Comida: Brazilian Food

Instead of writing about my last two trips, I will talk about something else for a change. After all, this is a blog, not a travelogue. Now that I have spent some time in Brazil, I can talk about the Brazilian culture. I will start with everyone’s favourite subject: food. Oh, and from now on, I will include pictures (yay) so that you don’t have to read anything if you don’t want to.

Instead of giving you a list of what people eat here, (you can find that on Wikipedia), I will talk about the things I like the most.

Appetizers/Snacks:

Salgados: Salty snacks mostly sold in lanchonetes (canteens or corener snack shops).
    a) Pão de queijo: It's just cheese and bread, but I love it.

   

     b) Coxinha: A chicken croquette shaped like a chicken thigh.

    c) Pastéis: Fried pastries with a wide variety of fillings. My favourite is Pastel de Queijo (cheese).

Acarajé: Peeled black-eyed peas fried in palm oil. This snack from the North East is served split in half and then stuffed with a spicy paste made from shrimp, ground cashews, palm oil, tomatoes and hot sauce.

Main Courses:

Rice and beans: An extremely popular dish, considered a staple food. Usually accompanied with some kind of meat. Also typical fare in Brazilian fast food restaurants.

Feijoada: A stew of black beans with beef and/or pork and sausages, white rice, steamed cabbage, flour and other accompaniments. It is a typical dish in Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine. In Brazil, feijoada is considered the national dish. The name comes from feijão, Portuguese for "beans".

  

Churrasco:  Grilled beef, pork or chicken, with many different cuts. Usually, one goes to a churrascaria (staekhouse) and can try many diffferent types. My favourite is Picanha, which is the top sirloin.

Sweets/Fruits/Juice:

Brigadeiro: Sweetened condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder heated in a pan or in a microwave to obtain a smooth texture.

 
Goiabada: Guava, sugar and water.

Tropical Fruits: Açaí, passionfruit, starfruit, and many other tropical fruits are shipped from the Amazon all over the country and consumed in smoothies or as fresh fruit.

Caldo de cana: Sugar Cane juice. I never tried it before coming to Brazil.