Dominican Republic food

Dominican cuisine has characteristics of a “creole,” i.e. of European origin but was developed in America with African influences.  It is similar to the Latin-speaking countries surrounding the Caribbean Sea, though with slight variations in each region.  It has been influenced by other people and cultures, as is the case with immigrants from the Lesser Antilles (”cocolos”), who use coconuts in many of their dishes.

The food consumed each day at noon in the Dominican Republic consists of white rice, cooked beans and cooked meat (of any kind but preferably chicken or beef).  This dish can be accompanied by green or Russian salad and plantains fried or ripe.  The banana is consumed in the country in many ways, in addition to boiling.

Two ways to prepare it is tostones (mashed banana slices and fried) and as mangu, a mashed ripe banana or boiled green, usually accompanied by sausage, cheese or eggs. This is usually consumed for dinner.  There is a way of cooking them in syrup, this dish is called past for pan bananas.

Tostones

This is a typical dish which enjoys great popularity and acceptance.  It is a stew, which is a common dish in many parts of Latin America, with variations.  It is usually consumed on special occasions and accompanied by avocado.  Another typical Dominican dish is Mofongo, a dish of fried bananas.

Half is poured into a trough and is crushed to a paste and usually accompanied with garlic and pork rinds.  The stew is a kind of soup with rice, meat, chicken and pigeon peas generally.  It is eaten with avocado, if in season, and tostones.

Just as in the U.S there is fast food, and common in the Dominican Republic is what is known as chicken bites, which are fried breaded chicken pieces, often accompanied by fries or tostones.

Among the favorite desserts of the Dominican Republic are:
Beans with sweet bean milk cream; sugar and raisins (usually eaten mainly at Easter);
Majarete, cream made from corn with cinnamon powder on top; Jalao, shredded coconut candy with molasses, which is made into a ball and fire in a hearth; sweet coconut milk;
Dulce de leche paste, either alone or filled with fruit such as orange, guava, cashew, etc.
sweet potato and fresh cashew.