INTRODUCTION

The Dominican diet is based on the typical dish better known as “The Flag”. It is
composed of rice, beans and meat. The Dominican Flag is composed of 3 distinctive
colors: red, blue and white. In our traditional lunch, the white is represented by the rice,
the red is represented by the beans, and using a bit of poetic license, the meat of the
chicken represents the blue.
 Speak of your favorite food

Rice, beans, and meat is better known as “The Banner” or “The Flag”. It is the
main dish of us Dominican people. I go crazy with this food because it’s part of our daily
diet as the Dominican that I am.

When I was a child I remember my mother forcing me to eat rice and beans,
because when I was young I didn’t like them, today it is my favorite food and it’s the dish
I cook the best. This was the first dish my mother taught me to cook and now this dish
can’t be absent from my table, its taste is indescribable.

I like it due to its nutritional and wholesome values because I give my organism
its necessary nutrients; protein in the meat, carbohydrates in the rice, and iron and
protein in the beans. It’s great flavor makes it even better to eat.

Where it comes from

The origin of this dish comes from a dark period of Dominican History called
“España Bob a” or “Crazy Spain” due to the economic crisis in which the island found
itself in. The island’s butchers and the people had to eat the little that they could
produce: beans, rice, and meat due to the abundant farmers in the country.

The Dominican Flag, the national dish, is a direct reflection of the multicultural
conformation and the mixing of the Dominican people; Asian rice, South American
beans, and European meat. All were united in a delicious finger-licking plate.

The Caribbean is, before anything else, a great and dynamic union of different
indigenous tribes, blacks, and Spaniards. And this, reflected in their cooking is shown in
the ingredients they consume, with a vast variety in its preparation. In Cuba, for
example, one of the dishes most common is the black beans.

The Dominican kitchen presents characteristics of a “homegrown” kitchen,

meaning, its European origins were developed in America with African influences.
That’s why it’s similar to the countries from Latin descent in the Caribbean, even with
slight variations developed in each region; they have received influence from other
people groups and cultures.

The Caribbean kitchen reflects centuries of history that muster up the presence
of indigenous customs, mixed with the customs of the colonizers, like the Spanish, the
English, the French, and the most important in our judgment: the African.
 Ingredients for the Rice

- 4 cups of rice
- 6 cups of water
- Oil
- Salt

Ingredients for the Beans

- 2 cups of boiled beans

- 2 cups of water
- Small Diced Onions
- Sautéed Peppers
- Seasonings
- Pumpkin
- Vegetables
- Salt

Ingredients for the Meat

- 1 pound of Chicken
- 2 Green peppers
- 1 small diced onion
- 1 crushed garlic
- ½ a teaspoon of sugar
- Oil
- Vinegar
- Seasonings
- Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper

How to Prepare White Rice

 Add water to a pot, with tablespoons of oil and salt. Let the water start to boil and
add rice. When the water has evaporated, lower the stove’s temperature for around 20
minutes with the lid on the pot. After the time is up, the rice has to be on soft and loose.
Maintain the fire low for more time if there’s still water.

How to Prepare Beans

Add beans, separate some seasonings containing garlic, salt and peppers (this is
the basic seasonings). After you put the beans to cook, add the other ingredients. Dice
them in sizes as big as possible, just so that the flavor can enter into the beans, but in a
size that is easy to extract later. Later when they have been cooked enough for all the
seasonings to give up its flavors, take out the vegetables and the pieces of garlic,
peppers, etc. Then add the basic seasonings (separated in the beginning). It can have a
more creamy substance by adding pumpkin purée and slowly mixing it with the beans.

How to Prepare the Meat

Season the meat with ranch seasons and chicken seasonings, and a little bit of
vinegar, garlic, hot peppers, salt, oregano, onions, peppers and let it sit for a while. In a
hot pot with oil and sugar, mix it around until it dissolves. Add meat and fry it until the
meat has a golden look. Add a bit of water to avoid it burning. When the meat is soft,
reduce water. Add the other ingredients (onions, sauces and peppers). Add more or
less water so that the sauce can have the correct consistency.
 CONCLUSION

For us Dominicans, there isn’t any better combination in our daily table than rice,
beans, and chicken. Without focusing too much on the nature of the legumes or the
other dishes that accompany this dynamic duo: the rice with beans and meat. What
every Dominican waits for when it comes time to sit down at the table when the clock
hits 12. It doesn’t matter if we are at work or at home, the “Flag” is our destiny when we
go have lunch.
 Bibliography

https://www.ecured.cu

https://listindiario.com