Top 10 foods to try in Brazil

Don't leave Brazil without trying...

1. Barbecued meat

Brazil and Argentina both claim to be South America’s barbecue champion. And while each country takes a different approach to its meat, from the cuts to the accompaniments, some things remain the same – namely, the ogre-sized quantities of meat, best appreciated at a leisurely pace and with an elasticated waistband.

In Brazil, premium cuts (the most popular being picanha, or rump cap) are seasoned with no more than a liberal shake of coarse salt, before being grilled to pink perfection over charcoal (or wood, if you’re doing it the old-fashioned Southern way). Home barbecues will see sausages, queijo coalho (squeaky cheese on a stick) and chicken hearts sharing space on the grill, while in churrascarias (barbecue-style steakhouses), all manner of meats on skewers – from pork to lamb and wild boar – will be sliced by waiters straight onto your plate.

Try it yourself... Frango churrasco (grilled lemon & garlic chicken)
Cumin & onion marinated beef
Oregano cheese skewers
Creamy Aji green sauce
Chimichurri sauce

2. Moqueca (pronounced moo-kek-a)

More than a mere fish stew, moqueca is served with theatrical flourish as the piping hot clay pot is uncovered at the table amid clouds of fragrant steam. Baianos (residents of Bahia, in the north-east of the country) and Capixabas (from the neighbouring state of Espírito Santo) both lay claim to the origins of the dish, and both serve up equally tasty variations. At its simplest, fish and/or other seafood are stewed in diced tomatoes, onions and coriander. The Capixabas add annatto seeds for a natural red food colouring, while the Baianos serve a heavier version, made with palm oil, peppers and coconut milk. It’s teamed with rice, farofa (toasted manioc flour – ideal for mopping up juices) and pirão (a spicy fish porridge made with manioc flour – far tastier than it sounds).

Try making your own... Bahia-style Moqueca prawn stew

3. Cachaça

Dating back to the 1500s, cachaça is made from fermented sugarcane juice and is best known as the fiery kick in caipirinhas – Brazil’s national cocktail. While caipirinhas are often made with uncoloured, unaged cachaças, there are thousands of better-quality golden varieties available, aged in wooden barrels and sipped straight up by aficionados.

For the morning after, clear your head with a Guaraná Antarctica (a sweet, fizzy soft drink), an água de coco (coconut water, best sipped straight from the coconut) or caldo de cana (freshly pressed sugarcane juice).

Try making your own... Caipirinhas with pineapple

4. Brigadeiros

Brazil’s answer to the chocolate truffle, brigadeiros are so simple to make that they quite literally get rolled out for kids’ parties nationwide. The sweet balls are made by simmering condensed milk with cocoa powder, then whisking in butter and shaping the mix into balls before rolling in chocolate sprinkles. Guaranteed to give an instant sugar high, they’re cloyingly sweet for some palates. Brazilians won’t hear a word against them, though.

Try making your own... Brigadieros

5. Pão de queijo

Cheese and bread – two staple favourites the world over – are brought together in glorious union in Brazil’s pão de queijo, a moreish snack enjoyed at any time of day. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, the gluten-free bread rolls are made with tapioca flour, eggs and grated curado minas cheese (a cow’s milk cheese from the state of Minas Gerais), rolled into small balls. For a naughty twist, keep an eye out for pão de queijo served in fist-sized rolls (or even a cake-sized bake), stuffed with cream cheese or various meaty fillings.

Try making your own... Pão de queijo

6. Acarajé (pronounced a-ka-ra-zjeh)

One of the most calorie-laden street snacks I’ve ever had the good fortune to try, acarajé is a deep-fried patty of crushed black-eyed peas, palm oil and puréed onions, deep-fried in yet more palm oil before being sliced open and stuffed with dried shrimp and vatapá – a rich and spicy purée of prawns, bread, cashew nuts and other ingredients. The dish originated in Bahia, in Brazil's north-east, where flavours have strong roots in African cooking. Acarajé is at its best when served piping hot, fresh from the vat of oil, with a liberal dash of chilli sauce.

Try making your own... Acaraje-black eyed pea fritters with shrimp filling

7. Quindim

Another favourite from Bahia, quindim is a glossy yellow sweet treat made with nothing more than eggs, sugar and coconut (with butter a common addition). Baked in cupcake-sized moulds, the bottom is toasted and golden, dense with grated coconut, while the top is a smooth, firm custard that sticks pleasingly to the roof of the mouth. The name is said to derive from the word 'kintiti' (meaning ‘delicacy’ in Kikongo, a language spoken in Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola), while the recipe itself was inspired by the Portuguese love affair with egg yolks in sweets and pastries.

Try making your own... Coconut quindim

8. Açaí (pronouned a-sa-ee)

Of all the Amazon's fruits, the açaí is perhaps the best known, thanks to its superfood status. Traditionally eaten by indigenous tribes as a source of energy, the hard purple berry is also used in Amazonian cooking as a sauce to accompany fish. A clever marketing campaign in the ’80s thrust it into the spotlight as the energy snack of choice for surfers in glamorous Rio de Janeiro. Served as a sweet, gloopy, frozen sorbet, sometimes topped with granola and slices of banana, or whizzed up in juices, it can found in every café, bakery, juice bar and supermarket across the country. You can even buy açaí vodka, and açaí beer.

Try making your own... Açaí smoothie

9. Feijoada

One of the few dishes eaten the length and breadth of Brazil, feijoada is a hearty stew of black beans, sausages and cuts of pork of varying quality – traditionally veering towards the lower end, with trotters and ears all going into the mix. A labour of love, feijoada done the old fashioned way takes up to 24 hours to make, including soaking the beans and desalting the pork. Most Brazilians go out to restaurants and bars to eat feijoada, and it's traditionally eaten on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Rice, kale, orange slices, farofa (toasted manioc flour) and pork scratchings are served on the side, along with a tipple of cachaça to ease digestion.

Try making your own... Feijoada or try our take on this hearty one-pot with our Brazilian pork stew with corn dumplings.

10. Fried bar snacks

Beer, served so cold that chunks of ice stick to the bottle, is the drink of choice in Brazil – and an assortment of fried foods makes the perfect pairing, be it pastéis (deep-fried parcels of crisp pastry, filled with melting cheese, minced beef or creamy hearts of palm), crunchy batons of manioc or bolinhos (‘little balls’, most often made with salt cod). Coxinha (‘little thigh’) is another popular choice, made with shredded chicken and mashed potato, shaped like a (very voluptuous) thigh and covered in golden breadcrumbs.

Try making your own... pastel de palmito or crispy chicken coxinhas.

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Are you a fan of Brazilian cuisine? Do you agree with our selection or have we missed your favourite? Share your must-try dishes below…

Catherine Balston is a food & travel writer based in São Paulo.