Puerto Rican cuisine

Since I am a NewYorican and both my parents were from the island and my husband was also born here, I have been used to the great tastes and flavors of Puerto Rican cuisine my entire life.

After I got married, I learned to cook, not right away but then with time and patience, I believe that I have become a pretty good cook of Puerto Rican cuisine.

My favorite is Pork chops with Arroz con Gandules on the side and Platanos or Amarillos as some call them. I also make a pretty good Pernil(Roast Pork), Arroz con Pollo(chicken and rice) and Bacalo salad (codfish salad), it may sound terrible but is soooooo good.

tonie064 wrote:

Since I am a NewYorican and both my parents were from the island and my husband was also born here, I have been used to the great tastes and flavors of Puerto Rican cuisine my entire life.

After I got married, I learned to cook, not right away but then with time and patience, I believe that I have become a pretty good cook of Puerto Rican cuisine.

My favorite is Pork chops with Arroz con Gandules on the side and Platanos or Amarillos as some call them. I also make a pretty good Pernil(Roast Pork), Arroz con Pollo(chicken and rice) and Bacalo salad (codfish salad), it may sound terrible but is soooooo good.

When can we stop by to sample your cooking?

When you come to PR. You said that you were coming July 11? Too bad you won't be here Aug., 8, we will be having a texas holdem soiree. When will you be here permanently? Just advise me.

Tonie

Not sure if this counts, but PR coffee is my favorite coffee hands down!!

"Salivating", Oh Chucks, I have to wait a bit, ok.

Favorite: Pork chops and tostones also alcapurias de jueyes.
Don't like liver, brains or Gandinga.
Everything else I like including tripes and mondongo.

Tonie, could you share you cod salad recipe?  Hubby and I are vegetarian fish eaters.   We've not sampled very many PR dishes because they use pork or lard in many things so when we are there, we mainly do all our own cooking.

If you have not tried Tostone de Pana... make sure you do! I love them more than Tostone de platano. As far as dried and salted fish; I prefer fresh fish.

Yes, most definitely fresh fish.

Zancocho (stew with different roots, vegetables and meats), with white rice on the side and an avocado on the side!

And for desert some coconut flan!! 

Hi there Schuttzie,
   The recipe for cod fish salad is relatively easy.

   I usually get a package of bone free codfish or bacalao. First I boil it to get some of the salt out of it.

    At the same time in another pot, I cook some yellow platano, some potatoes and hard boiled eggs.
   Once they are all done, I break up the bacalao into small pieces and put it in a bowl big enough for everything.

  I peel the platano and city the in pieced together with the potatoes, peel the eggs and also cut them up and also add a sliced onion and if you happen to have some avocado, add that also.

  Then I add some Oliver oil or veg. Oil is fine also. Mix everything together and put in gridgebto cool a little or you can eat it warm.

Bon appetite, Tonie

Fresh fish...it took me a few years to discover the source of fresh fish in PR. Pesquerias or fisherman coops. I could not figure out why the Super markets never sold fresh fish. Now I know. I love yellowtail snapper. Dipped in egg then dusted with ground cornmeal, pepper, salt and little spice then fried nice and crispy in organic coconut oil. Fresh lime...my next adventure will be with fresh fish ceviche.

Oh, thank you, Tonie!  Sounds yummy but I probably wouldn't use salted cod but maybe Tilapia or Basa if I couldn't find regular cod.

Mrpytn, I love ceviche and am going to make some up very soon.  So not having fresh fish in the supermarkets is because of the pesquerias?  We found one in Rincon but it always depended on the day if they were able to go out fishing.

We have two pesquerias in Ponce. They are fisherman coops. Just guessing but maybe they do not earn enough selling wholesale and with limited availability, etc. The fisherman fish at night when the water is calm and the fresh fish is early in the morning.

In Tallaboa (el boquete) there is a good fishery. Is a small hole in the wall but if you want fresh cheap seafood that's the place to go.

When I first met my Puerto Rican husband in '91, being born and raised in the Midwest, my exposure to rice was limited to Minute Rice or Rice A Roni.  Boy, since that time, I have come a long way.  When my brother-in-law and his family  came from PR to live with us in Michigan, his wife was a fantastic cook, and I became hooked on the wonderful tastes of the island: pernil, rice and beans, frita yucca, tostones, maduros, pan tostones, mofongo, carne frita, flan, etc. After 24 years, collecting cookbooks and trying recipes of PRn cuisine, I can honestly say that I can hold my own at a Puerto Rican potluck. My husband also easily converted my family when he made the Thanksgiving turkey one year by marinating it for three days with garlic, adobo, and sofrito and roasting it.

When we get to the island, we unapologetically make sure we get all of our favorites because the closest place for authentic PRn food in Michigan is Chicago and we don't get there that often.  Amazingly, we both usually lose 8-10 lbs. while on vacation on the island, which can only be due to the increased activity.

melendezki wrote:

When Amazingly, we both usually lose 8-10 lbs. while on vacation on the island, which can only be due to the increased activity.

I usually gain a pound a day when I am in the island, every family member I visit sits me down with a plate of food.

ReyP, that is the puertorican culture. I remember when I was younger and gramma will always make extra food. I will ask her why and she always said "mijo en caso alguien aparezca" (in case someone shows up). Up to this day every time I show up over one of my aunts houses I cannot leave until I at least drink coffee.

adlin20 wrote:

ReyP, that is the puertorican culture. I remember when I was younger and gramma will always make extra food. I will ask her why and she always said "mijo en caso alguien aparezca" (in case someone shows up). Up to this day every time I show up over one of my aunts houses I cannot leave until I at least drink coffee.

Very, very true. Back when I was growing up, there was a guy with a truck that would visit a lot of the houses because they all had a lot of left over food that was a few days old, he would collect the food and use it to feed his pigs. Made good money selling the meat later after roasting the pigs. LOL

I remember that....when I was living with my grandparents, I used to collect el "fregao" from our neighbors. When grampa kill a pig it was distributed between the family and neighbors. Different times! I remember the neighbors where very close, when one was in trouble they all came together to help.

Adlin20, hi, where is El Boquete- Tallaboa? Is it in Ponce? Looking for a good fish market also. We have seen one in Aguadilla at Crash Boat Beach and one in Mayaguez in El Mani.

Tonie,

Yes it is in Tallaboa. If you are coming from Mayaguez on RR#2 (Autopista), once you pass Guayanilla, next the exit for Penuelas, you will go under a pedestrian overhead, about 1/2 miles or less, you will see a gas station on your right and if you look to your left you will see the Tallaboa sector. Turn right on the exit for the gas station, go all the way strait down. Before you hit the water, it is the building on you left. Every time we go to PR, we buy fish and other seafood in there, best prices around. And if you want something specific you can ask the lady to find it for you. Last time we went, they have full lobsters for $5#

You can't miss it if you go too far you will end up in the water!!!! LOL

This place is a hole in the wall, don't spec 5* place, and you can smell that it's a fish market. But he fish you buy there slept the night before in the ocean, cannot get any fresher than that....

Thanks for the info on the pesqueria. Next time we are in that area, we will look for it. I loveeeeeee me some lobster and my hubby loves basically any fish especially blue fish, shrimp and red snapper.

i am from the east coast of virginia......if we wanted fresh fish, we went out and caught it......can a person surf-fish in rincon?

There is a nice restaurant next to the fish store. It is called 'Boquemar'. It is nestled in the mangroves. I have only had the conch and octopus ceviche appetizer and beer. it is nice for sunset.

ReyP wrote:

melendezki wrote:

When Amazingly, we both usually lose 8-10 lbs. while on vacation on the island, which can only be due to the increased activity.

I usually gain a pound a day when I am in the island, every family member I visit sits me down with a plate of food.

That is one of the things I love about the culture!  They live simply, nothing pretentious about them, their houses are clean, and they will happily feed you or give you a drink when you go to their home. My husband was very hurt once when we stopped in to see my brother, and he wasn't even offered a glass of water!   It's just not something we were brought up to do, unfortunately. 

We went to a family reunion in a pavilion along a winding river in Orocovis several years ago, and I was amazed that the families showed up with a fully equipped camping kitchen and started cooking!  So much for bring a dish to pass LOL.  The aunt, famous for her rice pudding w/fresh chunks of coconut, made a HUGE pot of it that we enjoyed for dessert, and then everyone went home with a to-go tin of the awesome stuff.

It is customary for visitors to be fed, even strangers that may stop by. They may be kept in the balcony, but they get something to drink and likely also food if they strike a conversation. At least in the country side, Metro Area people are likely afraid to allow a stranger into their property.

Things are changing, but for now that remains at least to some extend.

We are going in September and my wife already have me on a diet! Lots of family to visit and feed me.....LOL

Maybe it will be different when we start living there full-time next month, but while vacationing there, we have to have our "Pinone's Fix" too -- at least the pinchos and bacaloaitos.

Oh, and at least one dulce de coco sold on the street by someone with a great tan!

You are making me hungry!! A pionono or a pincho (maybe both)on the side of the road...what a life!!!

Tropical Seafood Gourmet restaurant in Rincon has THE best mofongo with soup!  I have tried to duplicate the recipe here at home but I just can't get it right.  I'm hoping when I move down in a month or two I can find a local who will show me exactly how to make it!  They also have the best octopus salad I have ever eaten!

Octopus salad sounds yummy!

adlin20 wrote:

You are making me hungry!! A pionono or a pincho (maybe both)on the side of the road...what a life!!!

Pionono is the dish where they use ripe plantain or banana layers with ground beef in between (like a lasagna)?
I don't recall

Pionono is ripe plantains make into a cylinder, filled with ground beef and hold together with toothpicks, a batter mix is used to hold the ground beef together, then it is deep fried.
The lasagna like dish is called "pastelon"

adlin20 wrote:

Pionono is ripe plantains make into a cylinder, filled with ground beef and hold together with toothpicks, a batter mix is used to hold the ground beef together, then it is deep fried.
The lasagna like dish is called "pastelon"

Thanks for reminding me, I love both of them!!!
It has been at least 20 years since I had either one.
Also similar, is the Pimiento Relleno except that it is a green pepper stuffed wit the meat and the beaten egg on top.

Just take a drive thru 'La Cordillera Central" and you will find a "frituras" stand.

My wife just corrected me, pastelon is made with mash potatoes, pinon is made with ripe plantains. 

adlin20 wrote:

Just take a drive thru 'La Cordillera Central" and you will find a "frituras" stand.

My wife just corrected me, pastelon is made with mash potatoes, pinon is made with ripe plantains. 

Sounds like "Papas Rellenas", mash potatoes, made into a ball, hollow out to put meat, cover the meat with a little more potato, roll in flour, fry until outside is golden and center is hot.
Maybe name changed since I had it last.

Pastelon is made in a mold, just like lasagna, the difference is using mash potatoes instead of plantains (pinon) or pasta (lasagna).
Rellenos are made the way you described Rey.