A green plantain looks like a chunky, very firm banana. Unlike a yellow banana, you don't eat it raw - it is hard and starchy, more like a potato. Cooking is what transforms it. Each plantain makes about eight patacones.
Here is the clever bit. The cook fries thick slices for a few minutes until they soften. Then the slices are pulled out, flattened with the bottom of a bowl or a special wooden tool, and fried again until crisp and golden. Double-frying gives them their crunchy outside and tender inside.
Patacones come with lots of things - rice and beans, fried fish, chicken stew, scrambled eggs. They are even a great snack on their own with a sprinkle of salt. Many Panamanian kids would happily eat a plate of patacones for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Dipping is half the fun. Patacones are often served with a spoonful of guacamole, a tangy tomato salsa, or a kind of garlic-mayo sauce called 'rosada'. Children at family meals often have a quiet competition to see who can dip the most without leaving any crumbs.