Popular Brazilian dishes you should taste
Brazilian cuisine is something! It is a mixture of European, Asian and local, Amerindian, traditions in food preparation. As Europeans arrived in Brazil, they needed to alternate their food recipes in order to adjust them to available fruits and vegetables. Luckily, it didn’t take them too much to get a grip of what’s around them. Quickly they started using ingredients they saw locals eat every day. They also managed to find substitutions to vegetables they would use on a daily basis. With the arrival of people from the Far East, Asian component of today’s Brazilian cuisine was introduced. Thanks to the generations of the old, we get to be excited about trying Brazilian food today. Here are top 7 most popular Brazilian dishes you must try if you’re moving to Brazil!
8. Rice and beans are essential
The basic dish you’re going to come by in Brazil are rice and beans. In case you’ve traveled around the Caribbean, you’ll notice the similarities between Brazil and other nations. Among others, rice and beans are domestic to almost all South and Central Americas. If you’d go to Cuba for example, you’d have difficulties ordering a dish that doesn’t include rice. It’s similar in Brazil though. Every national cuisine has some go-to basics and rice and beans are essential in Brazilian culture.
7. Quindim
The first dessert on our list, and there are going to be more of them, is called quindim. It is made from cocoa, egg yolks and sugar. All of them are mixed together, baked in a cup-like mold. Once out of the oven it is left to get cold after which it is ready to be eaten!
6. Churrasco
Meat plays an important role in Brazilian cuisine
Churrasco, or more commonly known to us as barbecue, represents one of the most popular Brazilian dishes that Brazilians are very proud of. Just like everywhere else, barbecue is a popular Brazilian dish that has achieved a cult status. If you’d go to a traditional restaurant, waiter would bring churrasco to you on a skewer. You’d inspect it and if you liked the piece, waiter would cut a slice off so that you could try it.
However, this delicious meal that can be made from various types of meat can be prepared on a metal plate instead of a skewer. Skewer-prepared barbecue is common in southern parts of the country. If you’re somewhere else, or simply you’re eating quick, street food, don’t be surprised if you get your BBQ served in a bun, right off of a metal plate.
5. Brigadieros da Escocia – Brazil’s chocolate truffles
Brigadieros da Escocia is a sweet that was invented during the WW2. It became popular at the time because it could be prepared with regular off-the-shelf ingredients that were available at that time. The key ingredients include condensed milk and cocoa powder. These two are mixed with butter and rolled into chocolate sprinkles. They are super-tasty, easy to make and delicious sweets popular at kids birthdays. Once you find your international movers in Brazil and relocate to this amazing country, don’t hesitate to try them, you won’t be sorry!
4. Acarajé
Acarajé with vatapá are a spicy snack not for those with a sensitive taste. It consists of mashed black rice, beans and onions that are fried in palm oil. Afterwards, spicy filling called vatapá is added to it. This dish is so well-known that you can even ask you international movers from Brazil if they’ve tried it. If you’re dealing with the locals, you’ll get a very picturesque explanation about what it is and what you should eat it with. No matter whether you like spicy food or not, you should give it a try, at least one bit!
3. Pão de queijo
Third on our list of most popular Brazilian dishes is bread with cheese served on a stick… It may sound crazy, but it’s actually very tasty! This specialty originated in Minas Gerais and is generally regarded as a great breakfast option. While they are made from a mixture of cassava flour and cheese, you can also eat them with jam as a sweet!
2. Moqueca
Moqueca is a fish stew made from sea fish. Following ingredients also go into this dish: tomatoes, onions garlic and coriander. It is prepared in a clay pot and baked in the oven. If you’d go to a restaurant, they would probably bring the closed pot to you, put it on the table and let you pour it yourself. Due to the ingredients and the way Brazilians prepare it, the unbelievable smell would come rushing out of the pot. Eating moqueca is not just a meal, it is an experience too!
Fish stew shouldn’t be missed in Brazil!
1. Feijoada one of the most popular Brazilian dishes you must try
Feijoada is a national dish and one of the most popular Brazilian dishes that you must try. It is made from different types of smoked meat, both pork or beef, and black beans. It is made in a form of a stew and takes a lot of time to prepare, 24 hours almost. Locals usually prepare it when they have friends over who are spending the night. Since it takes such a long time to prepare, they’d sometimes rather go to a restaurant to eat it instead of preparing it themselves. Therefore, don’t be afraid to ask locals where to go to in order to eat a good one. You may invite them to accompany you to the dinner. This way you’d get to spend some quality time with your local friends, practice your Portuguese and be sure you’re eating at the same place as locals do.
Some food is easier to get in a restaurant than prepare it yourself
These have been just some of the dishes you should try when going to Sao Paulo or other places in Brazil. We are aware that we haven’t mentioned too many vegetarian main courses. Brazilian cuisine is so diverse that we’d need a lot more space to accommodate that aspect of it.
Anyway, once you decide to relocate, be prepared for cultural differences you’re going to experience. While you’ll probably need some time to get accustomed to your new life, getting adjusted to new food shouldn’t represent an issue. Still, there are many international moving companies Brazil, make sure you work with the most reliable one.
