft and sweet in the middle; thin ones crisp all the way through and are closer to a chip.
The recipe fries them, and the caramelised edges come from contact with hot oil. Baked, they dry rather than brown.
Beans, rice, grilled meat, or as part of a bandeja paisa. They are a side dish that turns up beside almost anything in Colombia.
📖 Recipe
Tajadas de Plátano Maduro (Fried Ripe Plantain Slices)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 2 ripe plantains (peeled, skins mostly black)
- Enough oil for frying
Notas
Instructions
- Slice the plantains lengthways on the diagonal, as thick or thin as you like. Long slices are what makes them tajadas; cut across into rounds they are something else.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat before the slices go in.
- Add the slices without crowding the pan and fry them for two minutes a side, until golden.
- Lift them out onto paper towels to drain.
- Serve them hot.
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