Do Dominicans Eat Spicy Food? Is Dominican food spicy? These are common questions from first-time travelers to our country. Well, not every Dominican shares the same likes and dislikes, and tastes may vary from person to person, but let me give you the short answer...
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jun 5, 2008
Is Dominican food spicy?
Unlike our Mexican cousins or our neighbors to the west, Dominicans - in general - don't handle spicy-hot food very well; this is partly a matter of cultural taste but also due to misconceptions regarding the effects of spicy food on our health.
So, no, Dominican spicy dishes are few and, quite frankly, considerably mild compared to Mexican food, Jamaican, or Indian food, for example. In my experience and estimation as the uncommon Dominican who loves tongue-stripping spicy food, Dominican food is not that spicy, even our spiciest dishes.
And that's fine; it has tons of flavor and other great qualities to make up for it. Let's go through some of the spiciest Dominican dishes...
Spicy Dominican foods
These Dominican dishes are often spicy (ish) but can be made spicier depending on the taste of the people who make them or eat them. It is common to be offered a bottle of hot sauce or Agrio de naranja - the Dominican spicy homemade vinegar - in local mom 'n pop restaurants.
Dishes with spicy pepper
The most commonly used spicy pepper is Scotch bonnet pepper, a surprisingly hot little pepper known as cachuchita or ajicito picante - to contrast it to the very similar-looking sweet "ají gustoso."
In Dominican cuisine, spicy peppers can be traditionally found in Chivo Liniero, a goat stew hailing from La Linea, the northwestern corner of the country, in Rabo Encendido, an ox-tail stew that we also share with Cuban cuisine, and in Agrio de Naranja.
Ginger
Another popular ingredient in spicy food is ginger.
Dominicans do not traditionally add ginger to savory dishes, and it's most famously used as an ingredient in our lovely Ginger tea, and some people add it to Habichuelas con Dulce (a bean-based dessert), but it's not very common.
Black pepper
Black pepper, to which many an ancient empire owed its riches, is the dried berry of the plant Piper Nigrum. Pepper is used in the Dominican Republic probably as much as it is in the rest of the world. It is commonly found as an ingredient in Sazón completo o sazón en polvo, a common seasoning powder.
The myths
First, let's address some of the myths commonly found in our country about spicy foods.
The most common one I've heard is that "spicy food causes ulcers." This is now known to be false.
According to the CDC: "In the past, spicy food, acid, and stress were thought to be major causes of peptic ulcers. We now know that up to nine out of ten ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)."
Spicy food may aggravate ulcer pain, but it will not cause stomach problems for a healthy person.
The other widely-held belief is that "spicy foods cause hemorrhoids" (sorry to bring the H word in here). This is also false.
The American College of Gastroenterology cites other causes that have nothing to do with spicy food. They suggest, however, not consuming spicy foods to avoid discomfort when the condition already exists.
Do you like spicy food? What's your favorite spicy Dominican dish? Let me know in the comments.
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