Brazilian Food: More Than Just Beans and Rice

If Brazil´s staple diet of beans and rice doesn´t sound so appetizing, there are many tasty titbits and dishes well worth trying:

1. Pão de Queijo (literally Cheese Bread but paradoxically containing no flour or cheese) are small balls, the size of a golf ball, made from tapioca flour which are served hot in snack bars and cafes throughout the country. Great for celiacs and vegetarians.

2. Feijoada. OK, so it is rice and beans but it also has all the parts of a pig that you may or may not want to eat (including feet, tail and ears) plus beef and sausage and is a weekend favourite in the State of Rio de Janeiro. In the State´s capital the first Saturday of every month is celebrated in many restaurants within the Lapa district and elsewhere with a huge plate of Feijoada followed by some frenetic samba dancing.

3. Moqueca. Hailing from the state of Bahia, Moqueca can be made with fish or prawns, or fish and prawns, mixed with tomatoes, onion, garlic, palm oil and coconut milk, plus herbs and spices. Often translated as fish or prawn stew, it´s the closest thing you´ll get to a red Thai seafood curry in Brazil.

4. Açai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee). Brazil´s answer to the Slush Puppie, this delicious, dark purple desert/snack/drink is made from a small berry which grows in the Amazon Rainforest, or any other place in Brazil with similar climactic conditions, and was exalted as “one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world” by Oprah Winfrey. In true Brazilian style however the Açai that you´ll buy on the street or in a cafe has been mixed with an extremely sugary guaraná syrup, but that´s what makes it so tasty.

5. Guaraná. Another small berry from the Amazon, guaraná is already well-known throughout the world as an ingredient in energy drinks – as it contains twice as much caffeine as coffee beans – in Brazil however it´s Coca Cola´s number 1 rival. Internationally the main brand Guaraná Antarctica ranks amongst the world´s 15 top-selling soft drinks.