Dominican Republic

Tonight we cooked Pollo Guisado (Dominican Braised Chicken) and White Rice and Plantain chips (we had to use bananas which were yummy too) with spicy mayonnaise (I'm not sure if spicy mayonnaise is from Dominican Republic but it was still delicious). I would give this meal a 6 1/2 out of 10. It was good but it wasn't amazing.

History and Geography

The Dominican Republic occupies two thirds of the Hispaniola island in the Caribbean Sea and is a lovely 25 degrees Celsius all year round. It is mostly made up of mountains, deserts and beaches. The Dominican Republic shares Hispaniola with Haiti and is very close to Cuba which we have already cooked from. For 5000 years, before Christopher Columbus reached it, the Dominican Republic was inhabited with 2 different indigenous nations that had immigrated from Central America and South America. They were called the Native American Taino and Arawak people and they lived in peace together. The number of Native people declined rapidly due to the diseases brought back from Europe.

The Spanish brought slaves from Africa to work as agricultural labourers.

Cuisine in The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is surrounded by water and is quite warm all year round. Dominicans eat lots of seafood and different fruits. The cuisine is a mix of Spanish, African and indigenous Taino influences and is very similar to that of Cuba. The Dominican Republic cuisine incorporates meat or seafood; grains, especially rice, corn (native to the island), and wheat; vegetables, such as beans and other legumes, potatoes, yuca, or plantains, and salad; dairy products, especially milk and cheese; and fruits, such as oranges, bananas, and mangos.

Pollo Guisado (Dominican Braised Chicken)

Ingredients

2 lbs [0.9 kg] of chicken cut into small pieces

2 limes cut into halves

A pinch of oregano

1 small red onion chopped into fine strips or eighths

½ cup of chopped celery (optional)

1 teaspoon of salt (more may be necessary)

½ teaspoon of mashed garlic

2 tablespoons of oil (corn, canola or peanut)

1 teaspoon of regular white sugar

2 cups of water

4 plum tomatoes cut into quarters

2 green bell or cubanela (cubanelle) peppers

¼ cup of seedless olives cut into halves (optional)

1 cup of tomato sauce

A small bunch of fresh coriander leaves

¼ teaspoon of pepper

Directions

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Scrub with the lime, getting lime juice into all the crevices.

In a bowl mix the chicken, oregano, onion, celery, salt and garlic. Marinate for 30 minutes.

In a pot heat the oil over medium heat, add sugar and wait until it browns.

Add the chicken (reserve all the other things in the marinade) and sauté until the meat is light brown.

Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring and adding water by the tablespoon as it becomes necessary.

Add onion, celery, tomatoes, cubanelle pepper, olives, and garlic, cover and and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, adding water by the tablespoon and stirring as it becomes necessary.

Add the tomato sauce and half a cup of water, simmer over low heat to produce a light sauce. Add fresh cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with arroz blanco, a side dish (or salad) and beans.

Tostones (Fried Plantains)

Ingredients

3 – 4 Green Plantains Vegetable Oil Salt

Directions

Add 1/5 of an inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat

Take one of the cut pieces of platain and add it to the oil to test and see it is hot enough. The oil will be at a good temperature if it starts to bubble gently and the plantain starts to cook (not turn brown) lightly. If the plantain starts to cook very rapidly and turn golden brown too quick, turn down the heat and let it cool before adding the rest

Add the remaining plantains and let them cook for a few minutes

After a couple of minutes, stir the plantains to flip and ensure they cook evenly

Stir occasionally, when they are a nice golden color and have been frying for about 5 to 7 minutes, remove from the oil. If they start to turn brown they are overcooking

Once they are precooked, remove from the oil and let them cool a little before flattening them.

You can use a “tostonera” to do this but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, just use a cutting board and a flat plate (or two flat plates)

Place the precooked plantain inside the “tostonera”, then press shut to flatten it. If you are using the cutting board or plate, just press the plantain with with a flat plate to flatten the plantain

Repeat the process with the remaining plantains. Once they are pressed, start adding them in small batches to the oil

Controlling the oil temperature can be tricky. When you add the pressed tostones, if they cook very rapidly and start to turn brown, the oil is too hot. Let them cook for about a minute and flip them, cook for another minute or two before removing from the oil and placing on a paper towel lined bowl or plate.

Add some salt to taste while the tostones are still hot and fresh

Spicy Mayonnaise

Ingredients

⅓ c canola mayonnaise

½ t smoked paprika

½ t garlic powder

¼ t salt

¼ t hot saucesalt and pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, combine mayo, paprika, garlic powder, salt and hot sauce and stir well. Keep chilled until ready to serve