- Green plantains, fried then mashed
- Garlic, olive oil, chicharrón
- Stuffings: shrimp al ajillo, chicken, octopus, beef
Mofongo
Mofongo, Puerto Rico's mashed plantain dome. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Mofongo is Puerto Rico's signature dish: green plantains fried, then mashed in a wooden pilón with garlic, olive oil and chicharrón (crisp pork skin), and moulded into a dome. It arrives plain or relleno: stuffed with shrimp, chicken, octopus or beef in criollo sauce.
The technique is African, via the fufu tradition; the name likely comes from the Kikongo mofongo. A proper mofongo is made to order: listen for the pilón pounding from the kitchen.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- Criollo restaurants in Old San Juan.
- The Guavate pork highway (Ruta del Lechón) for the full lechón-and-mofongo plate.
- La Placita de Santurce's late-night counters.