For The Crispiest Yuca Fries, Stick To This Prep Process

The next time you're looking for a fun twist on a classic french fry, give yuca frita a try. Also known as yuca fries, they're a popular side dish in Latin American, African, Caribbean, and Central American cuisines. Depending on what country you visit, it's usually accompanied by a flavorful sauce, such as aji amarillo (a spicy Peruvian sauce) or a Cuban mojo sauce. Yuca, not to be confused with yucca, is the root of the cassava plant. This potato-like root vegetable has a tough, grainy texture that creates an incredibly fluffy interior and a crispy exterior when fried. So, how do you guarantee you get crispy yuca fries every time? You have to cut them first and boil them second.

Unlike other root vegetables like carrots and radishes, it cannot be eaten raw because yuca is toxic. It actually contains cyanide and needs to be cooked before consumption. The best way to remove this chemical is to peel and cook them. Boiling yuca also helps remove excess starch and soften its interior. Plus, removing the starch will prevent your fries from burning and becoming bitter. Most recipes recommend you boil the vegetable whole before cutting them into strips. This works well when you need to mash, roast, or bake yuca. However, this method is terrible for fries. Boiling yuca before you cut them into strips will result in lackluster fries that have very little crisp to them. That's why you need to cut them first and boil them after. 

For yuca fries that perfectly resemble super crispy french fries, the first thing you'll need to do is remove the skin. Unlike potatoes, yuca has to be peeled with a knife because its skin is very thick. The best way to do that is to use a paring knife and cut the vegetable in half lengthwise, so it's easier to remove the core. Once you do that, you can cut the yucca into more manageable chunks and focus on removing the skin from each chunk. When the skin is removed, cut into fry-like strips. This is a strenuous process, but it's a very important step you can't skip. Unfortunately, you have to move very quickly while cutting the yuca. They have a tendency of turning brown when they've been exposed to oxygen for too long. To work around this inconvenience, you should work on one at a time and immediately place them in water when you're done cutting them. When you're ready to cook them, boil them in salted water and cook until they're fork-tender. Once they're ready, pat dry and prepare your frying station.

To fry your yuca strips, you'll need a pan big enough to hold a few inches of oil, so each strip can be fully submerged. Luckily, any vegetable oil will work with this recipe. For the crispiest yuca fries, it's best to not overcrowd the pan and cook them in smaller batches. When the oil is ready, fry the strips for a few minutes on both sides until they are golden brown. Finally, remove them from the pan, let them drain on paper towels, and season with just salt or pepper (or both). Since yuca has a mild sweet, nutty flavor, they pair well with an array of bold flavors. So, have fun matching them up with some popular sauces from around the world.