A Taste of Culture

Traveling to different countries is an enriching experience that many of us are interested in; however the majority of us, myself included, cannot afford such a luxury. Many of us do not realize that we can travel around the world via food. By going out of one’s comfort zones and trying unique cultural dishes from various countries, one is able to both figuratively and literally taste other cultures and explore the world.

Interestingly though, even within different cultures one still has a variety of dishes to sample in order to begin to fathom what said culture is really like. It is simply not enough to taste a single Spanish dish and state that one has tasted the Spanish culture, for all Spanish countries have unique facets of the Spanish culture. For example, in Puerto Rico a cultural dish known as Mofongo is commonly found in various restaurants, yet the opposite holds true for restaurants in Spain.

Pilón used to mash plantains 

This uniquely Puerto-Rican entrée tastefully incorporates its African roots with a Caribbean flavor. Mofongo is a native dish made from plantains mashed in a pilón (an object similar to a mortar and pestle) that is commonly stuffed with meat or seafood inside, known as mofongo relleno. The mofongo is usually shaped as a bowl to hold the meat or seafood filling inside and will occasionally be served with a flavorful mayo-ketchup sauce. Gourmet mofongo will often have minced garlic, pieces of bacon, or even sweet bananas and cassava embedded throughout the mofongo, and it is commonly decorated with plantain chips.When prepared properly, mofongo tenderly breaks apart in your mouth and its savory flavor is nearly guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

shrimp stuffed mofongo with a plaintain chip 

To many of those born and raised in Puerto Rico, mofongo is seen as an important representative of the Boricua culture. It symbolizes something singularly Puerto-Rican and instills a sense of pride that many Puerto-Ricans share. Along with uniting the islanders on the basis of pride, it is also commonly known for being a tourist’s favorite dish. When one travels to Puerto Rico, it is simply impossible to avoid mofongo unless one decides to live under a rock for the time being. Although tourist occasionally feel initial hesitation towards the dish, as most people experience when trying new foods, mofongo generally tends to win over tourists and helps the immerse themselves into the latino cultures. It gives outsiders and inside view on Puerto-Rican culture and acts as the grounds for uniting populations.

Recipe: 

(retrieved from http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/mofongo.html and modified by myself)

INGREDIENTS

·                                 4 green plantains                   3 cloves garlic, chopped (1 tablespoon)

·                                 Salt (to taste)                         Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

·                                 4 cups beef stock                  Lime rinds, for serving

·                                 Oil, for frying                          Pork rinds, for serving

·                                 4 thick slices bacon              Cooked meat or seafood (optional)

·                                

DIRECTIONS

How to peel open green plantains

1. Peel plantains and slice them at an angle into 1-inch chunks. Fill a medium bowl with cold water and add a handful of salt. Put plantain chunks into water to soak and set aside. 

2. Pour the beef stock into a small saucepan and set over low heat, keep warm. Pour 1 inch of oil into a large skillet and heat to 350 degrees F or until gently smoking. 

3. In a separate pan or skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove from pan and drain fat. 

4. Once the oil is ready remove the plantain from the water, drain, and pat the chunks dry with paper towels. Gently add the plantain chunks to the frying oil by holding them against the side of the skillet and allowing them to slide into the oil. Cook the plantains until golden brown, about 5 minutes. 

Frying plantain slices

5. While still hot, add the cooked plantains to the mortar and pestle with the bacon, garlic, salt, and pepper and mash them together. Alternatively, a food processor can be used to do this instead.  Mash or process the mixture to the consistency of mashed potatoes or dough. (Note: small un-mashed chunks are okay and in some cases are desirable). Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. For normal mofongo, quickly mold the mixture into large rough balls.

Shaping it into a bowl

6. For Mofongo relleno, quickly shape the mixture into a bowl large enough to hold small pieces of meat inside. Usually the mortar is used to facilitate this by firmly pressing the mofongo around the bowl. 

7. Place the mofongo in bowls and add some heated broth or meat inside the mofongo if desired. Garnish the mofongo with lime rinds and pork rinds and serve. 

 

 

Cultural Variations

·                       Mofongo Relleno (Stuffed mofongo): Serve covered with a half a cup of stews like pollo guisado, or asopao de gandules.

·                       For a healthier and lower fat version of mofongo, boil the plantains in salted water instead of sautéing them. Keep in mind that this will alter the taste however.

·                       Add a little chicken or beef broth while mashing the plantains to make them a little moister. Mofongo is often served with some broth poured over it or in a small bowl set aside.

·                       Although most recipes call for soaking the plantains in salted water, soaking them in adobo seasoning is equally acceptable.

·                       If you can't find chicharrones at a nearby grocery store, substitute with crispy fried, finely chopped bacon.

·                       Use one ripened yellow plantain to substitute one of the green plaintains to add a sweet tang

Mofongo balls

Mofongo relleno with shrimp

              Although I have only made mofongo a few times, I believe it is safe to say that it is generally an easy dish to make and is overall tons of fun to prepare. Making mofongo is always a gratifying experience that leaves me proud of my creation and brings back many memories of my first few days in Puerto Rico when I was a young girl. I remember how my father always encouraged me to try new food in order to, as he would always say, expand my horizons; mofongo was no exception. However like any other little girl, I wrinkled my nose and stubbornly tried to avoid tasting this dish that was completely foreign to me. Eventually my father convinced me otherwise by bragging about how much my brothers loved the dish. Upon tasting mofongo, I recall how my eyes brightly lit up and how I smiled father and brothers while declaring how delicious it was.

                Before that day, I had experienced little exposure towards my culture and knew very little about what it meant to be Puerto Rican. Trying mofongo was one of my earliest memories that sparked my love for my culture. To put it simply, mofongo marked the beginning of my cultural growth and encouraged my strong Boricua pride, thus transforming me into a true Puerto Rican.

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