Mofongo Bowl with Chicken

Mofongo is one of the most loved dishes in Puerto Rico, almost all the restaurants on the island will have their own version of this dish, you can order it with fried Chicken or Pork, or filled with seafood or beef in a light tomato sauce we call "Salsa Criollo". Hi highly recommend that, while visiting Puerto Rico, you try as many variations as you can! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Mofongo is typically made with fried green plantain, mashed with garlic, bacon and sometimes cilantro, and served with Mayo-Ketchup (Fry Sauce) or chicken broth on the side to dip your mofongo in and enjoy all the goodness! Just like there are various meat fillings for mofongo, you also do not have to limit yourself to just plantain; mofongo can be made from Mapen (breadfruit), Yuca (cassava), Yautia (Taro), Malanga (Old Cocoyam, not to be confused with Taro), etc. The process will always be the same no matter what vegetable you decide to use.

While mofongo is a typical Puerto Rican dish that involves frying and then using a Pilon to mash everything together, our beautiful neighbors from the west, Dominican Republic, have a similar dish called Mangu, which instead of being fried, you boil the plantain instead and use a lot of butter when mashing everything together, it's also an equally satisfying dish that I also recommend you try.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you make it please leave a comment down below and let me know how you liked this dish or if you made your own version of it, I will love to read your comments and chat with you all!

Mofongo Bowl with Chicken

Serves 2

For Chicken

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Adobo (Goya)
1/8 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 package Sazón (Goya)

For Mofongo Bowl

Ingredients
2 Large Green Plantains
4 Fresh Garlic cloves (medium size)
2 tsp. Butter
2 slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
1 tsp. Cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. Adobo (Goya)

Procedure
1. Season Chicken with Adobo, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Sazon and 1 tablespoon of Oil. Make sure chicken is completely coated with seasoning. Set aside.

2. Heat pan over medium-high flames, until pan, is very hot!
**Tip** To find out if your pan is hot enough, sprinkle a few drops of water if the water evaporates quickly it's ready if the water forms into a ball and doesn't evaporate give it a few more minutes of heat.

3. Add Oil and quickly place chicken on pan. Sear one side until golden brown and flip and continue cooking on the other side, about 5-7 mins on each side.
**Tip** Remember hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick.

4. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove from heat and set aside so all the juices can settle back into the chicken.

5. Peel and cut plantains into 1-inch slices. Deep fry one plantain at a time.

6. Meanwhile, using a wooden or plastic pilón (mortar and pestle), mash garlic into its almost a paste, reserve half, add 1/2 teaspoon of cilantro and 1 slice of chopped bacon and grind a little. You want to make sure you still have small pieces of bacon and it's not grounded into a powder.

7. Once plantain is a deeper yellow color ( about 4-5 mins frying), quickly remove plantain from oil and put into Pilón, add 1/2 tsp butter and 1/8 tsp. Adobo and quickly, while plantain is still hot, mash it with all the ingredients using a grinding motion with the pestle until everything incorporates well, you should not see any more butter and the bacon and cilantro should be evenly distributed.
(While you are working with the first bowl you should be frying the second plantain slices).

8. While the mofongo is still in the mortar, using your pastel, shape the mofongo into a "bowl shape" (sides should be a little bit higher than the middle) and remove using a spoon or a small offset spatula. Slice chicken into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices and fill the center of the mofongo bowl.

9. Using the remaining mashed garlic, cilantro, bacon, and plantain, quickly form your second bowl and fill with the second chicken breast.

10. Serve hot with Mayo-Ketchup or Chicken Broth. (Both recipes below)

Mayo-Ketchup

Ingredients
2 Garlic clove, mashed (or) 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. Heinz Ketchup

Mix everything together until smooth

Quick and Easy Broth

Ingredients

1 chicken Bouillon cube
2 cups. Water
1 tsp. Sofrito
1/2 package Sazon (Goya)
1/4 tsp. Cilantro, minced

Procedure
1. Bring everything to a boil, except cilantro. Once the broth is boiling for 2 minutes, remove from heat and add fresh cilantro.

2. Serve on the side so you can dip your mofongo.

Enjoy!