Thin slices of unripe or barely-ripe plantain fried or baked until crisp, lightly salted. The West African answer to the potato chip, with more substance behind the crunch.
Ipekere is the Nigerian road-trip snack — bought in clear bags from women at the motor park, eaten on long bus journeys. In the diaspora it stocks the African grocery shelf next to imported brands, and Caribbean households make the same chip from green plantain as a familiar bridge food.
Plantain is a genuinely better base than potato — green plantain carries potassium, B6 and resistant starch, the kind of fiber that feeds gut bacteria and steadies blood sugar. Potassium directly counters the sodium-sensitive hypertension that hits Black Americans hardest. But fried in deep oil, much of that advantage drowns in seed-oil calories and acrylamide. Baked or air-fried plantain chips keep the potassium and resistant starch while cutting the oil, which is the whole game. Use green (unripe) plantain — lower sugar, higher resistant starch.
Slice green plantain paper-thin on a mandoline. For frying, drop into 350°F oil briefly until crisp and pale gold, then salt. For the better version, toss thin slices in a teaspoon of oil and bake at 375°F, flipping once, until crisp.
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