Ecuadorian food: Chifles (fried plantain chips)
I have seen chifles all over. And not just in Ecuador. We saw chifles in all of Central America, but especially in Costa Rica.
Today our Spanish teacher asked us if we would like to learn how to make chifles. Of course we said yes.
After all, who can turn down a plantain “potato” chip (even if just for the experience)?
Our first stop was to the little corner store to buy a green plantain (a special type of plantain, not just an unripe yellow plantain). This cost us $0.30.
Then we had to pick up some vegetable oil. A half liter cost us $0.75.
We had a great break from class, and learned how to make something quite delicious and traditional.
Chifles
- 1 green plantain
- .25 L of vegetable oil
- Salt
First, wash the plantain.
It has a kind of sap on the outside of the skin that will turn your hand black if you don’t wash it off. There’s also a glue”ish” substance, like with a banana, but more intense, between the plantain itself and the skin of the plantain (inside). It can leave your hands quite sticky if you’re not careful when peeling. (They call it the milk of the plantain in Spanish.)
Peel the plantain.
Cut two parallel scores down the length, and peel the space between. Continue until the whole thing has been peeled.
Set a frying pan on the stove and heat up the oil.
Slice the plantain as thinly as you can.
Fry in the oil until the plantain turns a bright yellow color marbled with brown.
Drain on paper towels.
Add salt to taste.
Eat and enjoy!
They may not be 100% healthy, but depending on the oil you use, chifles are better for you than any potato chips you can buy from any store.
How to Make Chifles (at YouTube)
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Seeing these pictures makes me so hungry. Once you have eaten these things you can never forget them!
No kidding, right? They’re simply delicious. We liked ours so much last night that we went and bought more plantains today to make some more tonight – with the best avocadoes in the world… we’ll make guacamole and chifles. Want to join us?
[...] in Ecuador, we serve ours with homemade chifles! [...]
[...] chifles” Despite the funny English in this question, I am happy to respond to this one. In Ecuador, Chifles are chips made from thinly sliced green plantain. They are very delicious. We like chifles better than potato chips (which we don’t really [...]
how to let the chip remain fresh and crips for the next few days
Yes… that is a good question. I know they do it in chip bags somehow… but even in chip bags, once they’re opened, the chips go soft pretty quickly. I would try putting them in a ziploc bag with a completely dry paper towel and see if that works?
Anyone else have suggestions for how to keep plantain chips fresh for days after you’ve made them?
Thank you so much, this was a good read. I was actually born in Madrid (I’m not telling what year though!) but moved around europe and finally settled in England when I was a teenager. I dont remember much of the few years I was in spain, but the smell of spanish food always seems to ring a bell in me or something. It’s weird how I dont remember anything except the smells,isn’t it! I actually found a internet site dedicated to spanish recipes, which gave me great delight and thought I really should to share. Anyway, thank you again. I’ll get my husband to add your cast to my rss thing…
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