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

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)

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)

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Fry the eggs to your liking, about 3 minutes.
  8. 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.

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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.