We’re not from round here. Kipe is the proof.
One of the things that marvels me about America, the continent, is that for the most part we are all young nations, some more stable and prosperous than others, but we all have one thing in common: short memory. This is well illustrated in Dominican society as our inability to bear long grudges.
Nations round the world are still fighting wars, with words or with arms, that started so many generations ago that in some cases nobody remembers how it all started. In contrast, the Dominican Republic consists of people who arrived from many continents, all amalgamated into one. We are, after all, a nation of people who all came from somewhere else: Taínos, Africans, Europeans, Asians. They came in waves, each giving us bits and pieces of their culture to make what is today the Dominican Republic.
Personally, while I’m not really interested in tracking my ancestors back to wherever they came from, I’m obsessed with the origin of our dishes. I believe it says at least as much about who we are than knowing what village in Europe or Africa begot my forefathers, or how many drops of my blood came from our Taino ancestors. Your mileage may vary.
Many a time when researching about a recipe we spend as much, or even more time, trying to find out where it came from and how it evolved into what we eat today. And while unfortunately there isn’t that much research we can consult, in many cases the arrival or creation of a dish is recent enough that we can tell with near certainty where it came from. Luckily this is the case with kipes.
Quipes, or kipes – I’ve found both spellings – are a Dominicanized version of the Lebanese kibbeh, brought to our shores by a wave of Middle Eastern immigrants that arrived in the Dominican Republic at the end of the 19th century.
Besides becoming a prosperous, respected community, these immigrants added several of their culinary traditions (arroz con fideos, tipili, niño envuelto) to our cuisine, this is probably the most popular of these additions.
Next to the recipe for Dominican Cake this is the recipe that seems to give people the most trouble, and like that other recipe this one started as a simple set of instructions, but still many readers seem to struggle with it, so I guess it’s time to expand this recipe to add more details that will help beginners get a good result at the first try. The most important thing to remember is to read the recipe carefully, and follow the instructions to a T. If you already know what you are doing then by all means stray from the instructions as these steps are just what I’ve found to work for me.
Tía Clara
Quipe (or Kipe) owes its origins to the Middle Eastern immigrants who moved to the south of the island in the 19th century. Today they are an indispensable part of our picadera (party food) platter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup bulgur (whole grain)
- 1 lb of ground beef
- 2 cups oil for frying
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (or 1 Tbsp tomato paste)
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 basil leaves, chopped
- 1 pepper, very finely diced
- 1 small onion, very finely diced
- Pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- Put the wheat in a bowl and cover with water and let it sit in for 4 hrs, stir a couple of times while it rests.
- Pulse onion, and basil in the food processor until you obtain a coarse paste.
- In a bowl, mix meat, pepper, basil and onion.
- Add a pinch of pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt.
- Using your hands mix the meat with the vegetables until you get an uniform mixture.
- Separate in thirds and reserve 2/3 of the meat.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan.
- When the oil is hot add the 1/3 of the meat you've taken out.
- Brown the meat.
- Add tomato sauce and mix well.
- Add 1/2 cup of water and the raisins and simmer over medium heat.
- When all the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat.
- Let it cool down to room temperature. Reserve.
- Drain the leftover water from the bulgur and squeeze to get rid of as much water as possible.
- Add the remaining raw meat to the bulgur.
- With your hands mix the bulgur and raw meat, kneading it until it is mixed uniformly. This is a key step, the better mixed this is, the better chances of quipes not breaking apart in the hot oil. Knead for your life!
- Put 2 tablespoons of the mixture on the palm of your hands and roll into a ball.
- Make a deep indentation in the ball.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the indentation.
- Put another tablespoon of the bulgur mixture on the filing and roll the kipe with the palm of your hands making it as compact as possible.
- Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
- When it is time to fry them give them another quick squeeze to make them even more compact.
- Heat the remaining oil in a frying pot over medium heat. The oil has to be very hot, cool oil will make your kipes break down and possibly ruin the oil too.
- Being very, very careful with splatters (hot oil and cold liquids do not get along well) fry your kipes, preferably one at a time, dropping them in the oil with a colander to avoid burning yourself.
- After frying, the kipe has to be deep brown outside. Open the first one when you are done, if there is any pink part inside it means there is still raw meat, a bad thing, fry the next one longer. Place them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Notes
Using lean meat produces a quipe that is more fragile, go with 2nd grade meat, as it contains more fat. If you are worried about your cholesterol you shouldn't be eating quipes after all.
If you are planning on baking them buy the minced meat with the most fat and brush them with oil prior to baking them (at the highest temp. in your oven). I am not a fan of baked ones as they turn out pretty dry, so do this at your own risk.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican and Dominican-inspired recipes, home ideas, crafts, and the chronicles of Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana's adventures.
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Quipes!!! My favorite, this an empanadas.. so yummy! Have not tried to make them yet, but will soon. thanks
Prepare los kipes, pero cuando los frei se habrieron. Y el trigo era muy grueso. Que fue lo que hice mal, pero tenian buen gusto.
Am I missing something? I don't see how much meat to leave uncooked!
Please read it carefully, it does.
I placed bulgur wheat into bowl with amount of water indicated for approx 8 hrs. When I drained it, it was way to soggy. I used a cup of wheat and about 0.5 lb of ground beef for the mixture. Did I leave the wheat in water to long? Did I use to much ground beef? Thanks
El bulgur que vi en la tienda tiene numeros (bulgur#1,2, 3 etc) cual recomienda usted?
El mas fino, si no me equivoco es el No. 1 (ese es el que usamos en mi familia).
Great recipe! Me la apunto para hacerla y publicarla en el blog un día de estos!
Kisses!
Hola Elisa, nunca me acuerdo cual es cual, pero de los tres yo he usado siempre el más grueso (con cáscara).
Muchas gracias, ese comprare.
Hi, are these ever made without meat in DR? What would you suggest as a substitute for meat in this recipe? I don't want to ruin it. This recipe sounds delicious. Thanks!
How much water is needed for the bulgar there is no specification for the water needed…..
My mom & I made these this weekend… they were heavenly. She hasn't made them in years and now I know why… they're a lot of work! She uses "yerbabuena" instead of basil & adds some spices to the trigo. I'm glad I was involved because now I know how to make them. All the work is totally worth it. We took them over to my Puerto Rican in-laws house, its funny how many people have never even heard of these.
Has anyone used ground turkey meat? Let me know if yes and what extra seasoning did you use.
We have made them with ground turkey. The only thing we do different in our recipe is use yerbabuena instead of basil, like I posted above.
I put the 2 tablespoons of salt as recommended but it ended up wayyyyyy too salty, and i like salt.
You are right! It should be two teaspoons.
Thanks there deli repos gracias!
Los quipes son mis favoritos!
Thank you so much!!! I've been looking for this recipe for a long time
When I was younger my dad use to buy us two dozens every Sunday.
They were soooo good . It was quipe or pastelillos , I always picked quipe.
There is also a yuca fritters with annies. They were so special because I never seen anyone selling them!! Are you familiar with this recipe? Pictures are beautiful , easy to understand recipes and authentic.
Thank you so much!!! I've been looking for this recipe for a long time
When I was younger my dad use to buy us two dozens every Sunday.
They were soooo good . Question: Do you know the reciepie for yuca frita de annies? Yuquita. My Dominican dad passed away , never gotten the recipe. Thank you so much
for sharing with all us those special memories we had when younger. lol
To find a recipe by its main ingredients click on the Recipe menu at the top of the page and go to "By Ingredients".
Good luck.
Hi, I'm Dominican and of course I love Quipes, I used to have them all the time back home. I never made them as there's was no need to with so many street sellers.
I live in England and yesterday I decided it that I wanted to make Quipes to bring to a Holy communion party that we were going today, I follow your recipe and guess what, it was a success! There were gone within minutes.
I am very please with myself, even my English husband liked them, I left the tomato as my husband doesn't like it, but I doesn't think it made any difference.
Many thanks, My next venture are going to be the Empanadas.
Yay! Go you. Glad to hear they were a success.
This is one of my favorites! I can’t wait to use your recipe! Thanks
hola, el bulgur, no sé que es, pero me imagino que es el trigo de grano entero o me equivoco!!!
My husband tried Quipes in DR, as as soon as we arrived to Canada he asked “so, when are you going to make me quipes and arepa, eh?”.
You saved the day Aunt Clara, now I do them in big batches and have them ready in the freezer.
Merci!
another favorite of mine! Let’s stop fighting let’s just cook… During the next meeting that the leaders of the world get together they should bring dishes from their respective homes. They’ll realize how much we have in common. We’re so busy pointing our our differences we don’t see how much we are alike. Thank you for the historical mention of where this “deliciousness” comes from. Yummy!