I have a bunch of moko, I guess it is time for fry moko. I have a question for you. What is Moko? Is it a plantain or is it a banana? ……Well, according to this document by Dr. Ramcharan, it is a cooking banana i.e. you cannot eat it ripe from the bunch like an ordinary ripe banana. I've always heard my mother say
“Moko is moko, an' plantain is plantain. Jus' doh call moko, plantain” .
Based on this information she may have had a point and now I know why. Of course, she went on to talk about French plantain and Horse plantain, but that I will leave for a next time.
Fry Moko For Breakfast
Anyway, for breakfast I decided to fry some Moko I had that was ripe to the point of getting the black spots (perfect time to fry!). It was tasty and I did not even bother to eat it with bake as we usually do. So here's a simple recipe that anyone can do and enjoy. Just follow the instructions and you'll be enjoying some fry moko, like me, this morning. Here's Fry Moko.
Fry Moko Recipe
FRY MOKO
Ingredients:
4 moko
coconut oil for frying
Method:
Peel and slice the Moko.
Heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the sliced Moko gently into the hot oil.
Fry on both sides until brown.
Note: You could fry it golden brown if you like, but I like mine brown: almost burnt. It seems that almost burning it kicks up natural sugars a notch or two. I like that!
Fry Moko Tips:
- It is best to fry the moko when it is just about ripe.
- Make sure the oil is hot enough before you add the moko, or it could stick.
- You can roll the moko in a bit of flour before you fry it.
- You can serve it with one or all of the following: eggs, bacon, and slices of bread,
A simple breakfast that's totally natural and I may also say perfect for those on a gluten free/casein free diet or for the paleo diet fans (any modern cavemen out there?). Of course
the same process can be done for plantains as well but remember “Moko is moko, an' plantain is plantain. Jus' doh call moko, plantain”.
Ah gone! 😀
Enjoy your fry moko.
Fry Moko
Ingredients
- 4 moko
- Coconut oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel and slice the Moko. Heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the sliced Moko gently into the hot oil. Fry on both sides until brown. Drain on paper towels.
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This moko looks like what is called “mafufo” here and usually used while still green and boiled, fried, or made into patacon (fried once, flattened, soaked in spiced water, fried again).
We have some trees of that on a farm 😀
Foehre that patacon sounds interesting do you have a recipe for it?
I could post one on the vega’n vegetarian blog one of these days.
But I can also explain it to you a bit here:
Take plantains or green mafufo/moko, depending on the size you can leave it whole (just peel it) or cut it into thick pieces. Then you deepfry them but just for a bit, so they get soft enough for you to flatten them. Take them out of the oil, put them on a cutting-board and flatten them (I use a wooden spatula for that).
Just press the spatula on top of the plantain piece (having it lying flat side down on the board) so you get a 1/2 – 1cm thick semicircular thing. then take this flattened pieces and immerse them in a deep plate or bowl that contains water, plenty of salt and optionally chopped garlic, pepper, chili or other spices. Make it very spicy to make sure the plantains absorb enough flavor. Then take the slices out of the water again (just dip them for a bit, if you leave them too long they will fall apart) and then put them again to the hot oil. The oil will probably spit violently because of the water 🙂
When they are nice golden and crunchy, they are ready.
It also tastes yummy, when the plantains are already semi-yellow, but they shouldn’t be too ripe.
That is a really common snack/meal here, eaten with cheese, sour cream or at fast food stands with lots of sauces, cheese, meat etc.
Moko is simply a variety of plantain. Indeed in Asia its often the more popular type of plantain eaten that the long type we have in the Caribbean. than the I always liked fried moko though for some reason many people in the caribbean scorn the fruit.