{"id":11228,"date":"2025-07-02T03:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T03:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/?p=11228"},"modified":"2025-08-05T17:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T17:53:01","slug":"belquis-arepitas-de-yuca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/es\/belquis-arepitas-de-yuca\/","title":{"rendered":"Arepitas de Yuca de Belqui, el acompa\u00f1amiento y aperitivo estrella de la Rep\u00fablica Dominicana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arepitas de yuca: golden-brown, crunchy-delicious and real-deal Dominican. What\u2019s not to love about one of the D.R.\u2019s iconic fried treat? This is the first-ever recipe Belqui Ortiz-Millili<\/a>, one of our favorite Dominican cooks and a true friend of Familia Kitchen, made for her blog Belqui\u2019s Twist<\/a>. The \u201cTwist\u201d in its title is a nod to her love of shaking up traditional recipes, especially Latino food, and double especially Dominican dishes, an homenaje to her roots<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise Belqui chose these arepitas for her cooking kickoff. After all, as every Dominican knows muy bien, yuca fritters are el side dish m\u00e1s famoso from the D.R. You basically grate yuca (a lot!, Belqui warns \u2014 that\u2019s the hardest part about making them). You then add eggs, butter, anise and spices. Fry and delicioso-ness ensues. The only problem, says Belqui, is you can\u2019t stop at eating just one, so make a big batch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belqui keeps things pretty classic with her inaugural recipe. Her twist is pumping up the amount of anise. \u201cI just love anise seed,” she says. \u201cIt balances the hint of bitterness that\u2019s in the yuca, which I love. Plus, because I grate it so fine, when you bite into the yuca, it breaks apart in your mouth. It\u2019s crunchy on the outside and then super tender on the inside. And then you get that little hint of bitterness and you get that hint of the anise seed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She takes an imaginary bite as she walks Familia Kitchen through her family recipe. \u201cAh!\u201d Belqui sighs. \u201cI just love them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Childhood in Her Family\u2019s Dominican Kitchen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how Belqui Ortiz-Millili describes herself. \u201cI\u2019m a food blogger and autism mom<\/a> who is sharing the joy of cooking Latin classics and fun twists on those classics.\u201d The New York-born and now Arizona-based Belqui grew up traveling back and forth between the Dominican Republic and New York\u2019s Washington Heights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She can\u2019t even remember when she first learned to make the recipes of her homeland, she says. That’s how long she\u2019s been at it. \u201cMy parents are both Dominican. And when I was really young, I was already being taught to season food and to help with cutting things. I remember we would get those big cement blocks and I would stand on one or two next to my mom, my grandmother or my aunt in front of the stove. And they would say: \u2018Put in this ingredient. And when you do that, look for this with that ingredient. No, you stir this way. You have to hold the pan here.\u2019 I was basically being trained like every single woman in my family to help out in the household. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCooking Still Fills My (Dominican) Soul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Did she always like it? \u201dIt didn\u2019t bother me,” she says. “It was exciting. I wanted to learn, but I wanted to learn the things that I liked to eat first. Like pollo guisado<\/a>, carne guisada, and obviously rice and beans<\/a>. Because what would our life be like if it wasn\u2019t for the rice and beans we eat on the side of everything that we eat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belqui was soon assigned the responsibility of making dinner. Every night. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom and my dad worked in factories in Brooklyn. They had really long commutes, over an hour each way. My mom would season the meat the night before, and I would come home from school and cook. And then they would get home, and dinner was prepared. I was always protective of my parents because I knew how hard the work was in the factory and how tired they were when they got home. So, I never complained about having to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could easily have gone the other way, but Belqui learned to love, deeply, her daily kitchen time. \u201dCooking still fills my soul,\u201d she says. Plus, she learned a lot, fast. By the time she was 15, she knew how to make every single Dominican dish, she says. Belqui even became the family experta in making locrio<\/a>, a Dominican chicken and rice one-pot wonder with a touch of caramelized sugar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today, we\u2019re talking arepitas, one of her forever favorite things to make. Key to the success of this side is to hand-grate much\u00edsima yuca\u2014which pretty much means scraped knuckles every time. Her mom wishes she would use gloves when she’s power grating, but Belqui says that’s not her style. \u201cI like to get my hands on food when I\u2019m making something. Some people don\u2019t like it, but it makes me feel grounded.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Serve Arepitas de Yuca<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can eat arepitas as an appetizer or a side, says Belqui. If you want them as a starter, you can serve them solo or accompanied by some sort of sauce. \u201cIn my family, we\u2019re not big dip people, but you can dip them in anything you want. They go great with mojo<\/a>. Some people like them with mayonnaise. Or you can saute red onions with a little oil and vinegar, cook down the onion, and put that on top of your arepitas. Me, I just love them as they are. No me le pongan nada al lado. I love them plain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want them as a side, Belqui advises pairing arepitas de yuca with rice and beans<\/a>, pollo guisado or chuletas: pork chops. Think of them \u201clike pl\u00e1tanos fritos,\u201d she advises. Whatever you would serve alongside tostones<\/a> and ripe maduro plantains<\/a>, you can serve with arepitas to great acclaim. Not one arepita de yuca will be left on anyone\u2019s plate, Belqui promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to make Belqui\u2019s arepitas de yuca with extra anise?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Belqui\u2019s Arepitas de Yuca<\/h2>\n\n
\n \t\t \t\t\tRecipe by Belqui Ortiz-Millili<\/span>\n \t\t\n
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  • <\/li>
  • <\/li>
  • <\/li>
  • <\/li>
  • <\/li><\/ul>4.3<\/small> from<\/small> 12<\/small> votes<\/small><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/div>\n\t\t
    \n Cuisine: Dominican<\/mark><\/span> <\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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    <\/span>Servings<\/span>

    4<\/p>servings<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Prep time<\/span>

    10<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Cooking time<\/span>

    10<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\t

    \n \n\t\t\t

    Ingredients<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    • <\/span>

      2<\/span> cups<\/span> yuca, grated<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> cup<\/span> corn oil, for frying<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> Tbsp<\/span> butter, softened<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> egg, beaten<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> tsp<\/span> anise seeds<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/4<\/span> tsp<\/span> ground oregano<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/2<\/span> tsp<\/span> salt<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/2<\/span> tsp<\/span> sugar<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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      Directions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
      • Grate the yuca using the smallest size of your grater.<\/li>
      • In a medium bowl, combine the yuca, butter, egg, anise seed, salt, oregano and sugar. Mix together until very well combined.<\/li>
      • In a frying pan, heat up the oil over medium heat. <\/li>
      • Place about 1 Tbsp of the mixture in the oil, one at a time. <\/li>
      • Cook until the fritter has turned golden brown, for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. <\/li>
      • Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to remove excess grease. Repeat until the entire batch is done \u2014 and serve.<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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        Notes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
        • Belqui recommends using only fresh yuca, not the frozen version. \u201cI buy fresh yuca and freeze it. I buy it, peel it, take the vein out from the center, and cut it, and freeze it for when I am going to use it. It\u2019s a lot better than buying it frozen. It tastes so much better and doesn\u2019t have preservatives.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n \n\t\n\t\t\t