Dominican · main
Mangú con Los Tres Golpes
Mangú con Los Tres Golpes reads richness 5.9, salinity 5.8 and umami 5.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Dominican main, about 51 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.
The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10
- Umami & Savory — 6.7 / 10
- Sweet & Fruity — 2.3 / 10
- Sour & Bright — 4.5 / 10
- Bitter & Earthy — 1.7 / 10
- Rich & Fat — 6.1 / 10
- Aromatic & Spice — 2.2 / 10
The measured notes (of 18)
Richness 5.9 · Salinity 5.8 · Umami 5.2 · Sourness 4.5 · Funk & Ferment 4.0 · Allium 2.1 · Sweetness 1.8 · Fruity 1.5 · Earthy 1.4 · Smoke 1.3 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Bitterness 0.8 · Nutty 0.5 · Heat 0.5
What's in it (12)
- green plantains — 900 g
- water — 1500 g
- salt — 10 g
- red onion — 200 g
- apple cider vinegar — 80 g
- cold unsalted butter — 60 g
- reserved plantain cooking water — 120 g
- queso de freír — 250 g
- salami — 250 g
- eggs — 240 g
- oil — 55 g
- freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
Time & effort: about 51 min (36 min active) · effort: medium
Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 92.3 kcal, 2.7 g protein, 6 g fat, 9.8 g carbs
Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.
How it's cooked (8 steps)
- Mangú is the Dominican breakfast: mashed green plantain, smooth and slightly elastic, under a heap of pickled red onion. The three hits — los tres golpes — are fried cheese, fried salami and fried egg, and a Dominican breakfast without all three is only half dressed.
- Peel the plantains under running water, halve them, and boil in the salted water for about 20 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance. Reserve 120 ml of the cooking water before draining.
- While they boil, put the sliced red onion in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of salt and leave 15 minutes. It should stay crunchy and turn bright pink.
- Mash the drained plantains immediately, while blazing hot, with the cold butter and the reserved cooking water, adding the water a splash at a time until the mash is smooth and just soft enough to spread. Cold plantain will not mash; it turns to rubber, and a food processor makes glue. Use a wooden mash or the back of a heavy spoon, about 5 minutes.
- Fry the cheese slabs in the oil over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes a side, until a crust forms and the inside is soft — queso de freír holds its shape and does not melt, which is why it and not mozzarella is used.
- Fry the salami rounds in the same pan for about 4 minutes, turning once, until the edges curl and darken. Dominican salami is a specific soft, sweet-spiced sausage sold at Caribbean groceries.
- Fry the eggs to your liking, about 3 minutes.
- Plate a mound of mangú, drape the pickled onions with a little of their vinegar over it, and set the cheese, salami and egg alongside. Grind black pepper over. Eat with strong coffee.
Dishes with a similar flavor shape
- Jota (Sauerkraut, Bean and Potato Pot) — Slovenian
- Podvarak (Sauerkraut Baked with Smoked Pork) — Serbian
- Pap with Shisa Nyama — South African
- Kwaśnica Góralska (Highlander Sauerkraut-Brine Soup) — Polish
- Töltött Káposzta (Stuffed Cabbage in Sauerkraut) — Hungarian
Keep reading: what richness, salinity, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.
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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.