Directions

Caldo (Broth)

1. Brown beef bones in oil in a large heavy bottomed pot, add onion and brown them for a couple more minutes.

2. Add your remaining ingredients and simmer the broth over low heat for 1 hour. Caldo should reduce by half but add more water if needed during the reduction process. Strain when finished.

Chicharrón

1. Boil pork belly in water with seasonings for about 35 minutes until pork is tender and easily pierced by a fork.

2. Remove pork belly, allow to cool and pat dry.

3. Fry pork belly in 1 cup of peanut oil until very crispy all over for several minutes over medium heat. Be very careful when handling and frying the chicharrón and use a splatter guard or a vented lid if you can. 

4. Once fried and cooled off, dice into ¼ inch cubes. *1 lb of crispy fried bacon can be used instead to pork belly

Pana (‘Ulu)

1. 2 large green ‘ulu or approximately 6 cups of par cooked ‘ulu from Hawaiʻi ‘Ulu Cooperative. If using fresh ‘ulu, quarter and remove core of ‘ulu. 

2. Steam or boil for 10-15 minutes until tender but not mushy. Strain and allow to cool. 

3. Cut either your freshly steamed or store-bought ʻulu pieces into 1 inch cubes and fry in 1 cup of oil until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes each side

Assembling Mofongo

1. Fry the ʻulu in 1 cup of oil until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes each side

2. Form balls of mofongo by placing 1 cup of freshly fried ʻulu, 2 tablespoons of chicharron, a pinch of salt and a pinch of minced garlic into a pilon (mortar and pestle). Mash ingredients together well and scoop out of the pilon. 

3. Place mofongo balls into a bowl, pour some caldo over the top, garnish with a little more chicharron and enjoy!

4. You should get 4-5 balls of mofongo roughly the size of a tennis ball. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle available, you can mash ingredients with a potato masher in a large bowl and form the balls with your hands.