Fried plantain is a dish cooked wherever plantains grow, from West Africa to East Africa as well as Central America, the tropical region of northern South America and the Caribbean countries like Haiti to Cuba and in many parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania, where fried snacks are widely popular.
Puerto Rico has mofongo, a dish consisting of fried and pounded plantains with chicharrón, spices, fat (butter, lard or olive oil) and usually in a broth or served with meat, seafood on top or on the side.
Puerto Rico also has arañitas (spiders), where green and yellow plantains are shredded together, seasoned shaped into patties, then fried until crisp.
In the Pacific city of Cali, Colombia, plantains are eaten fried and accompanied by a condiment called Hogao.
Sweet plantains are also served with savory entrees in the Caribbean, especially the Spanish-speaking islands, Pacific Colombia, and Jamaica.
An area with many grilled meat and alloco food vendors in the Cocody neighborhood is named Allocodrome, after this dish.
In January 2024, a viral picture on Social media depicted a woman processing the plantain chips with polythene nylon in hot vegetable oil; thus, citizens of Nigeria and Lagos State in particular were asked by NAFDAC to be careful of where they make purchase of the snacks, and ensure that they are registered with them.
[5][6] To prepare ipekere, ripe plantains are carefully peeled and sliced into thin, uniform shapes, typically using a knife or a mandoline slicer.
[8] The deep-frying process gives ipekere its distinctive texture, making it a popular street food and household snack in Nigeria.
[15] Originally from Ghana, kelewele has been popularized in America by several recipe books (recipezaar, 2009) The plantains are peeled and may be cut into chunks or cubes.