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Fried yuca served with a light green cilantro sauce, served in a small metal pan.
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Yuca Frita

Yuca frita (fried yuca or yuca fries) is a fantastic side dish when you want to try something a little different.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Cuban
Keyword cassava, yuca
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Calories 447kcal
Author Elizabeth

Ingredients

To make yuca frita you will need

  • 3-4 quarts Water
  • 2- 2½ pounds Frozen Yuca
  • 1 teaspoon Salt plus a couple of pinches to season after they are fried
  • Canola oil enough to cover the bottom of a deep, large skillet by about 1 inch (about 1½ cups)

To make the Cilantro Garlic Sauce you will need

  • ¼ cup Mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup Sour Cream
  • 2 tablespoons Fresh Cilantro roughly chopped
  • 1 Garlic Clove smashed and roughly chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions

Make the cilantro garlic sauce

  • Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper to a small blender (like a Nutribullet).
  • Blend until the sauce is smooth. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula a couple of times and then continue blending.
  • Refrigerate the cilantro garlic sauce until ready to use. Give it a good stir right before serving.

Boil the yuca

  • Add 3 – 4 quarts of water to a large pot.
  • Bring the water to a boil.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water.
  • Carefully add the yuca to the boiling water. Use tongs to lower the yuca into the water.
  • Cover the pot and cook the yuca for approximately 20-25 minutes. Stirring gently occasionally.
  • Cook the yuca until it is tender. A knife should slide in and out without offering resistance. If it does not, continue cooking.
  • Test the yuca after the first 15 minutes of cooking. Then gauge the remaining cooking time from there.

Let the yuca cool

  • Drain the yuca completely. Use a strainer and let all of the water drain and steam away.
  • When the yuca is cool enough to handle, arrange it on a pan or large platter. Do not stack it. Let it cool completely, or refrigerate the yuca until it is chilled and firmed up.

Make the yuca frita

  • Cut the yuca into thick pieces, about 1 inch thick and at least 3-4 inches long.
  • Remove and discard the stringy, woody pieces. They resemble really thick twine.
  • Add enough oil to a deep, large skillet to cover the bottom by about 1 inch.
  • Heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking add some of the yuca pieces to the skillet. Do not overcrowd the skillet, fry in batches.
  • Fry the yuca for 2 minutes.
  • Turn each piece and fry for 2 minutes.
  • Fry the yuca for one more minute turning any pieces that need to brown further. The yuca should be a light golden color on all sides.
  • Remove the yuca with a slotted spoon or tongs and place them on a plate or pan that is lined with a paper towel. As soon as they are all out, sprinkle with a little bit of salt.
  • Repeat with the steps above with the remaining yuca.
  • Serve the yuca frita with the cilantro garlic sauce

Video

Notes

Do not overcook the yuca. We want it to hold its shape when we’re ready to fry it. If we were making yuca con mojo, then the yuca falling apart would be a great thing, but for yuca frita not so much.
While frying the yuca, in between batches, remove the skillet from the heat while you get ready for the next batch. We want to keep the skillet off the burner while we do this so that the oil does not overheat. I just move the skillet to an empty burner and move it back to the hot burner when I’m ready.

Nutrition

Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 481mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 39.1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.5mg