This is the very first breakfast that Chef Lij made. He was 5 years old and stood on a stool under the supervision of his mother. Well… he made the plaintains, not the egg and as they say, the rest is history. Frying plantains is often the very first dish that most of us Jamaicans can recall making as children. It was simple and delicious enough to encourage us to want to try. While Jamaican breakfasts are often heavy, plantains provided a nice light alternative for children in the morning especially those of us who were picky eaters like myself. What is there not to like? They were sweet and soft and crispy and were the perfect complement to the saltiness of a fried egg and if you are feeling rather ravenous, a slice of Jamaican Harddough Bread.
Before I could put my preference into words and certainly before I understood how and why, I knew that the fried plantains that were very soft looking and darker in colour were the nicest. As I grew older and increased my cooking knowledge, I learnt that the riper the fruit- the sweeter, and the browner you fry them- the more they caramelize which intensifies the sweetness and crisps them up a bit.
Plantains, or Big Indian Bananas here in Dubai, are widely used across the entire Caribbean. The food and culture of the various Caribbean countries including Latin America bear very close similarities and we often have variations of several dishes. While they are often eaten raw in Indian culture, they are always cooked in the Caribbean, where we have them green or ripe. The worst thing you can do is use a half ripe plantain for most of us because we either like them green, or ripened. Ripe plantains are a popular side for any meal or snack in the Caribbean. We often have it alongside our meat/chicken, veggies and rice. We do not serve it with seafood but of course everyone has his or her own taste- just ask those who ask for ketchup at the dinner table when you have served a tasty curry.
How to peel and fry ripe plantains![]( "Jamaican Breakfast Fried Plantain-1")
Make a slit at top and bottom of plantain leaving part of the skin attached as shown.
Take a paring knife and angle the tip almost parallel to the plantain and make a lengthwise slit running the knife just under the skin all the way down to the bottom of the plantain.
You will be cutting the skin, not the fruit itself and it will look like this.
Use you fingers to peel away the skin.
The peel will come off easily because you made the slits at top and bottom and will come off all in one piece. Slice the plantains in rounds as thinly as you desire but no less than about 1/3 inch. You could also cut the plantain in half and then cut each half lengthwise for longer strips.
Put them in a frying pan with hot oil. A plain oil with a higher smoking point will do. These would be groundnut/peanut oil, canola oil or sunflower oil. High oleic oils are best for frying. They are usually sold in glass bottles. Read the labels to be sure.
We love a deep dark colour on these babies. Talk about caramelization and the crispyness on the outside that transforms them from just ripe mush!
Fry an egg to the temperature you like best. I like them sunny side up, but Chef Lij prefers his medium. How do you like yours? Season them lightly with salt and pepper while you fry them.
Try not to eat the plantains before you have finished making breakfast.
CHEF’S NOTE: If you want a quicker alternative than all the muscle, hours it takes to roll, proof and bake Jamaican Harddough Bread, make our 100% wholemeal buttermilk pancakes with these plantains and eggs. For a healthier breakfast, leave out the Aunt J__ and other such pancake syrups because they are laced with sugar and high fruchtose corn syrup. If you want a syrup, drizzle with real grade B or higher maple syrup for an island twist on a southern classic. Agave syrup may also be used for it’s lower blood sugar impact. We have a low carb pancake here for diabetics, just leave out the blueberries.
Definitely my kind of breakfast, i love eating this at the start of a busy day!
Yes! It definitely gets things off with a bang!
Those look divine, can I use a banana instead? as we cannot get plantains here.. c
Cecilia, Yes you can use banana. The flavour will be different but it is still the closest substitute. Make sure you use ripe ones (so ripe the skin has brown spots). Fry them until they caramelize because that takes up the flavour quite a notch! You may never have another fresh banana afterwards!
You got me at the point where you said ‘caramelisation’! Really good guide – I’ll know what to look for in the supermarket and how to prepare it.
Great Sally! Happy we have opened up a new ingredient to you!
That’s really interesting – fried bananas (prepared in a similar way) are very popular in India as well. Also, banana crisps are something else we do quite a bit. I find it so cool that so many cultures across the world have similar, but not the same, food items. Makes you realize how connected people are…through taste!
Devina, Jamaica and India have a lot in common. We too eat both green banana and plantain chips… a favourite for young and old! We do have some shared history though 🙂
yaaaamy…I love fried plantains!! I’ve had them at a ton of Cuban restaurants in the US…need to find a good restaurant here that serves em up.
Arva, I have Cuban family… now you have been e-drooling for a Cuban fiesta!
Reading this recipe made me feel like I was on vacation…somewhere sunny. It is totally NOT sunny in the Pacific Northwest lately but I’ll make this and daydream.
That is definitely the beauty of food! I think it is homesickness that is making me cook so many plantain dishes these days. If you cannot bring yourself to the Caribbean, bring the Caribbean into your kitchen! Love the blog name!
I’m dying to try cooking with plantains myself, this looks wonderful! On the few occasions that I’ve had plantain, I loved every bite 🙂
We like you already! With this post, and others to come featuring plantains, you will be an expert!
yummy b’fast – we actually steam these large bananas for b’fast! but fried and with eggs nice sweet salty crispy fell great b’fast 🙂
these bananas are also batter fried in kerala – in a batter of rice flour and AP with some sesame thrown in for good measure.
OOOh wweee that battered one sounds like a must try! I need to give you a call!
Yum I love plantains! This looks like an awesome breakfast!
Is totally is!
It sounds so simple and looks so incredibly satisfying. Double yum!
Sandra, it hits all the right flavour and texture notes!
Kari, this is great!! I have been eating plantains and bananas in all shapes and ways all week, and I can never get tired!! they are beautiful, I love them 🙂 am definitely doing these, but its all not helping my weightloss attempts!!
Love how simple, yet how packed with flavour this breakfast is, you continue to delight my eyes and tingle my taste buds, I love ChefandSteward.com :))
Oh, thanks so much! Cant wait to see what flavours you have taken from your tropical island getaway on your blog!
What a perfect breakfast! Than again anything with fried plantains involved is perfect!
Beth, yes… simple and delicious! We have another plaintain recipe coming up for you with ingredients you are familiar with in your part of town!
This has inspired me to try my hand at plantain! My Trini friends have made them for me often.. maybe I can surprise them for a change!
this is the breakfast i’ve been eating since i had teeth.
and what im going to have for dinner right now!!
:)) We know exactly what you mean!
Can you believe I’ve never tried making fried plantains? I always order them at Caribbean or Southeast Asian restaurants. Your demonstration has inspired me to finally make them. I can honestly see this becoming my my quick meal cooked in one skillet starting with fried plantains, then frying an egg (I like mine cooked completely without being burned or dark brown), and ending with stir-fried greens. I’m looking forward to this dream breakfast.
This looks wonderful! I must run off to make these now! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Simple and delicious make a great combination!
We run a small B&B in Cornwall, UK, and wanted a Jamaican breakfast to celebrate Usain Bolt’s wins in the Olympics. This fitted the bill perfectly and went down extremely well with our more adventurous guests so thankyou very much! As well as your version I also cooked some bananas in plain batter and others in batter with sesame seeds as suggested by one of your readers and both were delicious.The idea of having them with fried eggs was bizarre to us English but what a success it was. We hold the Breakfast World Cup here at The Old Chapel once every four years and this one will go on to represent Jamaica there as well!
This made a delicious Paleo breakfast! Where have plantains been all my life?! Now to check out some more of your recipes…;)
Hi Beth, so happy you loved this breakfast. We didn’t even realise it was Paleo. I think we may have some more dishes that fit the Paleo diet. We have lots of low carb offerings that could also be slightly modified.