Dominican Food Staples: 5 Classic Meals/Foods That Take Your Palate Back to the Caribbean Island

If you're unfamiliar with the Dominican culture, then you must understand how their meals work before you can even put these recipes to use. A los Dominicanos le gustan comer! A lot at that. Dominicanos have three BIG meals every day. And that doesn't include la picadera y la ensalada. All that dieting and two small meals/one big meal a day theory doesn't exist in a Dominican household. Dominicanos have so many amazing recipes that it would be unfair to them to just eat small meals. So they indulge. Every day.

With that being said, Latin Post wants to share a few meal ideas that Los Dominicanos would be proud of and would want you to indulge in as well. Please note that while not all of these meals are of Dominican origin, they definitely present a different and unique flavor shaped by the palate and Dominicano culture.

Cuatro Golpes (Mangu con queso frito, longaniza, salchichon y huevos) - Man on man. This is the ultimate Dominican breakfast and any Domincan household/restaurant you go to will tell you the same thing. This is the perfect combination of fried cheese, mashed plantains, fried salami, fried spanish sausage and eggs-all topped with onions. AMAZING. This meal may take some time to make but when it's all done and ready, you'll be planning to make it all over again!

Sancocho - Sancocho is the Dominican version of the chicken noodle soup but it like cures EVERYTHING. Sancocho also has ten times more items in it. It has yuca, beef chunks, chicken, corn and well so much more. This is chicken noodle soup taken up about 5 notches.

Bacalao con Papas - Many don't like codfish but Dominicans LOVE it. They cook it with potatoes, dumplings, rice and anything that makes sense with it. It's delicious. It does have a distinct smell to it but uhh you'll get over it. Eventually.

Arroz con Leche - Arroz con Leche is actually really tasty and the totally opposite of what most would expect. When most hear rice, they think rice with some sort of meat or fish but this is different. Arroz con Leche is sweet and is considered a postre (dessert). But if you're feeling adventurous, you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dominicans don't care as long as you enjoy it.

Bollitos de Yuca - Yuca aka cassava is quite amazing. It can be boiled, baked or in this case, made into little balls filled with love. We're kidding. They are filled with cheese. But cheese equals love so yeah, make these.

Honorary Mentions:

Morir Soñando - One of Dominican's favorite drinks that is a concoction of milk and orange juice. Add some ice and a few fruit slices and you're all set.

Picadera - Picadera is the fancy Dominican way of saying cheese and crackers. But instead of cheese and crackers, it can be tostones con queso frito y salami or pastelitos. It all depends on what you're in the mood for or what kind of party you are having!

Ensalada Verde - Yes, Dominicans do eat a bit "flavorful" most of the time but that doesn't mean that they don't like have some ensalada to balance it all out. The oil, vinegar and salt salad dressing will kill all of your hopes of being healthy though. And the salad isn't fully green so that may be a tad bit confusing.

Domplines - Dumplings. Boiled. With cheese all over them. That's all.

Flan - Flan is like your favorite cousin that you can't wait to show up to the party. It's festive. It's pretty. And it's just plain, great.