Samaná Corn Pudding (Chacá)
Cracked corn simmered for hours until the grains burst open, then finished with coconut milk, warm spices and plump raisins and prunes into a thick, fragrant pudding. A beloved Holy Week specialty from Samaná, best eaten warm with a dusting of nutmeg.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Soak the corn overnight
Put the cracked corn in a large bowl and cover generously with the soaking water. Leave at room temperature overnight, or at least 8 hours, so the grains swell and soften before cooking.
- 350 g dried cracked corn
- 1.5 litres water, for soaking
✅ Done when: the grains have swelled, feel a little softer, and the water looks cloudy
Cook until it flowers
Drain and rinse the soaked corn, then put it in a large heavy pot with the fresh cooking water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, partly covered, for about 1 hour 40 minutes, topping up with a little hot water if it looks dry, until the grains burst open like tiny white flowers and are fully soft.
- 350 g cracked corn (from step 1)
- 1.5 litres water, for cooking
✅ Done when: the grains have split open and are tender all the way through when you bite one
Add the spices
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Add coconut milk and sugar
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Add the dried fruit
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Serve warm
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Soak the corn overnight
Put the cracked corn in a large bowl and cover generously with the soaking water. Leave at room temperature overnight, or at least 8 hours, so the grains swell and soften before cooking.
- 350 g dried cracked corn
- 1.5 litres water, for soaking
✅ Done when: the grains have swelled, feel a little softer, and the water looks cloudy
Cook until it flowers
Drain and rinse the soaked corn, then put it in a large heavy pot with the fresh cooking water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, partly covered, for about 1 hour 40 minutes, topping up with a little hot water if it looks dry, until the grains burst open like tiny white flowers and are fully soft.
- 350 g cracked corn (from step 1)
- 1.5 litres water, for cooking
✅ Done when: the grains have split open and are tender all the way through when you bite one
Add the spices
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Add coconut milk and sugar
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Add the dried fruit
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Serve warm
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The Story Behind the Dish
Chacá is tied to the history of the Samaná Americans, descendants of free Black immigrants from the United States who settled on the peninsula in the 1820s and blended their traditions with local Dominican and Caribbean ingredients. Corn, coconut and dried fruit were abundant around Samaná's bay, and the long, slow method of cooking cracked corn until it burst open became a dish families made together for special occasions.
It is most associated with Holy Week, when it is cooked in big batches, shared between neighbors, and eaten over several days as the flavors deepen.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is the signature sweet of Samaná, a thick spiced corn pudding found nowhere else on the island in quite the same form, and prized for the patience and care it takes to make well.
💡 Fun Fact
The word 'chacá' and the dish's slow, communal preparation reflect the mixed Dominican, Caribbean and African-American heritage unique to Samaná.
Samaná Peninsula
19.20°N, -69.33°W
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