Mangu, Tres Golpes is a typical Dominican breakfast dish. It translates to mashed plantains, three hits. The golpes (hits) refer to the salami, cheese and eggs that accompany the plantains. It is one of the most loved and iconic dishes of my Dominican peoples and we eat it at any time of the day.

white plate with mashed plantains, fried salami, fried cheese, fried eggs and pickled onions on two table linens. a ramekin with pickled onions a silver cup with tea
green plantains, red onions, 3 eggs in a ramekin, sliced white cheese, sliced salami rounds, knife and cutting board on a blue gray background

Mangu, Tres Golpes for breakfast is super easy to make. This recipe is a guideline to be honest, there aren’t any real measurements. You can eyeball this entire thing. The hardest part may be the peeling of the plantains. To help you, there is a description in the instructions. You can click here for a quick vid tutorial from my favorite Dominican food blog, Simple by Clara.

Hands peeling a green plantain andgreen plantains, 3 eggs in a ramekin, sliced white cheese, sliced salami rounds, and cutting board on a blue gray background
peeled green plantains, red onions, 3 eggs in a ramekin, sliced white cheese, sliced salami rounds, knife and cutting board on a blue gray background

We boil green or ripe plantains to make mangu. Green is my preference. Butter and/or oil, along with some of the water we boil the plantains in is used to mash the plantains. Think of potatoes.. same idea, just better 🙂 lol

green plantains in a stainless steel bowl cut up with butter
mashed green plantains in a bowl with a masher in it

We serve the tres golpes with the mangu. Fried Dominican salami, fried cheese, and fried eggs. We top this glorious dish with pickled onions. You need the pickled onions to cut through all that richness. As you can imagine, this breakfast is pretty heavy. Mangu tres golpes, Dominican breakfast will keep you full for hours!

white plate with mashed plantains, fried salami, fried cheese, fried eggs and pickled onions

There are a few brands of Dominican salami out there and it’s available in most supermarkets. Fried cheese of choice is and always has been Queso Tropical. This too you can find in most supermarkets. Cant’t find it? Don’t sweat it, Halloumi is a great sub! The eggs can be fried or scrambled. Pickling the onions is a must. You need the acid and the crunch.

Now lets make the famous Mangu Tres Golpes, the Dominican Breakfast of champions!

white plate with mashed plantains, fried salami, fried cheese, fried eggs and pickled onions on two table linens. a ramekin with pickled onions a silver cup with tea

Mangu, Tres Golpes

Yield: feeds 3-4 ppl
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Mangu, Tres Golpes- typical Dominican breakfast of mashed plantains, salami, cheese, eggs and pickled onions. Pure Comfort on a plate!

Ingredients

  • 5 green plantains
  • Dominican salami
  • Large eggs
  • 1 block of Queso Tropical*
  • 2 small red onions, or 1 large
  • neutral oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • Unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup Distilled white vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Lay your cutting board on a flat surface and using a sharp knife, peel the plantains by cutting the ends off first, then make 3 to 4 slits around the plantain lengthwise, without actually piercing the flesh itself. Separate the peel from the flesh by pushing in with your thumb, get in btwn the peel and flesh and run your thumb all the way down till the peel comes off. repeat with the rest of the slits until there is no peel left.
  2. Slice your plantains into 1 inch sized pieces and place them into a pot. Cover the plantains with alot of water, add a big dash of salt and place over medium high heat on your stove. Bring them up to a boil and lower the flame a bit. Let the plantains cook for about 30 minutes, or until they are soft and you can pierce them with a knife
  3. While the plantains are simmering, cut the salami, make 1 slit into the salami lenghtwise, this is to prevent the salami from curling in the pan now cut it into into rounds. They should look like pacman (lol) The thickness is up to you. Slice around 2-3 rounds per person, set it aside
  4. Slice the cheese, about 2 pieces per person, set it aside
  5. Slice your red onions thinly, set it aside
  6. Your plantains should be done by now, so transfer the plantains to a bowl and reserve about 1/2 cup of the water they cooked in.
  7. Smash your plantains like you're mashing potatoes, add in butter, start with 2 tbsps and some of the plantain water. Smash until you get to the consistency/smoothness you like, using butter and plantain water to help you. ( i like mine slightly lumpy). Season with salt, about 4 big dashes which is about 1 tsp. taste and adjust according to your preference. set it aside.
  8. Place a saute pan over medium heat and add some oil, not much, just enough to coat the bottom.
  9. When the pan and oil is hot add the salami and brown both sides. remove to a plate with a paper towel.
  10. In that same pan, fry the cheese, brown both sides. remove when done and set it on the towel with the salami.
  11. In that same pan, fry your eggs. add more oil if you need to, season with salt. set those aside as well when done.
  12. Add about 1 tbsp of oil to that same pan and when its hot, add the sliced onions. Cook the onion until its soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup of vinegar and let it cook for an extra minute then turn the heat off. season with salt and pepper.
  13. To serve, divede the mangu between bowls/plates and top with the salami, cheese, egg and pickled onions.. a nice drizzle of extrra virgin olive oil over everything is optional but highly recommended.
  14. Enjoy!

Notes

*If you can't find queso tropical, halloumi is a great sub.

© Angie
Cuisine: Dominican / Category: Siriusly Dominican