Not sure what to call this one… It’s not a stew, it’s not a curry… although it could be another curryless curry, maybe.
But that’s not quite it.
Help me out here please? How do I call this? It’s basically chicken, with plantain, raisins and coconut, in a creamy, yet light sauce, served over brown basmati rice.
Well, whatever its name may be, I guess in the end, all that really counts is that it was pretty good… especially since this was my first time experimenting with plantain.
This is an ingredient that I’d been curious about for a little while now and had been wanting to try. Having never eaten plantain, I just had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. In fact, I didn’t even know what it tasted like. I figured it had to be somewhat close to what a banana tastes like.
Well, that is only partially true. When they are really, really ripe, like when their skin is almost, if not entirely black, they do have a taste that is fairly sweet and close to that of a banana, only their texture is a tad firmer. But when they are still green, and even yellow, their flavor is pretty neutral, and their texture is a lot closer to that of a starchy potato.
I decided to buy 2 and use half of each. One was pretty ripe, as in yellow with a few black spots, and one that was just getting there as in just starting to turn yellow. I have to say that I preferred the riper fruit. I liked the fact that it added a little bit of sweet banana taste to the dish. Plus, I think the less ripe variety has to cook longer, too.
One more thing, plantain is very hard to peel when not ripe. It helps to cut the ends and score the peel with a knife along the lenght of the fruit before to remove it.
I really can’t wait to experiment some more with this interesting fruit. All I need is an inspiration…
Got any ideas for me?
INGREDIENTS
(serves 2)
- 2 small chicken breasts (about 300g) cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 plantain, cut into 1″ chunks
- 2 tbsp fresh coconut shavings
- 3 tbsp raisins
Sauce
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
- Pinch cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
- Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add pieces of chicken and cook until a nice golden brown crust forms, about 2-3 minutes. Flip the pieces over and again, cook until brown.
- Add the onions and plantain and continue cooking until the onions become translucent and the plaintain becomes nice and brown, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl or food processor until smooth and well combined.
- Add raisins, coconut and sauce to the chicken and onions and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with brown rice.
This dish looks great, I want to try it! I love plantains- I ate them almost every day when I was in Costa Rica last summer. The locals would make use of the very ripe ones by cutting them diagonally into long pieces and sauteing them until tender. The unripe ones, on the other hand, were used to make “patacones” (which are similar to a french fry- deep fried, delicious, but not so healthy). Here is a link to a recipe that I’ve made since I’ve been back:
http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/06/30/patacones-or-tostones/
I’m sure one of us could come up with a healthier way to make these! (Although I do recommend trying them). I bet they would be delicious roasted in the oven!
Oooooh! I want healthified “patacones”. They look delicious!
I will definitely try roasting them in the oven, maybe with a tiny little bit of coconut oil, a dash of cinnamon and a tiny little splash of maple syrup? Oh yum… I want to run to my kitchen right now! Wait… I need to get some plantain first! But this will be happening real soon, I can guarantee! Thank you so much for the inspiration! 
This recipe sounds delicious! It’s got some southeast asian/caribbean flavors but I’m not sure what you’d call it either. As long as it tastes good
Plantains are versatile…you can definitely cook them any way you like, steamed or fried, sweet or savory. For a sweet treat, you can use plantains in place of my ‘banana turon’, a common street food dessert in the Philippines – http://www.wishfulchef.com/2011/09/filipino-turon-banana-rolls/.
Thanks Barb! Those Banana Turons sure look decadent! I wish there was an easy way to healthify them…but I don’t think they would turn out half as good, unfortunately.
I can’t believe that I used to not really like bananas. I now eat them every day and crave them badly if I go more than a couple of days without eating one.
I eat bananas practically everyday too! Thanks about the Turons. I usually avoid frying food when I cook but I tried to healthify them by using coconut oil. It’s still fried but a little healthier, haha.
when my husband was in Africa, he ate (and loved!) fried plantains. Won’t touch a banana stateside, though. I know they’re slightly different, but because our plantains that are sold here are a dim reflection of the ones he ate in Africa, I don’t know just how different.
I bet they must taste very different when picked ripe right off the tree. Oh, how I’d love to go to Africa someday. Such a beautiful place! And I’d eat tons of plantain!
Yum city. Your recipes and your blog are constantly making me hungry. Just sayin!
Have a giveaway down at my blog today if you’re interested!
Thanks Charissa! It’s always a pleasure
Sure I’m interested. I’m heading over right now!!!
I am now digging deep into my brain to try and remember if I’ve ever eaten plantains anywhere.. Not sure I have but this dish certainly looks very good. I am convinced that they are not easy to get here but I am gonna have a lookout for them.
Oh, quite the contrary, Simone. I find plantain is AS readily available as bananas are. So I guess there are people out there who know what to do with them and use them regularly. Either that or plantain is extremely cheap to import and they don’t mind wasting… You can usually find them right next to the bananas. They’re a tad more expensive, though, but they are not totally out of price. Here, they go for about $1.50 a pound.
This looks great! It reminds me of a wrap I made one time with plantains, chicken, spinach and brie. Yummy- but probably not as healthy as your version!
My all-time favorite way to eat plantains though is to slice them, smush with your thumb a bit, sprinkle with kosher salt and ground pepper, and bake [or broil] in the oven until browned. Delicious!
OMG YUMMY! Plantain in a wrap. I love the idea! And I will definitely have to try baking them. I’m a huge fan of banana chips but don’t eat them anymore ever since I’ve learned that they are fried. I’m pretty sure one can make something similar with plantain, a baking sheet and an oven.
I would call this Plantation Chicken
The “unripe” plantains are great either fried, roasted or boiled with garlic, extra virgin olive oil and some salt. The “ripe” ones go well with some hot sauce and rice and beans. Yum, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it
I love the sounds of this combination you came up with (although I would have to try it without the chicken!)
If you still want more ideas for plantains, I made these black bean and plantain patties recently and absolutely loved them – http://www.veggiebyseason.com/2010/08/black-bean-and-plantain-croquettes.html
I also think they go great with avocados…my Superbowl snack last year was fried plantain chips with guacamole!
Wow, you patties look really good, Genevieve. I love the idea! I will keep that recipe in mind. Bet they would make an excellent hamburger. Which just got me thinking… I wonder how grilled plantain would turn out. Do you think your patties would be firm enough to be grilled on the BBQ? I’m getting ideas here… your patties with grilled plantain and diced avocado. YUM.
Thanks for inspiring me!
I actually made them in a very similar way as what you described! I made mini patties and ate them on slider buns, topped with an avocado sauce (avocado hummus mixed with Greek yogurt). I didn’t post my version on my own blog, because I pretty much just followed the original recipe for the patties. I cooked them in a skillet like the recipe suggested, and they were a bit delicate, so I’m not sure how easy it would be to cook them on a BBQ…I like the sounds of grilled plantain though!
I definitely have to try them before the BBQ gets stored for winter! Mental note so taken!
Plaintains are awesome!!! I love sauteeing the brown ripe ones in a little coconut oil and sprinkling them with shredded coconut and sea salt – YUMMY! This dish looks so comforting and a perfect balance of sweet and savory – drooling on the keyboard and it’s not even lunchtime yet…
I know you can make a plaintain mash but I haven’t tried it : ) you just inspired me to buy some soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Plantain mash… I will have to try that. I wouldn’t see why not. I guess one would have to boil the plantain, pretty much like you would a potato? I will have to research that one. It could be a great alternative to mashed potatoes.
And I love the ideas of sauteed plantain with shredded coconut. Sounds yummy. I get the feeling plantain will be on the menu next week!
Now, are you going to need keyboard wipes as well as screen wipes?
Wow, this looks delicious. I love ripe plantains. This is going on my list of things to try. I’m trying to get back to the chocolate raspberry tart, but I’ve already been side tracked twice by other great looking recipes. Thanks! My kids might actually like your type of healthy cooking.
Thanks Kimberly. I’m pretty sure you could find one or two recipes that would have them fooled, or that they would enjoy knowing full well that it’s good for them. Let me know if you try any of them!
Plantains (unripe) are used extensively in S. America in soups and beans. In Colombia there is a very popular chicken soup called San Cocho. It uses green plantains the way we use a potato with much the same effect but a new taste.
YUM! San Cocho looks good. I think I’ll have to give that a try. Guess I’ll have to put plantain on my list of things to buy soon! Thanks for that!
This was yummy even though I almost ruined my rice because I got distracted with emails about my presale tomorrow! I love plantains. Before I started cooking for myself I used to buy the Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake…maybe you could replicate (or improve) that dish if you’re taking requests – haha!!
Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake? I’m not familiar with it at all! I guess I’ll have to look it up, sounds pretty good. Hey, I’m always up for a good challenge, you know. I’m not against the idea of trying to recreate it at all. I’ll definitely check it out!
I want to make this but have some raisin-haters…any idea of a veggie that would be good added to this if the raisins were left out?
I guess you could just leave the raisins out altogether… or replace with another kind of dried fruit, such as cranberries, or apricots. I’m thinking nuts would also work brilliantly, I’m thinking pistachio or hazelnuts. If you really want to use a vegetable, I would probably opt for red bell peppers or finely chopped celery.
Now you got me wanting to eat plantain… I think I’ll buy some this weekend!