COPPERWhat is the national dish of the Dominican Republic?
The national dish of the Dominican Republic is la bandera dominicana, "the Dominican flag": white rice, stewed red beans (habichuelas guisadas) and stewed meat, usually chicken or beef, served side by side as the midday meal. It has no official legal status, but Dominicans and reference sources call it the national dish. Mangú is the national breakfast and sancocho the national stew.
What is la bandera dominicana?
La bandera is not one recipe but a plate of three: arroz blanco (white rice), habichuelas guisadas (red beans stewed in a tomato sofrito) and carne guisada, meat stewed in a dark tomato gravy. Each is cooked separately and they are served next to each other, never mixed in one pot.
It is the Dominican lunch, and lunch is the most important meal of the day there. Dominicans also call it simply la comida or el plato del día. A Dominican green salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber is almost always served with it.
Why is it called "the flag"?
The Dominican flag is a white cross dividing blue and red quarters. On the plate, the white is the rice and the red is the beans; the meat stands in for the third colour, with what Dominican cookbook author Clara González calls a touch of poetic and culinary licence.
There is no law or decree naming la bandera the national dish. The status comes from use: it is what most Dominicans eat at midday, Dominican food writers describe it as the national lunch, and it is the dish given for the country in Wikipedia's list of national dishes.
The plate is not the only food emblem of national pride. Dominicans have also adopted the plantain as a symbol, shouting "plátano power" when a Dominican athlete wins abroad, from baseball to track and field.
How la bandera is made
Our bandera dominicana recipe follows the three parts in order. 400 g of red kidney beans are soaked overnight and simmered about 1 hour 30 until tender. 800 g of chicken thighs marinate 30 minutes with garlic, oregano, sour orange juice and salt, are browned hard, then simmered 30 minutes with onion, pepper and tomato sauce until a dark gravy forms.
For the beans, onion, pepper and garlic are fried with tomato sauce and 200 g of diced auyama squash before the beans and their liquid go in. They simmer 25 minutes while the squash is mashed into the broth; that squash is what thickens them. The rice is rinsed, boiled until the water is absorbed, then steamed covered on low for 20 minutes. Cilantro goes into the beans and the meat at the very end.
Because each part cooks on its own, the work starts one to two hours before lunch, depending on the meat. The three pots can run at the same time, and the salad is made while they simmer.
- Carne guisada: stewed chicken is the most common, with beef close behind; pork or fish stews also take its place.
- Habichuelas guisadas: usually red beans, sometimes pinto or pink beans; black beans, white beans or pigeon peas are accepted swaps.
- Arroz blanco: plain white rice, with the concón, the crisp crust from the bottom of the pot, always welcome.
- On the side: green salad, avocado, tostones (fried green plantain) or fritos maduros (fried ripe plantain).
Mangú and sancocho: the other national dishes
Two more dishes carry a national title, each for a different part of the day. Mangú is called the national breakfast: boiled green plantains mashed while hot with butter and cold water until smooth, then covered with red onions softened in oil and vinegar. Served with fried salami, fried cheese and a fried egg it becomes los tres golpes, "the three hits". Its roots are traced to West African fufu.
Sancocho, above all sancocho de siete carnes (seven-meat stew), is described as the national soup: several meats simmered with yuca, yautía, yam, auyama and green plantain added in stages, until the squash melts into the broth and thickens it. It is served in deep bowls with white rice and slices of avocado on the side. Sancocho is also claimed elsewhere, as you can read in the national dish of Panama.
Similar plates in the region
Rice, beans and stewed meat side by side is a pattern shared across the Caribbean and northern South America. The closest relative is Venezuela's pabellón criollo, another plate named after a flag; see the national dish of Venezuela. The Dominican Republic also has its own rice-and-beans cooked together, moro de guandules, made with pigeon peas.
You will find all three Dominican dishes, with ingredients and step-by-step methods, on our page about the food of the Dominican Republic.
The recipes
- La bandera dominicana🇩🇴 Dominican Republic · 14 hours and 30 minutes
Mangú🇩🇴 Dominican Republic · 35 minutes
Sancocho🇩🇴 Dominican Republic · 3 hours and 20 minutes
Questions people ask
What is the national breakfast of the Dominican Republic?
Mangú: mashed boiled green plantains topped with vinegared red onions, usually served with fried salami, fried cheese and fried eggs, a combination called los tres golpes.
What are the colours of la bandera dominicana?
White rice and red beans stand for the white and red of the flag; the stewed meat stands in for the blue.
Is sancocho the national dish of the Dominican Republic?
Sancocho, especially sancocho de siete carnes, is called the national soup or stew. La bandera is the everyday national dish.
What beans are used in la bandera?
Usually red kidney beans, stewed with auyama squash, sofrito, tomato sauce and cilantro.
When do Dominicans eat la bandera?
At lunch, the main meal of the day in the Dominican Republic.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of the Dominican Republic: 12 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda?
- What is the national dish of the Bahamas?
- What is the national dish of Barbados?
- What is the national dish of Cuba?
- What is the national dish of Dominica?