Three Yummy Foreigners I Met in Rio
I sometimes think that the title of this blog is a little misleading. Originally I had planned to concentrate on all the delicious and (to me) previously unknown food I discovered in Rio, but as time passed I found there were all kinds of other interesting things that I wanted to write about. Now my selection criteria have broadened to include anything that I would show/tell a curious friend who hadn’t been to Brazil.
Sure there’s some food in there, but there’s quite a lot of other stuff as well (this is a sneak-peak of the new-look Eat Rio coming soon).
But I’m still into the food! I have plans to tell anyone interested about a whole bunch of great Brazilian dishes, ingredients and perhaps even a few of what I deem to be Rio’s best places to eat.
So today I’m going to tell you about a Peruvian, a Mexican and a Southeast Asian I met in Rio. They have quite different personalities but all three are totally yummy.
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| From top-left, going clockwise, the Peruvian, the Mexican and the Southest Asian. |
The Peruvian
Known here in Brazil as batata-baroa or mandioquinha, this golden root vegetable originated in the Andes. In terms of flavour and texture I would say it lies somewhere between a potato and a parsnip with a little bit of the stodginess of a yam. It is pretty versatile, and can be used in all the ways that you might use a potato. As it cooks, it develops a delicious earthy flavour, a bit like basmati rice.
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| Mandioquinha or Batata-baroa – fragrant and filling. |
The Mexican
In Brazil this Mexican native goes by the name of chuchu (sounds like shoe-shoe). These slightly knobbly, pear-shaped vegetables were new to me, but according to wikipedia they are common all over the world. I would describe them as having the flavour and texture of the inside of a thick broccoli stem. There’s a great story about how they may or may not have been used to bulk up McDonald’s apple pies in Australia (where they call them ‘chokos’ – so Australian!). My wife isn’t a big fan of chuchu, complaining that they’re boring and bland but I think they’re pretty good lightly boiled with some butter, salt and pepper.
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| Chuchu – admittedly it does have a rather bland, generic-vegetable flavour. But add salt, pepper and butter and you’ve got a tasty side dish on your plate. |
The Southest Asian
Here they call it inhame but after some research I found that in English we call it Taro. It is a staple food in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. I saw these small, brown, husky root vegetables in the Rio supermarkets many times before I bothered to try them. I just didn’t know what you’d do with them! I’m sure there are a million methods, but you can again just treat them like potatoes. I peel them and boil them in water until soft. During boiling they turn from white to an almost purple-grey colour. Not massively appealing to look at, but they are soft, creamy and with a yummy nutty flavour that I find delicious!
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| Inhame or Taro. If this were on TV, I would now say “Other brands of chopping board are available”, but here in Brazil that would almost be a lie. I challenge anyone to show me a kitchen in Brazil that does not contain at least one Tramontina product. |
You can put all three of these into a pan of boiling water (leave the chuchu til 10 minutes from the end) and a little while later you’ve got a cheap and delicious side dish (or if you’re feeling lazy, just eat them on their own like I did last night!).
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| I have renewed respect for people who can photograph food and make it look nice. Just take it from me, this was yummy, OK? |
OK, so there it is – food is back on the Eat Rio menu once more. Have you discovered any new, tasty ingredients recently?
I really enjoy a good Canja. I must say that I'm pretty good at making this since I do it quite often.
I have though been meaning to try the two Canja spin-off recipes linked below.
(Canja da Vó Eva)
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(Canja Medicinal Chinesa)
I reckon Chuchu is the equivalent of Tofu in the vegetable's world. It will aways taste like the spices and sauces you use on it. I totally agree with Manu regarding it as a boring food…
The cool thing about Chuchu though is that it is a master of plagiarism: it retains the flavors of other ingredients as if it were it's own. Sometimes from ingredients you can't have for one reason or another. Kind of like what lentils do to bacon when they are cooked together. In the end just remove the bacon and enjoy it's flavor in the lentils.
Humn, I wonder if placing a slice of salted Chuchu over a tomato stain would help extract that stain from the surface.
Yep, I like to think of chuchu as a blank slate – inoffensive but not wildly interesting on their own. I guess my support stems partly in reaction to Manuela's (as I see it) unfair dislike. Sure, they'll never be in the same league as say, carrots. But when you think about it, that is setting the bar pretty high…
Chuchu pronounced shoo-shoo sounds a bit like a date with a couple of French girls. That's no consolation for Manuela of course BUT they are better eaten as babies (Chuchu I mean – not French girls) Pick them when they are small, before the center toughens and seed has formed. Just peel them. Boil or steam them for about 10 minutes, drain, then toss with butter or sour cream with loads of chopped parsley or coriander, salt and black pepper. Or you could sauté /stir fry them with garlic, chilli and ginger in olive and/or sesame oil, with a few cumin seeds. I do rather veer towards Manuela's opinion though… Taro, yams, coco-yams and their cousins – a different story altogether. Much much better, nutty and delicious. Remember yam chips and deep fried turkey wings with coconut,ginger and chilli Sheeto on Labadi Beach in Accra?
Ah, it was in Ghana was it? I had a feeling I'd had Taro sometime on my travels, but had thought it must have been in Papua New Guinea. That recipe for chuchu sounds great! I reckon even Manuela could be won over with that flavourful combination.
Chuchu has long been discriminated against and made to feel inferior by Brazilian society. I think it is a shame. The poor guy was stigmatized from the get-go and never given a chance to show his beauty and valor. Unfortunetaly Chuchu is not the only one to have his rights to come and go in pan curtailed by hatred since in the United States Okra has long been subjected to similar segregation by the general populace. Below a hero who is trying to change this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLneIXHcBCk
And yes, I have a dream. A dream that one day…
Chuchu, aka the 4th state of water.
Karin, that is harsh! They are crunchy and versatile! OK, I don't think I'm going to win anyone over am I?
I love mandioquinha too! I'll have to give the inhame a try mashed– I've only had it in Asian taro cakes.
Btw– kind of weird to ask here, but are you the dude that's been doing Monday night curry parties in Santa Teresa? I'm a recent transplant to Rio and we may have a friend in common. If not– sorry for the weirdo comment, and I'll continue to enjoy your blog!
Hey Eva! I've just been checking out your blog – so much cool stuff! Being an ex-science person myself I got a bit sidetracked by the science tattoos!
I'm afraid I'm not the dude who does the Monday night curry parties – I wish I was though! It sounds like a great idea and I've been having serious curry withdrawal symptoms from a while now… (Nothing weird about asking!)
Chuchu is called chayote in Central America. My uncle in Lousiana grew it but there they called it mirleton (or merleton, never saw it in writing). In the US, at least in the west, it’s also called chayote. We use it here in Costa Rica in picadillo (vegetable (and sometimes meat) hash) and in soups.
The taro is the basis for Hawaii’s famous (and oftentimes disliked) poi. There they basically peel it, boil it and mash it with some water. Then they let it ferment. They classify it as one, two, or three finger poi, meaning the more it ferments the thinner it becomes so one finger poi is thick with not much water and not very fermented because you can pick it up with one finger. Two finger is older and thinner (you need two fingers). Three finger is runny and sour. I like all three. Other than the sourness, it’s pretty bland and offsets the sometimes salty and fishy taste of a lot of Hawaiian (and imported) dishes. I had it once just mashed and fried in a little oil. I thought it was good that way.
Hi, Tom! Try chuchu with shrimp, like in a stew, with onion, a tiny bit of garlic and tomatoes. My grandma used to make this dish and is sooo yummy! I`ve always heard that Inhame is good to “clean’ your blood. I like it as a soup, creme de inhame. Very good!
Hi Marina – that shrimp stew sounds GREAT! Oh man, now it’s lunchtime and I’m really hungry. I think it is too much to hope for chuchu and shrimp stew at the kilo though ;)
I LOVE inhame!