Fried Snack · Middle Eastern-Dominican Kibbeh

Quipes

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

This torpedo-shaped fried snack traces straight back to Lebanon and Syria — Middle Eastern immigrants brought kibbeh to the Dominican Republic over a century ago, and most Dominicans now think of it as fully their own.

Quipes are small, football-shaped shells of bulgur wheat stuffed with seasoned ground beef, then deep-fried until crisp outside and tender within. Sold everywhere from street carts to colmados and bakeries, usually alongside empanadas and pastelitos.

Why it's made this way: Lebanese and Syrian immigrants settled in cities like Santiago de los Caballeros from the late 19th century onward, and their kibbeh recipe was adopted and renamed 'quipes.'

Roughly what's in it

320kcal

14gprotein

28gcarbs

17gfat

Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.

Read it in context →

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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.