Vegan Mofongo (Puerto Rican)

Learn how to make a vegan non traditional spin on a traditional Puerto Rican dish known as Mofongo. My version reduces the amount of oil being used, by roasting instead of frying, the green plantains which are made into a mash with a side serving of seasoned vegan mock meat.

Another dish from latin America, most specifically Puerto Rico called Mofongo!

That's the name of the dish, you may have already heard of this dish before, if not, no worries as I'm hear to this explain what is it and how to make it.....vegan style that is!

What is mofongo?

In short mofongo is a dish thats main ingredient is plantains, green ones to be precise. Green plantains are also featured in this Sopa de Plátano Verde recipe.

The plantains are cut into equal slices before being fried although some people boil or roast it, fried is the preferred method.

Once fried, the plantain is transferred into a wooden pilón (mortar and pestle) and then mashed into a ball with seasoning along with pork rinds (Chicharrón).

Mofongo can be served as a side dish with shrimp, beans, vegetables, meat or instead the cavity is stuffed with any of the aforementioned.

You definitely cannot mention mofongo without acknowledging its African origins. Mofongo shares many of its similarities to Fufu, a West African staple that is made from different types of starchy vegetables.

The starchy vegetable is pounded into a dough ball with a smooth consistency. Similar to mofongo, fufu typically doubles up as either a side dish or forms part of a main meal.

Fufu is eaten with the fingers, the method involves pinching off a small piece to form a small ball and then dipped into sauce, soup or a stew.

It is not uncommon to see the fufu directly placed in a bowl with the meat/sauce surrounding it.

As you can see mofongo and fufu have a lot in common and it just wouldn't be right not to acknowledge its origins.

Veganizing mofongo and reducing the use of oil

As the title suggests this version is completely vegan friendly. My approach is to make the mofongo, with as little oil as possible and have it accompanied by some "vegan meat".

The "meat" is abit saucy which means it works out better to have it plated up on the side rather then stuffing the cavity of the mashed plantain.

Instead of using pork rinds (Chicharrón) as per tradition, the plantain is lightly seasoned with sazon, dairy free butter and black pepper and salt to taste.

To make the mofongo less dry, I like to add some Vegetable Broth, in small stages as I am forming it.

The "meat" is made by using shredded jackfruit, you may have already seen jackruit make an appearance on my website in a number of recipes, like my Brown Stew Jackfruit, Curry Jackfruit Run Down and Curried Jackfruit.

The jackfruit is seasoned and cooked with sazon, onion, garlic, paprika, black pepper, pink salt, oregano and tomato puree.

I know my island people are partial to frying food and Puerto Ricans are no exception to the rule.

Instead of cooking the plantain when sliced in excessive amount of oil which really isn't good for us, I focused on roasting the plantain in a coating of oil.

You use about ¾ less oil by roasting instead of frying. You still get that crispiness without depending on lots of oil.

It does make abit longer to roast the plantain first, but like I said, your health is more important.

The steps

• Place the jackfruit in a medium sized bowl, to shred the jackfruit, you will need to slice off the core and discard it, then using your hands or a pair of sterilised kitchen scissors to shred the jackfruit then set aside.
• Season the jackfruit with sazon, smoked paprika, oregano, black pepper and pink salt.
• Heat a skillet on medium heat with olive oil, then proceed to saute the red onion and garlic until soft and transparent.
• Add the seasoned jackfruit, sofrito then proceed to sear for several minutes.
• Stir in the tomato puree and vegetable broth.
• Bring the pan/skillet to a rolling boil, stir and, cover with a lid and allow to simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes (if the liquid evaporates too much add a splash of water, so keep watchful eye on things as it simmers away).
• Once cooked, do a taste test, adjust for black pepper and pink salt then set aside.

• Preheat the oven to 200C/356F.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper, coat with olive oil and set aside.
• Place the plantain on a chopping board.
• Use a paring knife to slice off both ends of the plantain.
• Then lightly score lengthways down the plantain (not too deep).
• Use your thumb to pull the skin away from the flesh and discard the skin. Repeat the above step with the rest of the plantain.
• Cut the plantain into chunky slices and set aside.
• Place the plantain on the baking tray then coat the slices with oil.
• Bake the plantains until they are light brown in colour and slightly crispy, keep an eye on them as the baking time will vary (mine took roughly 20 minutes).

• Once baked, add the plantain to your pilón or food processor (you may need to do this in intervals) if you are using one instead. Along with the dairy free butter and sazon.
• Mash the plantain add the dairy free butter, sazon, and vegetable broth a tablespoon at a time until slightly smooth (if you are using a food processor, you will want to pulse (on and off) to achieve the same results.
• Add the rest of the plantain, adding a tablespoon of broth at a time.
• Do a test taste and add black pepper and pink salt to taste.
• Place the mashed plantain in a small, deep bowl, pressing down with the bowl upright to make a cup mould.
• Place a plate over the top of the bowl, flip it over, the plantain should slide onto the surface of the plate shaped like a dome.
• Repeat the above step if necessary with the remaining plantain.
• Serve with the vegan meat.

Notes and tips 

• You need green plantain for this recipe NOT green banana (they are NOT the same thing).
• This is the recipe that I used to make the Sazon Seasoning.
• This is the recipe that I used for the Vegetable Broth.
• Be sure to do a taste test of the mofongo and "mock meat" as you go along and adjust according to your desire.
• Start by making the "meat" first then make the mofongo as it is better to serve it immediately and not have the mofongo sitting around for a while.
• Yellow plantain doesn't work for this recipe, it has to be GREEN.
• You can purchase green plantain at any supermarket/grocery store that is frequented by latinos/African or Caribbean people.
• If you don't have a wooden pilón (mortar and pestle) use a regular food processor instead.
• I wouldn't recommend using a blender as that might make the texture too smooth and/or pureed.
• I don't recommend boiling the green plantain, roasting yields a better texture however if you want to eliminate the use of oil then boiling is your best bet.

Vegan latin dishes to try

• Yuca en Escabeche (cassava pickled salad)
• Dominican Mangu
• Vegan Empanadas
• Arroz Con Coco
• Yuca Con Mojo
• Tostones
• Vegan Cuban Black Beans
• Moros y Cristianos (Instant pot version)
• Black Bean Soup
• Mojo Marinade

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