Fried Snack · Middle Eastern-Dominican Kibbeh

Quipes

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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.'