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Food Challenge #1: Moe’s Mofongo
by
Pestle Mortar
Calificación: 4.0
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%20anything%20mashed%20together%20with%20bacon%20will%20happily%20become%20a%20part%20of%20my%20life,%20but%20(2)%20what%20are%20pork%20cracklings?%20Are%20they%20pork%20rinds%20like%20the%20ones%20they%20sell%20at%20convenience%20stores?%20%20Or%20was%20I%20going%20to%20be%20required%20to%20make%20my%20own%20and%20seriously,%20who%20does%20that%20and%20how?%20%20And%20(3):%20despite%20the%20title%20of%20this%20blog,%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20actually%20own%20a%20pestle%20and%20mortar,%20which%20in%20every%20recipe%20I%20read%20for%20mofongo%20said%20I%20must%20have%E2%80%94a%20food%20processor%20would%20not%20do%20(which%20is%20fine,%20because%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20have%20one%20of%20those%20either).%20%20So%20this%20little%20recipe%20became%20a%20challenge,%20because%20I%E2%80%99d%20never%20tasted%20what%20I%20was%20about%20to%20make%20so%20I%E2%80%99d%20never%20know%20if%20I%20got%20it%20right,%20I%20didn%E2%80%99t%20know%20what%20one%20of%20the%20main%20ingredients%20was%20exactly%20and%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20own%20one%20of%20the%20appliances%20crucial%20to%20the%20recipe%20(actually,%20two%20appliances,%20because%20I%20discovered%20I%20should%20also%20have%20a%20deep%20fryer).%20%20Oh,%20ok%E2%80%A6%20Let%E2%80%99s%20start%20cooking!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENeedless%20to%20say,%20I%20didn%E2%80%99t%20have%20a%20recipe%20for%20this.%20%20I%20thought%20I%E2%80%99d%20come%20upon%20one%20in%20Bittman%E2%80%99s%20The%20Best%20Recipes%20in%20the%20World.%20%20The%20recipe%20for%20fufu%20from%20Ghana%20sounded%20similar,%20but%20some%20searching%20on%20the%20interwebs%20led%20me%20to%20believe%20that%20these%20are%20two%20completely%20different%20foods%20with%20different%20textures%20and%20eaten%20in%20totally%20different%20ways.%20%20%20My%20main%20problem%20was%20that%20I%20had%20no%20idea%20what%20the%20consistency%20of%20mofongo%20was%20supposed%20to%20be.%20%20I%20could%20guess%20what%20plantain,%20garlic%20and%20pork%20would%20taste%20like%20together,%20but%20I%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20sure%20if%20I%20was%20supposed%20to%20have%20something%20creamy%20or%20crispy,%20dense%20or%20light%20at%20the%20end.%20%20I%20thought%20all%20of%20the%20frying%20would%20leave%20me%20with%20crispy%20and%20dense,%20but%20then%20I%20discovered%20that%20the%20end%20result%20needed%20to%20be%20rolled%20into%20a%20ball%20that%20could%20be%20added%20to%20soup%20or%20eaten%20with%20a%20sauce,%20so%20how%20was%20crispy%20going%20to%20work?%20%20Finally,%20one%20recipe%20said%20it%20should%20have%20the%20consistency%20of%20mashed%20(not%20whipped)%20potatoes.%20%20I%20decided%20to%20go%20with%20that%20and%20hope%20for%20the%20best.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20made%20the%20decision%20that%20recipe%20integrity%20be%20damned,%20I%20was%20not%20going%20to%20schlep%20home%20a%20pestle%20and%20mortar%20and%20deep%20fryer%20for%20this%20one%20dish.%20%20So%20I%20decided%20to%20use%20my%20blender%20set%20to%20chop%20and%20a%20deep%20bottomed%20skillet%20for%20frying.%20%20Luckily%20I%20have%20a%20candy/deep%20fryer%20thermometer,%20so%20I%20could%20test%20the%20temperature%20of%20the%20oil.%20%20I%20also%20decided%20to%20go%20with%20the%20bacon%20rather%20than%20trying%20to%20figure%20out%20the%20pork%20crackling%20sitch,%20because%20it%20was%20Sunday%20and%20I%20wanted%20bacon%20for%20breakfast%20anyway%E2%80%A6%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EGreen%20Plantain%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAll%20of%20the%20recipes%20called%20for%20green%20plantain,%20which%20was%20readily%20available%20at%20the%20local%20grocery%20store,%20so%20yeah!%20for%20one%20easy%20part%20of%20the%20recipe%20(an%20aside%20here:%20plantain%20is%20not%20pronounced%20plan-tane,%20but%20plan-tin.%20%20Trust%20me%20on%20this%20[but%20if%20you%20don%E2%80%99t%20believe%20me%20or%20my%20Caribbean%20family,%20dictionary.com%20will%20say%20it%20for%20you].%20%20If%20I%20can%20stop%20one%20person%20from%20mispronouncing%20this%20word%20again%20I%20will%20feel%20my%20work%20in%20the%20food%20blog%20world%20is%20done).%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo%20the%20recipe.%20Most%20of%20the%20ones%20I%20found%20online%20were%20the%20same%20except%20for%20one%20thing,%20which%20I%20learned%20late%20Sunday%20afternoon%20is%20kind%20of%20a%20crucial%20difference%20between%20the%20recipe%20working%20and%20failing%20miserably.%20%20The%20recipe%20I%20went%20with%20the%20first%20time%20around%E2%80%94from%20El%20Boricua,%20a%20Puerto%20Rican%20newsletter%20(http://www.elboricua.com/mofongo.html)%20%E2%80%93said%20that%20I%20needed%20to%20make%20tostones%20first%20and%20then%20use%20them%20in%20my%20mofongo.%20%20Tostones%20are%20basically%20twice-fried%20plantains%20(you%20fry%20the%20plantain,%20then%20press%20them%20down%20so%20they%20spread%20a%20bit%20and%20then%20fry%20them%20again).%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETostones%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhile%20really%20tasty%20and%20happy,%20I%20couldn%E2%80%99t%20get%20this%20version%20to%20stay%20in%20a%20ball%20if%20my%20culinary%20life%20depended%20on%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EExtra%20Crispy%20Mofongo%20Before%20It%20Fell%20Apart...%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20too%20crispy%20and%20there%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20nearly%20enough%20moisture%20to%20hold%20it%20together.%20%20I%20thought%20about%20adding%20some%20chicken%20broth,%20but%20that%20would%20have%20involved%20actually%20having%20chicken%20broth,%20so,%20um,%20yeah%E2%80%A6.%20I%20also%20thought%20that%20adding%20broth%20would%20make%20it%20soggy%20rather%20than%20making%20it%20moist.%20%20There%E2%80%99s%20no%20way%20that%20this%20version%20would%20hold%20up%20in%20a%20soup%20or%20sauce%20without%20falling%20apart,%20but%20I%20could%20see%20substituting%20it%20for%20breadcrumbs%20on%20chicken%20or%20fish%20or%20a%20roast.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20decided%20to%20do%20the%20recipe%20again,%20but%20skipped%20the%20second%20frying%20of%20the%20plantains%20and%20that%20led%20me%20to%20as%20close%20to%20a%20mofongo%20as%20I%20think%20I%E2%80%99ll%20get%20until%20I%20taste%20a%20professional%20version%20and%20try%20it%20again.%20%20It%20was%20much%20easier%20the%20second%20time%20around,%20and%20the%20flavors%20and%20texture%20seemed%20right.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIs%20this%20the%20real%20deal?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20got%20the%20mashed%20potato%20consistency%20after%20about%2010%20seconds%20in%20the%20blender%20and%20was%20able%20to%20roll%20it%20into%20balls%20with%20no%20problem.%20%20I%20didn%E2%80%99t%20try%20dropping%20them%20into%20soup%20to%20see%20how%20they%E2%80%99d%20hold%20up,%20but%20I%20think%20it%E2%80%99d%20work.%20%20I%20leave%20it%20up%20to%20Moe%20to%20test%20and%20let%20me%20know%20if%20I%E2%80%99m%20even%20close%E2%80%A6%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMofongo%20(compilation%20of%20recipes)%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFry%20plantain%20over%20medium%20heat%20until%20golden,%20but%20still%20soft%20in%20the%20middle%20[about%205-6%20minutes.%20I%20flipped%20them%20over%20a%20few%20times].%20%20Remove%20from%20oil%20and%20drain%20on%20a%20paper%20towel%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhile%20still%20warm,%20add%20the%20plantain,%20bacon%20and%20garlic%20to%20blender%20and%20blend%20(on%20chop)%20for%205-10%20seconds.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EScoop%20out%20into%20bowl,%20taste%20for%20seasoning.%20%20Form%20meatball%20size%20balls%20and%20serve%20immediately%20as%20a%20side%20dish%20or%20in%20soup.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}