I am sure you know what tostones, sancocho or locrio are, but there's more to Dominican cuisine than the best-known dishes you can find on every other recipe site, and our recipe collection reflects that. Let me show you our 20 most uncommon Dominican dishes.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Apr 9, 2023
We already have a list of the 15 most famous Dominican dishes and a great starter article on Dominican food, but I tried to do something entirely different for this article.
Instead of the same popular list of essential Dominican dishes, I want to show you those Dominican recipes not many people have tried or even heard of.
Here's a collection of recipes lovingly collected and written with the help of Dominicans all over the country, whom I've met on my trips to the countryside. Some were learned from my family, and some were shared with me by generous Dominican home cooks.
1. Cocombro guisado (stewed West Indian gherkin)
I grew up eating this vegetable, which was called pepino silvestre in my region of the country (Montecristi). Very inexpensive, cocombro grows in people's backyards or is sold in farmers' markets.
2. Panecico (cassava and pork "bread")
Panecicos is a traditional dish made with grated yuca and chicharrones, wrapped in a plantain leaf and cooked on a burén (stone hot plate). It's not very common or well-known, and I tried it for the first time in the mountains of Loma de Cabrera.
Thanks to Doña Nena and Elba Rosa from Partido, Dajabón, for the fantastic tips.
3. Dulce de tayota (chayote in spiced syrup)
Tayota is a popular vegetable in Dominican cooking, but this tayota-based dessert is new to many people. Try this unusual dessert and discover why it has fans; my mom was one.
4. Mala rabia (guava and plantain dessert)
I had been living in Santo Domingo for many years and had already been writing for this site when I first heard of this dish. Luckily, Da. Elsa, my friend Ingrid's grandma, was at hand to walk me through this unusual dessert.
5. Bangaña guisada
This is another of those unusual vegetables - we called it calabacita - I grew up with in Montecristi, although I couldn't appreciate it as a child. My mom loved adding it to pork meats, so here is one of her recipes.
6. Agrio de vinagrillo (bilimbi "vinegar")
There was a vinagrillo tree near my school, and it wasn't uncommon for us kids to stop by for some maroteo (scrumping); we loved this super sour fruit sprinkled with salt. But grownups would use them to make this agrio de vinagrillo, a spicy vinegary condiment.
7. Chocolate de maíz (toasted cornmeal "cocoa")
This was a drink that made a regular appearance on our weekend table and one of my parents' favorite hot drinks, but if you've never tried "chocolate de gofio" or "chocolate de maíz," then you should, you may love it too.
8. Palmito guisado (stewed heart of palm)
It took until I moved to Santo Domingo in my teens to first try this dish. Fortunately, by then, there was an alternative to palmito - which is illegal to harvest or sell - and it was available in supermarkets.
Thanks to my Aunt Iluminada for introducing me to this dish.
9. Cecina (salted, dried meat)
This was a staple of my childhood, and while we only consumed the goat meat version, carne salada can also be made with pork or beef. Created as a way of extending the shelf life of meat before the advent of refrigeration, it has its charms, and I love the texture changes and strong flavors the process creates.
This is how my grandma and mom made cecina.
10. Dulce de lechosa (candied unripe papaya)
Dulces en almíbar, or candied fruit desserts, are very popular in our country, and there are almost as many as there are fruits. Not as uncommon as Dulce de tayota, but not as popular as Dulce de cereza, Dulce de lechoza verde is a my second favorite lechosa recipe followed by Batida de lechosa.
11. Crema de cepa de apio (creole celery root cream)
A newcomer to Dominican cuisine, Andean cepa de apio grows well in the Constanza mountains, and it has become a popular Dominican vívere (root vegetable). It's now readily available in local supermarkets, and this Crema de cepa de apio is the first dish we encountered over a decade ago in the coldest part of the country.
12. Guavaberry drink
Made famous by Juan Luís Guerra in his homage to Cocolo culture, Guavaberry is a traditional drink served for Christmas in San Pedro de Macorís.
It took a trip to San Pedro, and a recipe kindly shared by Cocolo culture and food expert Ms. Dunker-Lambert. Thanks to her and her nephew Juan, I learned how to make guavaberry, and they helped me get my hands on some Arrayán - the Dominican name for the Guavaberry fruit.
13. Locrio de trigo (bulgur pilaf)
The origins of this unique dish are not necessarily apparent. According to a few sources, including my mom, trigo (bulgur wheat) and sorghum were introduced as rice substitutes during the 60s and 70s as food donations from USAID to the Dominican Rep. soared.
I ate this as a pre-schooler when I tagged along with my mom at a rural school where she started her career as a teacher, and a lunch program fed disadvantaged children attending these schools.
Sorghum disappeared from our diets, but Locrio de trigo stuck around. This is mami's recipe.
14. Gaviao (Christmas chocolate hot drink)
This is the latest addition to this list of recipes. Even somebody like me who has visited Dajabón countless times, was completely unaware of its existence. This is a very regional tradition from Dajabón and Santiago Rodríguez that the rest of the country is unaware of. Thanks to Denisse and Luisa for their recipes and tips.
15. Pan de coco (coconut bread)
Pan de coco is a type of flatbread made in Samaná. I first encountered this dish on a trip to Playa Rincón, Samaná in the early 2000s. I was lucky to have the chance to give a ride home to a street vendor who was kind enough to share her recipe and show me the process in her kitchen.
Wherever you are, Doña Franca, thanks for sharing your recipe.
16. Chocolate de maní (toasted peanut "cocoa")
Another La Linea classic, and mainstay of my family's weekend breakfasts, chocolate de maní is made with peanut paste, and is a lovely, creamy, dairy hot drink. If you too love peanuts, then you'll love mami's recipe.
17. Locrio de queso
This was a dish that mami served on rare occasions, and it wasn't until I started writing about Dominican cooking that I learned from other readers that it wasn't unique to my family. With a few changes - that, in my opinion, improve it - this one is based on mami's recipe.
18. Mambá (Savory peanut butter)
We never had American-style peanut butter at home. Instead, Mambá was nearly always in our fridge. Mambá is a dish we share with Haiti, which is possibly why it's so popular in La Linea.
It is a cottage industry in our country and used to be very popular as a school snack when my mom was a kid, with vendors around public schools selling pieces of Casabe smeared with this nutritious savory peanut butter.
While we never made it at home, this is a recreation of my favorite mambá.
19. Locrio de berenjena
This one is new to me, and I heard about it from Joe, a team member. I agreed with him that the original recipe could be made more appetizing, so I made some changes. And out came a fantastic vegetarian dish.
20. Buch'e perico
A weird name for a very appetizing stew. Corn is its base ingredients - hence the name which translates to "parrot's gut" - it originates in Moca and surrounding areas. Served as a substitute to Habichuelas guisadas, I preferred it as a soup.
Have you tried any of these dishes? Are you curious about any of them? Please let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!
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