Dominican Riki Taki

Riki taki’s are a traditional street food found in the Dominican Republic. Because I grew up eating this all the time, I never found it to be an odd recipe but whenever I tell people about this sandwich, they look at me like I have 5 heads! hahaha Clearly, I don’t so I have to do my best to convince them about how insanely good this sandwich is.

The sandwich has ketchup and mayonnaise which is what many find super odd but it so isn’t. When you mix all the ingredients and take that first bite, that’s it, you are hooked!

Can I make this for a big party?

Yes! It’s great party food because you can make a big batch of beef, season the tomatoes, the cabbage, and lay it all out buffet style for your guests. They will love the fact that they get to press their own riki taki. It’s super fun!

Can I make this ahead of time?

You totally can! Make the beef the night before and refrigerate. Prep the tomatoes and the cabbage. Boil the eggs, slice and refrigerate. The day of, heat the meat, season the cabbage and tomatoes and that’s it! Assemble your riki taki and press!

I want to also take a minute to recommend the panini press that I own. I love it because it has 2 sides, a flat side and a side with ridges. I have also had it for years without a single issue.

Dominican Riki Taki

Savory traditional Dominican street food. A sandwich that will keep you wanting more!

4.75 from 4 votes

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Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Caribbean, Dominican, Latin

Keyword: cabbage, cabbage sandwich, caribbean sandwich, chimichurri dominicano, comida callejera, comida callejera dominicana, dominican chimichurri, dominican ground beef recipe, dominican recipe, dominican riki taki, dominican sandwich, dominican street food, ground beef sandwich, how to make riki taki, riki taki, riki taki dominicano, sandwich dominicano, street food

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 sandwiches

Equipment

• Panini press

Ingredients

• 2 lbs 85% ground beef
• 4 bread rolls
• 1/2 cabbage shredded
• 2 tomatoes sliced
• 2 eggs boiled and sliced
• ketchup
• mayonnaise
• Pam spray to grease the panini press

To season cabbage and tomatoes

• 2 tbs Mazola corn oil 1 tbs in cabbage and 1 tbs on tomatoes
• 2 tbs white vinegar 1 tbs in cabbage and 1 tbs on tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp in cabbage and 1/4 tsp on tomatoes

To season the beef

• 3 tbs adobo homemade or store bought
• 3 tbs lemon or lime juice

Instructions

Prepare the filling ingredients

• Boil eggs and slice. (cover and set aside)
• Shred cabbage and slice the tomatoes.
• Place the shredded cabbage and sliced tomatoes in separate bowls.
• Season both with salt, vinegar & oil, splitting ingredients in half for each bowl.
• At this point, begin heating the Panini press.
• In a skillet, brown the beef.
• Once it is halfway cooked, add the adobo and lemon or lime juice. Continue cooking until it's done. You will see that it has just a little of its own grease left.

Assembling the Riki Taki

• Slice the roll in half.
• On one half of the roll, add desired amount of mayonnaise. Make sure it is enough so that the ingredients have something to adhere to.
• Place desired amount of beef over the mayonnaise.
• Top beef with desired amount of cabbage.
• Top cabbage with tomatoes.
• Top tomatoes with sliced eggs.
• Place desired amount of ketchup on the other half of the roll. Make sure it is enough for the eggs to adhere to the roll.
• Place the side with the ketchup over the eggs and press down lightly.
• Spray the Panini press with Pam spray to grease.
• Place the sandwich in the panini press and press until desired crispness and thinness.

Video