Caution: what you are about to read can make you hungry.

Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made with fried plantains that pays tribute to the island’s rich history and its culture. In the early 1500s, when the Spanish landed in Puerto Rico, harsh colonization of the Tainos took place. After exhausting and diminishing the local population, colonialists looked across to West Africa and began importing slaves, who brought with them fufu, mofongo’s culinary ancestor (Zaino, C., 2013). The Tainos adapted fufu and added their own tastes and available ingredients on the island, resulting in mofongo, Puerto Rico’s best dish.

Vanessa Query from TripSavvy asked four well-known chefs from Puerto Rico: “What is one dish that people who visit Puerto Rico must try?Their answers were the same: “mofongo.” In the article, Vanessa also shares her experience of eating mofongo. She said that it was incredible how a fusion of savory flavors and textures woke up her mouth. By the end of the article, she says that mofongo is the best of local Puerto Rican food and that she will return to the island to it again. In a video posted by BuzzFeed, a group of people had the opportunity to eat Puerto Rican food, and of course, mofongo was there. One of the people who tasted mofongo said that mofongo was so good that he would name his first child Mofongo, which I thought it was not only hilarious, but true. Just by grabbing the fork and taking a piece of mofongo, you just know that you are about to have the best experience of your life.

Puerto Ricans tend to be very patriotic and will always try to defend what is theirs no matter what. However, this time is different. The fact the I am Puerto Rican does not influence on my love for mofongo. Of all the dishes that I have tried in my 19 years of life, I dare say that mofongo is the most delicious.

Bibliography:

Zaino, C. (2013, July 15). Travel – On the mofongo trail in Puerto Rico. Retrieved December 5, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130711-on-the-mofongo-trail-in-puerto-rico

Query, V. (2017, May 16). Discover Mofongo, Puerto Rico’s Must-Try Food. Retrieved December 5, 2018, from https://www.tripsavvy.com/mofongo-puerto-ricos-must-try-food-1488531

BuzzFeed Video. (2015, July 30). People Taste Test Puerto Rican Food[Video File]. Retrieved December 05, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Cqv840gVE