Friday, January 16, 2009

Yuca Frita (Fried Cassava)

Hmmm what to do with leftover boiled Yuca that you used to make "Yuca Con Mojo", after you drained it and now it's all firm and cold, easy make some "Yuca Frita" and serve it with some Mojo, it is delicious and easy.

This is by far my favorite way to eat Yuca, it's like thick Yuca fries or chunks fried til golden with a tasty Mojo (garlic citrus sauce very pungent)

Again I posted this thinking of Nuria from Spanish Recipes because she asked me about Yuca (like I mentioned in my Yuca Con Mojo post) so this is the final dish I am guessing she might've had.

I only know of Yuca about the typical Cuban stuff), either boiled or boiled then fried served with mojo, or boiled mashed and stuffed with Picadillo (cuban ground beef hash) then rolled in egg and cracker meal then fried. I've seen restaurants that make there "Yuca Rellena" (stuffed Yuca) by just splitting Yuca almost in half, stuffing then frying I think that is lazy (because they don't want to go through the trouble of removing the hard parts from teh Yuca. mashing, and rolling in bread crumbs and egg)

Ingredients:

-leftover boiled Yuca that is cold or at room temperature that hasn't been sitting in water
-oil to deep-fry or pan-fry (I use canola oil, peanut oil is good to as well as Sunflower oil so is lard and extra-light olive oil for frying they have a high smoking point and can resist high heat.)

For sauce see click on:

-Mojo recipe

Directions:
(1)Cut cooked Yuca into thick sticks (like a thick Julienne)

(2)Heat oil on high heat crank it up until it is hot enough (I test it by dipping a chop stick in the oil if it bubbles/ sizzles it's ready sometimes I use a wooden spoon to) now add your Yuca and fry until golden brown on all sides. Drain and set aside. (remember oil should be hot because Yuca is cooked already you just want to make it golden and brown, if to low they will start overcooking and fall apart)


(3)Serve with Mojo sauce.