IN THIS STORY
- Intro ›
- Steamed Lobster in Maine ›
- Fry-Up in Cornwall ›
- Grilled Fish in Vietnam ›
- Alcapurrias in Puerto Rico ›
- Oysters in Brittany ›
- Acarajés in Brazil ›
- Fish Tacos in Maui ›
- Bacon Double Cheeseburgers in San Diego ›
- Grilled Octopus in Mexico ›
- Elephant Ears on the Jersey Shore ›
- Paella in Mallorca ›
- Mezes in Mykonos, Greece ›
- More great food around the world ›
But Wait—There's More
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- The Best Cruise Ship Cabins ›
- 5 Great Inns for Foodies ›
- Natural Swimming Holes Around the World ›
- Buenos Aires Eats ›
- The Best U.S. Beach Resorts ›
- Last-Minute Escapes: Beach Vacations ›
- Madrid's Best Restaurants and Bars ›
- 12 Hotels with Overwater Bungalows ›
Acarajés in Brazil
The beach: Itapua Beach in Salvador de Bahia
The place: Acarajé da Cira, just off Itapuan Beach
The dish: Acarajés, black-eyed pea fritters served with shrimp and hot sauces
The African-influenced cuisine of Brazil's Bahia region is the source of the colorful acarajé, a much-loved beach snack that combines seafood, spice, and a sizzling pot. The foundation of the dish is the humble black-eyed pea, mashed into a paste, formed into a lump, and deep-fried in dendê oil. The fritter is topped with a combination of bright relishes and sauces, including caruru, an okra gumbo; vatapa, a thick, tangy sauce made with nuts, shrimp paste, and coconut milk; and your classic hot-pepper sauce. The finishing touch—worth the extra centavos—is a handful of small, bright red, sun-dried shrimp, or camarão, whose strong, almost pungent flavor plays well with the dense, earthy fritter and the spicy sauces. Almost everyone in Salvador has a different opinion about where to get the best acarajés, but there's a consensus around Acarajé da Cira, a simple outdoor kitchen in a shady square just off Itapua beach. You can watch the entire process, from forming the fritters to scooping on the sauces. But why watch when you can eat?
Next: The obligatory fish taco in Maui, Hawaii >
Acarajé da Cira
Itapua Beach
Bahia, Brazil
no phone
Photo courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/lorismaria/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
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