"Bannann Bouyi"
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An elderly woman approached me and asked, “How do you cook these things? I see them all the time but I have no idea what to do with them. Do they taste like a banana?” I kind of chuckled and told her of all the possibilities of a plantain. Heh heh, not really. I just told her the basics. But truthfully, plantains are in a world of their own with so many possibilities to prepare them.
My mom loves plantains so much she could practically eat them every day. I remember she used to call me from work and be like, “Machel, mete 2 grin bannann bouyi pou mwen pou-m jwen lem vin sot travay. (Machel, boil 2 plantains so I can have when I get home from work).” This was such a regular thing that I got sick of boiling plantains. It’s like when your mother tells you to clean your room and you don’t want to. One day I got the “bouyi bannann” call from her and I grudgingly went to put the stuff on the stove. I don’t remember what I was doing but I completely forgot about it until the smoke alarm reminded me…
Anyway, this basic method is one I learned from my mother. It was the only method I ever knew, and I thought this was the only way. That is until I met my mother-in-law. I was surprised because she boiled them with the skin fully removed. My mom always boiled them with the skin on. Aside from this, a boiled plantain can be accompanied with a variety of things. You can have it with a side of legume, fried eggs, meat with sauce, “sos pwa”, fish, and the list goes on.
Anyway, this basic method is one I learned from my mother. It was the only method I ever knew, and I thought this was the only way. That is until I met my mother-in-law. I was surprised because she boiled them with the skin fully removed. My mom always boiled them with the skin on. Aside from this, a boiled plantain can be accompanied with a variety of things. You can have it with a side of legume, fried eggs, meat with sauce, “sos pwa”, fish, and the list goes on.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. After rinsing off the plantain, cut off both ends. Then, run a knife from the top of the plantain to the bottom, lengthwise, to form a slit through the skin. As the plantain boils, it will allow the skin to peel off much easier.
*You can see from this image the slit that was made along the spine of this plantain. It doesn't matter what side of the plantain the slit is made, as long as the slit was deep enough to cut through the entire skin layer. *Based on your preference, you can cut the plantains in half along it's width, or leave it as is. I prefer cutting them in half. |
2. In a pot large enough to hold the amount of plantains you plan to boil, put in the plantains and add water to fully submerge them. Salt the water to taste (the same way you would salt pasta water when boiling pasta) and add 1 tbsp. of white vinegar. As a general rule of thumb, you can add 1 tbsp. of vinegar to every 2 – 4 plantains. More than 4 plantains definitely require more water and you can add additional vinegar as needed. The purpose of the vinegar is to keep the plantain from turning brown or darkening in color, as stated from my mother.
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3. Place lid on pot and bring up to a roaring boil on high heat. Boil the plantains for about 30 minutes. Another rule of thumb, the greener the plantain, the longer it takes to cook vs. if it has begun to ripen, then it may take a little less time.
*Notice during the cooking process how the skin splits and retracts from the slit that was made. |
4. Once it has cooked through (you can easily pierce it with a fork) turn off the heat. Peel off the skin. Using a butter knife, run it across the plantain on all sides to remove its first layer. Either do this when the plantain has become cool enough to handle, or place it under cold running water for a few seconds at a time while you scrape off the outer layer. Once the outer layer is removed, the plantains are ready to be enjoyed any way you’d like.
Each plantain serves 1 - 2
Here are just a few ways I enjoy my boiled plantains:
Do you have a different method of boiling plantains? What do you accompany your boiled plantains with?
Let me know and comment below!
Let me know and comment below!