Brazil has a number of distinct regional cuisines, and some foods of the many ethnic groups in Brazil have crossed over to become mainstream. Many of the most traditional brazilian dishes are based on Portuguese cooking. Pão de Queijo (cheese bread) is a typical
Brazilian cuisine.
Regions
- The state of Bahia has cooking with strong african roots. Acaraje, Moqueca, Vatapa.
- Minas Gerais. I don't really know how to describe this food. It is hearty.
- From the west, churrasco (traditional brazilian barbecue) and mate. There is a lot of overlap with Argentine cuisine in the plains states that border Argentina.
Popular ethnic foods
- Lebanese/Syrian
- Japanese (Sushi)
- Pizza (on rolled out crust that is very similar to pie crust, very little sauce, and a number of interesting toppings in addition to the traditional pizza toppings - like guava jam and cheese, banana and cinnamon, catupiry (a soft cheese) and chicken)
Other
- Farofa (toasted cassava flour) is a popular condiment
- Salgadinhos are small savory snacks, mostly sold in corner shops. There are many types of filled pastries, fried pastries, etc. Coxinha is a chicken croquette shaped like a chicken thigh. Kibe is the salgadinho version of the Syrian dish Kibbeh.
- Cuzcuz branco is milled tapioca cooked with coconut milk and sugar. The technique is identical to how couscous is cooked in hot water, but this is a dessert
- Acai, Caju, and many other tropical fruits are shipped from the Amazon all over the country and consumed in smoothies.
- Feijoada is a heavy bean and meat stew, traditionally served on Saturdays with rice, farofa, and fried, shredded collard greens. Garlic, onions, and other spices add much flavor to this hearty dish. The meat is traditionally from the odds and ends of animals - like ears, feet, and other scraps. However, feijoada is delicious when cooked with sausage or more acceptable parts of pork.
- Hot dogs in Brazil are always offered with a dazzling array of condiments including various dressings, boiled quail eggs, peas, corn, olives and crunchy potato straw.
Cachaça is the Brazil's native liquor, distilled from sugar cane, and it is the main ingredient in the national drink, the Caipirinha.
