Cooking and enjoying pork chops with plantain chips is a great way to celebrate my homeland Honduras!
I am from La Ceiba (or Ceibita La Bella as some people call it). I grew up calling this dish “sandwich de chuleta” or pork chop sandwich.
But it doesn’t have bread, or does it? So yes, it has no bread.
And how come it got that name? It’s because the pork chop goes in between two delicious layers.
A proper Honduran chuleta con tajadas goes like this:
- First Floor: A mountain of plantain/guineo slices.
- Second Floor: The golden brown and well-marinated pork chop.
- Third Level: The salad.
- Final touch: the thick red sauce. Delicious!
Did you see it? It’s a sandwich!
Don’t worry, I grasped the concept just a few years ago 😋
This blog post wouldn’t have been possible without the mastermind of three of my aunts: Tia Lupe, Tia Laly, and Tia Julia.
It’s a dish that we all enjoy, but when my aunts make it, it’s finger-licking good!
I was even a little afraid to try to make it myself. However, I managed to cook delicious chuletas too!
For the slice base, I used green plantains and guineos.
It’s a bit hard to find the differences, but in Honduras, we know that guineo and plantain differ in that:
- The first one is smaller than the second one.
- The former has more curves than the latter.
- The first is almost like the yellow banana but before it ripens (banana and plantain are two different species).
- The peel of the green plantain is thicker than that of the guineo.
- When frying, the guineo takes more oil than the green plantain.
- Therefore, the guineo is less crunchy than the green plantain after frying.
Yes. It’s a bit chaotic. But the important thing is that they’re both tasty!
I hope you liked them!
And you, have you ever tasted Honduran food before?
Pork Chops with Plantains Chips | Chuleta con Tajadas
Ingredients
- 2 pork chops, medium
- ½ cup sour orange juice (for seasoning, marinating)
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Tajadas
- 2 green plantains
- 2 guineos (green bananas)
Honduran Coleslaw
- ⅓ of a head of white cabbage
- ⅕ of white onion
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
Red sauce
- ½ cup of tomato paste
- ¼ onion, chopped
- ½ green chile, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup of broth (chicken or beef or -the best according to my aunt- pork leg)
- 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all minced garlic, sour orange juice, Worcestershire Sauce, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a deep flat container. Using a flat container will help to marinate pork chops uniformly. Let the pork marinate for 30 minutes.
- To make the topping, slice the cabbage into julienne. Then, cut the tomato into thin slices, as well as the onion.
- Put the salad ingredients in a bowl. Then season them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
- Peel and cut the guineos and plantains into oval shape slices.
- Fry the guineo and plantain slices until they are golden. Bear in mind that guineos look a bit lighter, while plantains will get a more intense color.
- Heat oil on a pan and sauteé the chopped onion. Then add minced garlic and chopped green chile. Let the ingredients cook a bit. Once they get softer, add the tomato paste and mix.
- Add broth, chopped cilantro, salt, and pepper. Then mix again and let it reduce until you get a thick sauce.
- Heat oil in a pan and seal the pork chops. Let them get a brown and crispy crust on each side. Then, remove from the fire and get ready to build this delicious dish.
- First, make a bed of plantains and guineos. Then, place the pork chop on top. Next, cover the pork chop with the salad and, finally, top it with the red sauce generously.
- Now you can serve and enjoy this typical dish, from La Ceiba!
Video
Notes
If you liked this pork chops with plantain chips recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, remember to tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your pictures on my IG stories.
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