yucca help!

My acupuncturist told me to eat yucca. I never cooked it before and it was a comptlete disaster. She told me to bake it like a baked potato. Everytime I took it out of the oven it was still hard, I was waiting for the inside to get soft like a baked potato but it never did, and I overcooked it so it was like a burnt brick. I need some yucca help please. Should I cube it up and boil it or how is the best way to cook it?

[Sam Fujisaka]

Yuca/cassava is good boiled in sticks or done like French fries after boiling. It never turns soft like a potato. Why in the world would your acupuncturist tell you to eat yuca? As to coll's question, yuca sold in the US is "sweet" and contains no cyanic compounds.

[chefmurray57]

I live in Costa Rica and we eat yuca all of the time here. It is much better than potatoes when deep-fried. I simply boil, cool, peel, cut into french fry shapes, and deep fry it. Yum!

Definitely boil first. Cubans eat it with a mojo (vinegar, oil, sliced onions, garlic, sour orange juice). Fry the leftovers the next day. Better than potatoes.

What was the yucca supposed to help with, if you don't mind answering?

I like to boil it, them pan fry (kind of like home fries) and put an egg over it...

Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com

so does that mean baking yucca is out? in regards to yucca and health. it has to do with the whole yin/yang deficiency theory. my acupuncturist is not recomonding it for a specific ailment. I am trying to remember which is which and I think yucca has more yang and is considered moistening to the body. with chinese medicine there is dry, damp, hot, cold and moist and if you have a dry condition the yucca is one of the foods recomended to add moisture to the body.

I have always boiled them before using in other applications. Cut the yucca into 4 inch sections, peel and put in salted water, bring to boil and let simmer till tender.
If you want "yucca frita", boil till almost tender, removed from water and let sit on a plate uncovered to cool. Cut into wedges and deep fry. Salt and serve with mayonnaise that you can dress up with cilantro and lime or garlic or however else you would like.
You can eat just boiled, topped with onions slices that have been sweated a little, with vinegar and garlic added.

Think of yuca like a potato:

Fry 'em
Shave 'em
Mash 'em
Gratin 'em
Boil 'em

I really like yuca chips with salsas etc and made like fries with spicy mayo. Some methods are better suited to frozen yuca though.

Fry 'em.

I've only heard of boiling them, and I've been told if you don't boil enough they are actually poisonous! So I boil them real good. Or buy them frozen, already prepared (Goya).