Mofongo

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Mofongo
Mofongo
Mofongo
Origin
Place of origin Puerto Rico
Details
Course served Main course
Serving temperature Hot
Main ingredient(s) Plantains, Chicharrón, olive oil, and garlic
Variations Fufu, Tacacho, Cayeye, Mangú
Other information Popular throughout:
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic
Cuba
Florida
New York City

Mofongo (Spanish pronunciation: [moˈfoŋɡo]) is an Afro-Puerto Rican dish[1] with fried plantains as its main ingredient. Plantains are picked green and mashed with salt and water in a wooden pilón, a kitchen device also known as mortar and pestle.[2][3] The object is to produce a tight ball of mashed plantains that would absorb the attending condiments and have either pork cracklings (Chicharrón) or bits of bacon inside. Most dressings and mixtures include broth, garlic, and olive oil. It is traditionally served with fried meat and chicken broth soup.[4] Particular flavors result from variations that include vegetables, chicken, shrimp, beef, or octopus packed inside or around the plantain orb. And then, there is the Mofongo relleno. According to Yvonne Ortiz, "Tino's Restaurant on the west coast of Puerto Rico" began the trend.[5] Seafood, abundant in the region, found its way inside the plantain ball too, but with braised meat or more seafood poured over it. Nowadays, seafood lovers get the relleno stuffed also "with meat, or poultry."[6]

Origins

The Mofongo's roots leads to the western African Fufu, mixed with Spanish and Taíno influences. Fufu is made from various starchy vegetables and was introduced to the Caribbean by Africans in the Spanish New World colonies such as Cuba (fufu de plátano), Dominican Republic (mangú), and Puerto Rico (mofongo) this also most likely includes Colombia (cayeye), Amazon area and Peru (tacacho). Fufu consists of starchy root vegetables and plantains boiled then mashed until a dough-like consistency with water, butter, or milk.

The origin of mofongo can be traced back to Puerto Rico. Clara Gonzalez also known as Aunt Clara is a Dominican chef and author. In her cookbook (Tradition Dominican cookery) claims that mofongo has a special place in Dominicans hearts and stomachs but can be traced back to Puerto Rico. Ramona Hernandez, director of the Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York has been interviewed for many magazine on Dominican food and culture, she also says "mofongo is a dish borrowed from Puerto Rico that has much success with Dominicans". Mofongo first appeared in a cookbook called El Cocinero Puertorriqueño, Puerto Rico's first cookbook in 1849. Mofongo didn't appeare into Dominican cookbooks until 1960 when large amount of Dominicans started to migrate to Puerto Rico bring this recipe back with them along with other recipes. Mofongo in Puerto Rico unlike the Dominican Republic is everywhere not only on tables but built into the culture and identity. Its in their art, pop culture, music, television, books and has a strong history on the island.

Culture

Mofongo evolved from fufu using African method with Spanish and Taíno ingredients. Plantains are most often used, but other starchy roots native to the island used by Taínos can also be used. Puerto Ricans have an obsession with fried food know collectively as cuchifrito in New York City and Kiosks in Puerto Rico. The usage of Spanish ingredients such as pork, garlic, broth, and olive oil togther is heavily used in Puerto Rican cuisine. Staple dish such as arroz con gandules, alcapurria, pasteles, habichuelas, recaíto, arroz junto and many other dishes all include garlic, pork, olive oil, and broth. The method of frying comes from the African side and is heavily used more then any place in the Caribbean. Broth is often made with chicken and sofrito. Sofrito is made with Spanish and Taíno fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Method

A pilón to make Mofongo

bothPlantains and/or starchy roots are cut about half inch thick and deep fried. When done the plantains/roots are crisp outside but dense inside. The plantains/roots are then mashed in a wooden mortar and pestle called a pilón made with mahogany or guaiacum, both native hardwoods. Broth, olive oil, garlic, and pork cracklings are added and mashed as well. The consistency of mofongo is much more stiff than fufu. In Africa fufu is accompany with a bowl of soup. In Puerto Rico traditionally mofongo is accompany with chicken broth soup, but braised meat has become more popular.

Variations

It is also common in Puerto Rico to make mofongo with cassava (mofongo de yuca), taro and eddoe (mofongo de malanga y yautía), bread fruit (mofongo de pana), or a combination of cassava, ripe and green plantains (trifongo), ripe and unripe plantains (mofongo de amarillo).

Thanksgiving is an American holiday that has been adopted by Puerto Rico. Turkey is the main focus on every thanksgiving table and is traditional stuffed with bread. The traditional bread stuffing is replaced with mofongo de batata (plantain and sweet potato mofongo) in Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans homes outside the commonwealth.

Frito-Lay produces MoFongo Snax, a combined plantain chips, cassava chips and pork rinds into one bag.

Mofongo outside of Puerto Rico

"Puerto Rican matzoh ball"? From a US booklet promoting tourism, Puerto Rico, U.S.A.

In Cuba, Mofongo is called Machuquillo "por la acción de machucar el plátano en el mortero" (because of the task of mashing the plantains in the mortar). [7] The plantains are not fried but boiled. Machuquillo is often garnished with parsley and served with roasted pork or chicken.

During the 1960s many Dominicans who feared the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo fled to Puerto Rico and New York City. Mofongo caught on quickly with Dominicans living in Puerto Rico and New York City. Plantains are a Dominican staple and one of their most important crops. Mofongo is a flagship food for many Dominican restaurant adding there own flavors such as queso frito (fried cheese) to mofongo, mashed with no broth and sometimes olive oil is replace with butter. The plantains in making traditional mofongo are not always fried, they are sometimes boiled, shaped into a ball and stuffed with meat. Mofongo stuffed with shrimp (camaron in Spanish) is called camarofongo.

Mofongo is popular in New Jersey, Chicago, Florida, and anywhere large numbers of Puerto Ricans or Dominicans reside.[citation needed]

In popular culture

On an episode on I.C. NYC mofongo was featured. The two host of the show went around Corona Queens, New York city asking people "were did mofongo originated from". Most agreed that mofongo originated in Puerto Rico.

Food Network chef and host Guy Fieri featured mofongo from Benny's Seafood (in Miami, Florida) and from El Bohio (in San Antonio, Texas) on two separate episodes of his show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He liked the dish so much that he called it the "best fried thing I ever ate" on an episode of the show The Best Thing I Ever Ate.[8]

Mofongo is featured in a Season 2 episode of Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell as the opening dish challenge.

In The HBO Series How to Make it in America, Episode 5 of the second season is entitled "Mofongo". In it, the dish is prepared and served by one of the characters.

An episode of the Travel Channel's Man v. Food Nation, set in Harlem, showed the host, Adam Richman, visiting a Spanish Harlem restaurant called La Fonda Boricua, where they make a giant 12-plantain mofongo called the "Mofongaso".

Perhaps the oldest song mentioning mofongo is called Puertorriqueño by Joe Valle and César Concepción.

Singer Ismael Rivera with conductor Rafael Cortijo sung a plena song called Mofongo Pelao about mofongo.

Pun pun catalu is a merengue song by Celia Cruz with Willie Colón. The song is about how Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico share similarities. She mentions how mashed plantains with pork cracklings are called fufú in her Cuba, mangú in Quisqueya (Dominican Republic), and mofongo in Borinquen (Puerto Rico).

Tito Hernandez salsa song Mofongo go go.

Puerto Ricos oldest group El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico plays a salsa song called El Menu about popular food in Puerto Rico. Andy Montañez brings up mofongo, saying "Tráigame el mofongo" (bring the mofongo) over backup vocals as they sing "Y después que le pongan salsa" (and then put sauce).

Daniel Santos and Davilita, two jibaros, sing about native culture of Puerto Rico on a song called "Go Home Yankee". Mofongo is one of the native foods that Santos sings about in the song.

See also

References

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  8. Video: Guy Fieri on Mofongo on Food Network

External links