Rio de Janeiro has some of the most wonderful food in the world!! Fresh fruit markets abound where you can buy fruits you've never heard of in the US! And it's all fresh and delicious. Ever heard of Guaraná? Jaca? Açaí (acai), or maracujá?
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| Fruita |
Guaraná is
one of the most wonderful drinks ever! Guaraná is a fruit that naturally
grows in Brasil, and several beverage companies have turned it into the most
delicious soda on earth! I highly suggest you try it if you ever get the
chance. It goes great with a churrasco!!!
Guarana
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Speaking of churrasco, a churrasco is absolutely the most wonderful food idea in the history of the world! Portuguese for "barbeque", the Brasilians create this masterpiece using delicious Argentine beef (much, much better than anything you get in the US) roasted on a spit over an open flame. As the outer layers are cooked to perfection, they remove the carne (beef) and slice off the pieces onto your plate. Various cuts of beef, salchicha (sausage), porco (pork), frango (chicken), and frutas (fruit) are served.
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Churrasco
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Feijão preto (black beans), arroz (rice), couve a minerva (collared greens), farofa (no direct translation, but it's made from manioc flour), e carne moida (ground beef), and of course batata frita (french fries) make up a traditional meal. And seriously, who doesn't eat french fries with their meal? It's actually very good!
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| Traditional Meal |
When you're in the mood for a snack, the local padaria's (bakery's) have delicious salgado's (literally translated this means "salties") and pasteis (breaded snacks). They're delicious with a little pimenta (hot sauce).
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| Salgado and Pastei |
And the pão de queijo (cheese bread) is amazing!
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| Pao de queijo |
A hot dog from a street vendor is always good. Yes, they eat their hot dogs with corn, peas, and small french fries..... the fries are actually pretty good although I don't really care for the corn and peas :-).
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| Hot Dog |
And for desert, some pudim (pudding) which is much like flan. So good.
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| Pudim |
Check out http://www.maria-brazil.org/ for more tasty
recipes. I've tried many Brasilian recipies and hers are the best!
