Locrio de camarones (Rice and shrimps)

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This weekend a friend and I visited Santo Domingo’s Chinatown, an uptown street that Chinese immigrants have made their home. Some of the ones we met didn’t speak any Spanish, some spoke Spanish with a heavy accent. We saw two of them that were listening to merengue, my friend commented that they were aplatanados.

If you are Dominican I am sure you know what that word means. If you are not, I will explain. Roughly – and maybe wrongly- translated aplatanado means plantain-like. Being that plantains are a typical, indispensable and common addition to our daily meals it has apparently being chosen to represent our sense of being Dominicans in the same manner that Americans have chosen the apple pie.

It is not necessary to be a Dominican citizen to be aplatanado, actually it implies that you are a foreigner that has adapted to our culture. Being aplatanado means that you eat our food, have learnt to dance our music, you drink our rum, and have learnt to love our country. Being told that you are aplatanado is a compliment in a way, it implies that you have been accepted, we think of you as one of us.

So, if you are not a Dominican citizen but you visit our website often, if you recognize yourself in our stories, and you know the taste of the dishes in our site. If you crave for Sancocho every time it rains, and you know the difference between locrio and asopao, we hereby declare you Officially Aplatanado.

Locrio is a combination of rice, meat and vegetables (or Seafood). We are presenting here a generic recipe in which you can substitute the shrimps for crab, sardines, codfish or seafood of your preference.

Time: 4. mins. Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of shrimps
• 4 cups of rice
• 6 cups water
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped green peppers
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1 teaspoon mashed garlic
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1/8 cup chopped seedless olives
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 spoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 spoon finely chopped coriander
• 1/2 spoon of thyme leaves
• Salt

Preparation:

1. In an pot heat the oil (reserve 2 tablespoons of oil), add the herbs, olives, spices, tomato paste, peppers, garlic and salt to taste. Add the shrimps and stir (be careful with hot oil splattering). Cover and wait two minutes, then stir again.
2. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the rice. Stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking. When all the water has evaporated cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on very low heat. Wait 15 minutes and uncover, stir, add the remaining oil and cover again. Wait another 5 minutes. Try the rice, it should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat.

Main ingredients: rice • seafood • shellfish