Yuca frita con Chicharron (Fried Casava and fried pork meat)

If you ever go visit El Salvador, you will find that at a lot of the stop lights, plazas and parks there is an abundance of vendors selling goodies. One of the goodies you'll find is yuca frita (fried cassava) with curtido and salsa in a bag. The yuca will sometimes be cut into fries or 'enredos' which translates into 'yuca knots' that are fried as well. If you haven't caught on yet, yuca is one of our favorite roots to cook with. One of the best ways to elevate fried yuca is to add chicharrones, this is commonly served as an appetizer in most restaurants Salvadoreños.

What is yuca frita con chicharron?

Yuca is a root that has a similar consistency to potato when boiled and in my opinion just as delicious. For this dish the yuca is first cooked by boiling it until its tender and then fried into yuca fries or chunks. Yuca frita can be eaten with curtido and salsa but it's typical to also add chicharrones to complete the dish. Chicharrones is fried meat nuggets, in El Salvador fried pork meat is typically called chicharrones. The pork is cut into pieces, seasoned and fried.

How to make yuca frita con chicharrones?

This is a pretty easy dish to make, it just takes some time. I suggest you have to two different pots to make the yuca and the chicharrones at the same time. The chicharrones take about an hour to hour and half, the yuca takes about 45 minutes to boil and fry.

How to fry the yuca?

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Large yuca roots

• Vegetable oil

• 1/2 tbsp salt

1. Cut each yuca root into 3-4 pieces and peel completely.

2. In a large pot add water and 1/2 tbsp of salt

3. Once the water is hot add in the peeled yuca, cover and let it cook until tender. Once tender drain the water and cut the yuca into your desired shape. I cut mine to resemble thick fries or wedges.

4. In a frying pan add enough vegetable oil to cover each piece halfway. If can also use a deep fryer for this.

5. Once the oil is hot add the yuca and fry it until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and place on a frying rack.

How to make pork chicharrones?

Ingredients:

•  2 lbs Pork shoulder or Pork leg

• 1 1/2 tbsp Salt

• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tbsp oregano

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tbsp chicken buillon

•  1/2 tbsp adobo

• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1. Cut the pork into 1-1/2 inch pieces

2. Clean the pork with water, white vinegar, lime and salt.

3. Pat it dry and season with 1 tbsp of salt, black pepper, oregano, paprika, ground cumin, chicken bouillon, adobo and garlic powder., cover and let it marinade for min 30 mins in the fridge or let it marinade over night.

4. Get a big frying pan and turn to medium heat.

5. Once the pan is hot add the pork, I don't add oil because the pork already has a lot of fat and will fry in its own lard. When you see it start to release water, cover it and let it cook on medium heat for about 45 mins - 1hr or until tender. Remove the cover and let it fry in it's own lard for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on medium-high heat. Do not over fry it because it will become dry and hard. If you used a lean cut of pork, you may have to use oil to fry the pork.

To serve add a few yuca pieces, curtido and salsa on the side, and the chicharrones on top. The best way to eat it is to grab a piece of yuca, add a bit of curtido, a piece of chicharron and throw some salsa on top! Both the curtido and salsa recipes can be found on the blog under recipes page. Buen porovecho!