Yuca! My favourite of all side dishes, it’s like a potato only a lot more starchy, meaning that when you get a good Yuca, you my fried have hit the jackpot! or how we say in Colombia “La yuca está como un pan!” or It’s like bread (Colombian bread BTW), almost creamy inside and crunchy on the outside when fried. Yuca goes well with everything, in soups and stews to thicken it, boiled or steamed, pan fried, deep fried, sautéed, as a starter or a side dish you can even use the flour to make croquettes or savoury pies, your imagination is the limit !
I actually thought this root vegetable was not very common in many countries, but after having lived in Brazil, I discovered very many other interesting uses and names such as casava, cassava, manioc or mandioca and tapioca among others. So, even though this stubby looking root, seemingly not edible to the naked eye is common to all of South America, I call it a Colombian side dish because well, I’m Colombian and for me it’s part of my traditional food.
If you want to know more about yuca here is the wiki link 🙂
Enjoy!
- 1 yuca (about 300gr)
- Salt
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1. Buying yuca requires a bit of trial and error, the best ones are usually narrow and straight.
- 2. Peeling then is also quite an art, they are very hard to cut so you do require some getting used to it. Chop the top and bottom off, then chop pieces about 7-10 cm long and peel each one by removing the brown exterior then cut in half.
- 3. Boil the yuca with some salt in enough water to cover all of the pieces.
- 4. Once you can pinch a fork through each piece they are done. Drain and let dry, about 10 mins.
- Note. At this step you can freeze them and then use at a later time, they can go straight from the freezer to the fryer.
- 5. In a deep pot heat enough to deep fry until golden.
- 6. Take out and place on a kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
- 7. Serve with you favourite guacamole or salsa as started or as a replacement to french fries.