Tajadas are slices of plantains that are fried. They are served usually as a side, and they are also used to make other dishes like plantain desserts. They are also a part of the traditional Venezuelan dish, the “Pabellón Criollo”.
Ripe | Yellow Plantain
Ingredients
- 1 Ripe/yellow plantain
- 1 Cup vegetable oil – or as needed (for frying)
- Paper towels
Preparation
1. Pour the vegetable oil in a large enough pan and turn on the stove to medium heat, so the oil starts heating up while you prepare the plantains.
2. Cut the two ends of the plantain and make an incision with a knife along the side.
Cut Ends
3. Remove the skin.
Remove The Skin and Cut In Half
4. Cut the plantain in half. You can make a straight/down the middle kind of cut, like I did here, or a slanted cut to have more oval like tajadas instead of what I did, which are more rectangular Tajadas. If you cut them in the slanted way, they look better, but the flavor is the same. Check out the slanted ones here (text is in Spanish, though).
5. Now make about 4 slices out of each side of the plantain by slicing them sideways, to form slices of about 0.25 – 0.75 inches. Don’t make them thicker than that.
Make Slices
6. Lay the plantains on the frying pan and begin to fry them until they are golden brown, turning them if necessary, to fry both sides equally. It took me about 2 minutes per side.
Fry the Plantain Slices
7. Remove the tajadas from the pan one by one and lay on top of a paper towel to remove the excess oil.
Remove Excess Oil
8. Serve and enjoy!
Venezuelan Tajadas
*One plantain makes about 8 Tajadas (depending on how thick you slice them). This is a good serving for just 2 people.
¡Buen Provecho!
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