Puerto Rican cuisine shares much in common with the island’s Caribbean neighbors, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The comidas criollas, or Creole foods, of all these island nations include beans and rice (Moros y Christians, or “Moors and Christians”), roast suckling pig (or lechon), the plantain (a cooking banana), and the yuca (a starchy root vegetable).
Flan, a custard, is often served as dessert, and rum is the preferred drink. But Puerto Ricans also have distinctive dishes: mofongo, which combines plantains, beans, and pork; the chicken and rice dish called asopao; the boiled pies called pasteles; and sofrito, a seasoning paste.
Cuchifritos, or fried pork entrails, are a snack.
