Chef Lupita
Arroz Blanco Tabasqueno con Platano
Tabasco's everyday white rice, cooked loose and clean with onion and garlic, then crowned with sweet fried ripe plantain from the lowland kitchen.
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Plátanos Machos Fritos Tabasqueños
Created by
Tabasco's ripe plantain side, sliced thick and fried in manteca de cerdo until the edges caramelize dark, made to sit beside frijol negro, rice, and any salty guisado from the lowlands.
Side Dishes
Mexican
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Quick Meal
10 min
Active Time
12 min cook•22 min total
Yield4 servings
Tabasco, the humid lowland state between the Gulf, the Grijalva, and the Usumacinta, knows what to do with ripe plantain. This is Chontal country, cacao country, banana country. Plátano macho grows where the air is heavy and the soil is generous, and a Tabasco kitchen uses it the way another state uses squash or corn: often, plainly, without asking permission.
These plátanos machos fritos are not dessert. They are the sweet counterweight on the table, the thing that calms frijol negro cooked with epazote, rice, pejelagarto, chirmol, or a salty pork guisado. The plantain must be ripe, yellow with black patches, soft enough to yield when you press it. Green plantain is for another dish. Here you need sugar in the fruit, because the pan only reveals what the market already gave you.
Use manteca de cerdo. A little, not a bucket. The slices fry until the edges go deep brown and the centers stay tender. The women I watched in Villahermosa and Nacajuca did not fuss with this dish. They cut on the bias, fried in a heavy pan, drained on paper or a woven basket, and sent the plate to the table while the beans were still glossy. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo. Simple-looking food still has rules.
If you want to put chile amashito on the table with lime and salt, good. That is Tabasco speaking. But do not turn the plantains into a pile of toppings. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and this one belongs to the lowland kitchen.
Plantains arrived in Mexico through Spanish colonial trade routes after moving from Southeast Asia to Africa and then into the Caribbean and the Gulf coast. In Tabasco, the tropical river plain made plantain a practical staple, especially in Chontal Maya communities where it joined cacao, achiote, corn, freshwater fish, and herbs like chipilin and epazote. Fried ripe plantain became a household side across the Gulf and southeast, but in Tabasco it is especially tied to black beans, rice, and salty guisados that need a sweet balance on the plate.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe plátanos machos
Quantity
3 large
yellow with black patches, peeled and sliced on a bias into 1/2-inch pieces
manteca de cerdo
Quantity
3 tablespoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
fresh chile amashito (optional)
Quantity
1
finely chopped, for serving
lime (optional)
Quantity
1
cut into halves, for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe plátanos machosyellow with black patches, peeled and sliced on a bias into 1/2-inch pieces | 3 large |
| manteca de cerdo | 3 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| fresh chile amashito (optional)finely chopped, for serving | 1 |
| lime (optional)cut into halves, for serving | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 10-inch cast iron skillet or clay cazuela
- •Thin metal spatula
- •Paper-lined plate or woven draining basket
Instructions
- 1
Choose the plantains
Use plátanos machos that are yellow with black patches and feel slightly soft under your thumb. Not rotten. Ripe. If they are mostly green, wait two or three days. The sweetness has to be inside the fruit before it touches the pan. No me vengas con atajos.
- 2
Peel and slice
Cut off both ends of each plantain. Make one long slit through the peel, then pull the peel away with your fingers. Slice the plantains on a bias into 1/2-inch pieces. The diagonal cut gives you more surface against the pan, which means better caramelized edges.
- 3
Heat the lard
Set a heavy skillet or clay cazuela over medium heat and add the manteca de cerdo. Let it melt until it shimmers and moves easily across the pan. Do not let it smoke. You want steady heat, not anger. La manteca es el sabor, but burned fat tastes tired.
- 4
Fry in batches
Lay the plantain slices in one layer with space between them. They should sizzle when they touch the fat. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning once, until the edges are dark brown and the centers turn deep gold. Crowding the pan makes them soften and stick. Work in batches if your pan is small.
- 5
Salt and serve
Transfer the fried plantains to a paper-lined plate or a woven basket and sprinkle lightly with salt while they are still glossy. Serve warm beside frijol negro with epazote, rice, or a salty Tabasco guisado. If you put chile amashito and lime on the table, let each person add it. The plantain itself needs no costume.
Chef Tips
- •Buy plantains from a market stall that sells them at different stages of ripeness. The señoras at the mercado will know which ones are ready for frying today and which ones need two days on the counter. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
- •A ripe plantain should look almost too far gone to a supermarket shopper. Yellow with black patches is correct. Fully black and leaking is past its best for neat slices, though you can still mash it for other dishes.
- •Use manteca de cerdo if you want the Tabasco table flavor. Neutral oil will fry the plantain, yes, but it will not give the same savory edge against the sweetness. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
- •Chile amashito belongs to Tabasco's table. It is tiny, sharp, and green or red depending on ripeness. Serve it on the side with lime and salt, not buried over the plantains like decoration.
Advance Preparation
- •Do not slice the plantains ahead. Once peeled, they darken and soften quickly.
- •Fried plantains are best the moment they leave the pan. If needed, hold them on a tray in a low oven for up to 15 minutes, but they will lose some edge.
- •Leftovers can be reheated on a dry comal over medium heat until the surfaces gloss again and the edges firm up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
285 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
9 mg
Sodium
320 mg
Total Carbohydrates
48 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
23 g
Protein
2 g
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