Locrio de arenque is a traditional dish in Dominican gastronomy made with salted herring, rice, spices, and vegetables. It is generally served with stewed beans, preferably red beans, and avocado.

The word locrio comes from the term locro, although etymologically the suffix is linked to the Portuguese word crioulo, meaning Creole. The word criollo is an Americanism used since the colonial period, so locrio is understood as a Creole adaptation of locro, or a Creole-style stew. The origin of locrio is also attributed to a Creole adaptation of Valencian paella, a humble traditional dish made by Spanish farmers, who introduced rice to the Americas between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Enslaved Africans brought to the Americas were fed herring, a fish with a strong, distinctive smell which, due to its low cost and abundance, was considered a food of the working classes. Its consumption is so ancient that it has even been mentioned as one of the preferred foods of the Vikings and their descendants. It was in the port of Amsterdam, considered the "Silicon Valley" of its time, where the technique of salting and smoking herring for preservation was developed, allowing sailors to travel far from the coast for long periods.

After cod, herring is the fish most commonly caught in the world. It comes mainly from the cold waters of the North Atlantic, and a female can lay up to 40,000 eggs.

In Dominican popular culture, herring has always been present. In addition to its culinary use, it was used by our grandmothers in traditional medicine or home remedies. It was believed that combining its oil with annatto and coconut milk could cure bronchial asthma. It is also a food linked to popular sayings: when a household cooked herring and its smell spread through the neighborhood, people would mockingly say they were "killing a policeman," and if someone was very thin they might be compared by saying they were "as skinny as a herring" or "looked like a dried herring."

Locrio de arenque is a nutrient-rich recipe, since it contains a combination of healthy ingredients such as proteins, healthy fats, vegetable oils, omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.