Aloco

Aloco is typical street-vendor food. Women heat up large vats of palm oil and fry sliced, ripe plantains for about 5 minutes. The resulting snack is a sweet/savory/chewy treat that one can eat by the freakin' handfull.

Ingredients

 * red palm oil
 * several ripe plantain bananas, peeled and cut into discs or cubes
 * salt
 * 1 onion, chopped
 * 2 tomatoes, peeled (if desired), and chopped
 * 1 chile pepper, cleaned and chopped

Directions

 * 1) Heat a cup or two of palm oil in a skillet.
 * 2) Sprinkle the raw plantains with salt.
 * 3) Fry the plantains until they are golden brown.
 * 4) Remove the plantains from the oil and drain on absorbent paper (paper towel).
 * 5) It may be best to fry the plantains in a few batches.
 * 6) In the same skillet and oil in which the plantains were fried, fry the onion, tomato, and chile pepper for a few minutes, stirring often.
 * 7) Add a few spoonfuls of water, reduce heat, and simmer for a several minutes until a thick, chunky sauce is obtained.
 * 8) Some cooks add a splash of vinegar.
 * 9) Place the plantains on a plate, cover them with a grilled fish (see below), and pour the onion-tomato mixture over them.