Tostones rellenos are little fried plantain cups traditionally stuffed with any meat of your choice (shrimp, chicken or shredded beef) and it is one of my favorite appetizers at any Hispanic restaurant. But who are we kidding, anything on a fried plantain is delicious! This appetizer is my aunt’s specialty and she loved making these with shrimp. She would always come over with a huge caldero (metal pot) and start cooking the shrimp outside in our backyard. The aroma that would linger while she was cooking just made everyone hungrier and eager to eat.
This appetizer is also a fairly simple dish to make. First, start off by cooking the camarones (shrimp). Then, cook the sofrito with garlic, onions, and peppers. Once cooked, add tomato sauce, white wine vinegar, dry white cooking wine, salt, and red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes and add the shrimp in. Let the shrimp cook for another 5 minutes. Shrimp cooks really quick so be careful not to overcook them. You want to stop when the shrimp is no longer grey and turns pink and you see that the shrimp curls on itself and the two ends almost touch each other. While the shrimp are cooking, start to peel the plantains and cut them about an inch and a half thick. Fry them first, then take them out and using the tostenera that shapes into a cup, squish them to fit the mold. Fry them one more time and you are done! Next, fill the tostone cups with the cooked shrimp.
I hope you all enjoy this tasty dish! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
- Tostenera to stuff plantains
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Shrimp peels and tail off
- 2 Green plantains
- ⅔ cup Onions diced
- ½ cup Green Peppers diced
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 1½ cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup Dry white wine
- 1 tlbs White wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tlbs Parsley freshly chopped
- 1 pack Sazon goya sin anchiote optional
Instructions
- Heat up oil in a pot or deep fryer to 375F.
- Coat a pot with olive oil. Add your onions, green peppers and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Once cooked, add the tomato sauce, dry white wine, white wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- After, add shrimp. Stir together with sauce, cover and allow to cook for five minutes or until the shrimp is no longer gray and turns pink and you see that the shrimp curls on itself and the two ends almost touch each other.
- To make the plantain cups, peel the green plantains, and cut into 1 – 2 inch thick slices. Place the cut plantains inside the oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes until they are gold. Remove them and place them on a plate lined with paper towel.
- Using a tostenera for stuffing plantains, squish the chunks of each plantain to form them into cups. After, add them again to the oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove and place them on a plate lined with paper towel, sprinkle with salt, and serve!
- Once your shrimp are cooked and your plantains cups are done, add the shrimp and sauce into the cups, about 2-3 shrimps per cup.
- Garnish with parsley and serve. Enjoy!!
