[0:04]Culture Readers, Foods, Level 4. Foods from Brazil. Copyright 2022, Seed Learning. All rights reserved.
[0:28]Wonderful Brazil.
[0:33]With the fifth largest population in the world, Brazil is a big country. In fact, all the countries of the European Union could fit into Brazil twice. The largest city in Brazil is Sao Paulo. About 22 million people live there. Brazil is known for its interesting and beautiful places. It has white sand beaches, mountains, and the Amazon Rainforest. Brazil is in South America. People there speak Portuguese. Why is that?
[1:23]Around 1500, the Portuguese arrived in Brazil from Portugal. They liked the land they found, so they sent more people to Brazil. In time, Portugal came to control Brazil and the people who lived there. Portuguese became the common language in Brazil. Brazil is now a free country, but Portuguese is still the official language of Brazil. Not surprisingly, this large country has a wide choice of foods. Some of the most common include Feijoada, Bolinhos de Bacalhau, and Cajuzinho.
[2:17]Feijoada.
[2:21]Feijoada is a stew made of beans and meat. It is cooked slowly in a large pot. The name of this dish comes from the Portuguese word feijao. Feijao means bean. People used to say that feijoada was the food of slaves. They used beans and old pieces of meat left after meals. But now experts believe that Feijoada came from the Europeans who went to Brazil. They say that both the rich and the poor ate it. The Europeans, such as the Portuguese, ate lots of beans because they were cheap, easy to grow, and easy to cook. They added meat and started to create a stew that could be cooked in large amounts.
[3:20]In most of Brazil, people use black beans. However, in the Bahia area, they like to use red or brown beans. In Bahia, they also add vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Feijoada is served with rice and oranges. Feijoada is a thick, heavy food. It is a comfort food, which makes people feel good when they eat it. Brazilians often eat it on the weekend with family or a group of friends. In the city of Sao Paulo, workers often eat it during their lunch break on Wednesdays. In Rio de Janeiro, many restaurants serve it on Fridays.
[4:13]To make Feijoada, soak some dried beans overnight. Next, put onions, garlic, and meat in a pan with some oil and cook for 5 minutes. Then add herbs and the beans. Finally, add water and cook for about 3 hours. Enjoy with family or friends.
[4:40]Bolinhos de Bacalhau.
[4:45]Bolinhos de Bacalhau means balls of codfish. Brazilians love this dish. You can find it at restaurants and at street cafes. You will also find Bolinhos de Bacalhau at any party. This is another dish with a Portuguese influence.
[5:12]Cod is a big fish that lives in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is low in fat, so it is easy to dry and preserve in salt to use later. The Portuguese began to travel through the Americas. They discovered codfish there. They could keep it for a long time, so it became an important food for them. When Portuguese sailors sailed to Brazil, they brought salted codfish with them. In this way, the Portuguese introduced it to the Brazilians. Now it is an important ingredient in Bolinhos de Bacalhau. To make these delicious codfish balls, you need potatoes, an onion, flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, and salted codfish. You also need cilantro and garlic. Soak the fish to make it soft. Then cook the potatoes. When they are soft, add the fish and mix. Fry the onion and garlic. Now, mix all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs. Mix very well. Then shape into small balls and roll them in breadcrumbs. Finally, fry the balls in hot oil. Enjoy them with hot sauce or lime juice. Bolinhos de Bacalhau are a Christmas food in Portugal. But people in Brazil eat them all year round.
[7:06]Cajuzinho. Let's look at a sweet food next. This is a food that you will find at birthday parties in Brazil. Cajuzinho means little cashews. Caju is the Portuguese word for cashew, and inho means small. This sweet treat comes from the North and Northeast areas of Brazil. In those regions, there are a lot of cashew trees. Did you know that cashews are native to Brazil?
[7:49]Cashews are an unusual nut. In fact, they will make you very sick or even kill you if you eat them raw. They grow at the bottom of a cashew apple. You can eat the raw apple, but you must not eat the raw nut. The skin of a cashew nut will hurt your skin. The cashews we see in the store are cooked. They already have the skin taken off to make them safe to eat. Traditional Cajuzinho is shaped like a cashew, and they have a cashew nut in them. However, these days, it is often made with peanuts instead. This is probably because peanuts are less expensive than cashews.
[8:47]Cajuzinho are very easy to make. You need only six ingredients. First, you will need a can of condensed milk. Condensed milk is sweet and thick compared to regular milk. It started to become popular in Brazil in the 1950s. Now sweets with condensed milk have become a tradition. For Cajuzinho, you will also need butter, ground nuts, cocoa powder, sugar, and cashews or peanuts. For the ground nuts, you can use peanuts or cashews.
[9:33]Put the condensed milk, butter, ground nuts, and cocoa powder in a pan. Heat it until the mixture becomes thick. Let it cool. When it is cold, make it into cashew shaped balls. Put a nut in each ball, then roll them in sugar. Easy! They are very sweet, so you can understand why these are a birthday treat. They are not a food to eat every day.
[10:22]Next time you have a party, why not make one of these foods from Brazil?
