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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

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    Mangú con Los Tres Golpes: The Dominican Breakfast

    Los tres golpes - Dominican breakfast

    En Español Recipe ↆ

    The iconic Dominican breakfast, Los Tres Golpes is one of the best representations of our gastronomy and a must-try breakfast.

    Los tres golpes - Dominican breakfast

    JUMP TO: show ↓
    1. Why we ❤️ it
    2. What is "los tres golpes"?
    3. Why the name?
    4. About the recipe
    5. Recipe

    Why we ❤️ it

    Generally, breakfast in the Dominican Republic nowadays is a light meal, as most of us have moved out of the campos and into sedentary jobs that do not require a heavy morning meal with a long preparation. But for Dominicans, the iconic Dominican breakfast meal that represents our gastronomy is the colorful, flavorful mangú con los tres golpes.

    What is "los tres golpes"?

    Los tres golpes is the name given by Dominicans to our iconic breakfast meal consisting of fried Dominican-style salami, fried cheese, and fried eggs served alongside mangú.

    Los tres golpes is, therefore, not one, but three dishes (cheese, eggs, and salami), and served with mangú garnished with Dominican-style sauteed onions. If available, avocado is very welcome, but it isn't part of the original combination (some people call it los cuatro golpes).

    Mangú

    Mangú is mashed plantains made smooth and creamy with the addition liquid (usually water) and fat (typically oil or butter, although originally lard), garnished with Dominican-style sauteed red onions. We have a very extensive recipe with a lot of information about it, so click that link to see it.

    Dominican-style fried salami

    Outside the Dominican Republic, fried salami may sound a bit crazy, so in case you didn't know: it bears little resemblance to Italian salame (plural is salami), and just as little to Spanish salchichón, as it's also named in our country. You can read more about it, and about its history.

    Queso frito

    Queso frito (fried cheese) is made with the aptly named queso de freír (cheese for frying). It is an unripened, semi-hard cheese made from cow milk. It has a very high melting point, so it's quite easy to fry without melting, at least good quality queso de freír. You can find out more about it here, along with a trick to prevent your cheese from melting.

    If you cannot get queso de freír, try to find plain halloumi (no mint!), it's as close you'll get to the right texture and flavor.

    Huevos fritos

    Sunny-side-up eggs, with a crispy edge for some people. Just that simple.

    • los tres golpes Dominican breakfast
    • Dominican onions and avocado

    Why the name?

    The name "Los Tres Golpes" for things that identify us as Dominican has a long history. It may have originally come from Perico ripiao, the predecessor to Merengue, our national music.

    Perico ripiao was formed by tres golpes (three beats), which were the güira [Dominican instrument], tambora [drum] and accordion; while the symbols of the country were God, country and freedom [Dios, patria y libertad]. These were questions that any military officer could ask citizens to confirm Dominican nationality [my translation].

    [1]

    Soon the term "los tres golpes" was adopted by Dominicans for an even more ominous purpose during the Trujillo dictatorship. [2]

    The youth felt the state of repression the most, because at night mixed patrols would go out, made up of members of the armed forces, who demanded that passers-by present their identity documents. All Dominicans had to carry these documents, and the people, in a sarcastic way, baptized them with the name of "los tres golpes"; that is, the Personal Identity card, the Dominican Party card, and the Mandatory Military Service card [my translation].

    [3]

    With the name already in the public consciousness when post-dictatorship salami (see the history of Dominican salami) became a staple nationwide, we were ready for a new "los tres golpes", one we are glad represents us now.

    A quick but important note is that I --and many other writers-- have always translated it as "the three strikes", but if its origin lies in music, perhaps an appropriate translation for los tres golpes should be "the three beats". What do you think?

    About the recipe

    As mentioned above, mangú con los tres golpes breakfast is not just one dish, but a whole meal. This is why you can find the components in two separate recipes in our blog. We've combined it here so you can find it more easily.

    Buen provecho!

    Tia Clara

    Recipe

    los tres golpes Dominican breakfast
    Keep screen on while cooking

    [Recipe + Video] Los Tres Golpes: Dominican Breakfast

    By: Clara Gonzalez
    The iconic Dominican breakfast, Los Tres Golpes ("the three strikes" in Spanish) is one of the best representations of our gastronomy, and a must-try Dominican breakfast.
    5 from 3 votes
    Save for Later Send by Email Print Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine Dominican
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 978 kcal

    Ingredients

    To make the plantains

    • 4 plantain (green, unripe)
    • 1 ½ teaspoon salt
    • 4 teaspoon olive oil, or butter
    • 1 cup water, at room temperature
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 red onion, large
    • 1 tablespoon fruit vinegar
    • salt

    Red onions with vinegar

    • 4 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 large red onion, sliced thinly
    • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)

    Eggs

    • 12 egg (medium)
    • 1 cup oil for frying, will also be used for frying the salami and cheese

    Cheese

    • 1 pound queso de freir, (or plain halloumi)

    Salami

    • 1 pound Dominican-style salami, cut into thin slices

    Instructions
     

    Plantains

    • Boiling plantain
      See the instructions and video for mangú.

    Onions with vinegar

    • Stirring onions with vinegar
      See instructions and video to make the onions.

    Queso

    • Frying cheese
      See instructions and video to fry the cheese.

    Eggs

    • Cracking egg
      Heat oil over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the eggs sunny-side-up one by one.

    Salami

    • Frying salami
      Fry the salami in the oil heated at medium-high heat, flipping mid-way until it's browned on both sides. Remove from the oil and let it rest on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

    Tips and Notes

    Nutrition calculation is a very rough approximation as Dominican salami is not part of the food database we use.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 978kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 47gFat: 69gSaturated Fat: 27gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 387mgSodium: 3331mgPotassium: 1058mgFiber: 3gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 1821IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 829mgIron: 3mg

    Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.

    READERS SEARCHED FOR dominican breakfast drink, los tres golpes dominicano, mangu con los 3 golpes, salami frito
    More recipes with: cheese, eggs, green plantain, plantain, salami

    References

    1. Vorágines Dominicanas. Elias Torres Sosa. Page Publishing, Inc. USA.
    2. Blood, Cement, and Prejudice and the Making of the Dominican-Haitian Border, 1937-1961 Edward Ramon Paulino Michigan State University. Department of History, 2001  Pg 180
    3. Historia de las elecciones en la República Dominicana, desde 1913 a 1998. Sandino Grullón. Kan sasana Printer. 1999. Pg 61.
    Edited: May 28, 2022 | Publish: Jul 14, 2021

    ¡Hola! I am Tía Clara, your host. Thanks for visiting.
    - Any questions or comments about this?
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    2 Comments
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    Laura
    July 20, 2021 10:23 PM

    This is the best food in the world, and you represent it very well. I am proud to send my non dominicanos to this site.5 stars

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    Lisa
    July 17, 2021 11:51 AM

    This is the first place I come to when I need to find a Dominican recipe or learn about our food history and culture. It has been the case since I was in school. Thanks so much for the work you do preserving our culture and sharing it with the… Read more »

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