A Taste of Home: Brazil

“A Taste of Home” is a regular magazine column in which we ask the natives of a particular country to introduce us to their national cuisine.

“I found the guy and I said ‘Please, only bring beef, pork or chicken,’” says Lindauro Luciano Barbosa, recounting his first experience of the Chinese craze for “Brazilian” barbecue restaurants. “From that day,” Lindauro says mournfully, “I realized that what people are saying is not what they are actually saying. The name was Brazilian, but there wasn’t Brazilian barbecue there.”

Fortunately, we didn’t come to Alameda expecting barbecue. The Brazilian Embassy had put us in contact with Lindauro’s wife, Talita Sampaio, one of the organizers of Brazilian expat association BRAPEQ, who recommended the Nali Mall restaurant’s Saturday feijoada session. “You can find it in other places, but the flavor here is best,” insists Talita.

Brazil’s national dish originated as a sustenance food for slaves. “The slaves didn’t have a lot to eat,” explains Lindauro. “They just took what they had, black beans, pork, some vegetables and other things, and baked them together so they had enough to stay full.” Although there are three of us eating (plus the couple’s nine-month-old daughter), we only order feijoada for two. “It depends on your appetite,” says Talita, “but it’s big, and very easy to go for another spoonful.”

Feijoada Saturdays are Alameda’s main nod to Brazilian cuisine, but the occasional Brazilian dish pops up on the set menu. Talita points out one dish of shrimp baked inside pumpkin, with a few desserts also. You wouldn’t eat feijoada every day. You need to eat it in moderation reflecting the influence. And don’t forget the cheese bread. These tiny, ball-shaped mainstays of Alameda’s bread plate are a Brazilian essential. “ The main ingredient is cassava flour,” says Lindauro. “You can find a similar flour, in the tiny supermarket just opposite the Sanlitun police station, but that one comes from India– it’s not the same.”

A platter of appetizers appears, each in a little individual pot. Finely, chopped tomatoes, red onion, herbs and vinegar. Small cuts of cooked and dried bacon. A black bean sauce, slightly spicy – “this one, you drink like a tea,” insists Talita. A pastel, a small Brazilian pastry. And, in the center, a mini-caipirinha that you sink in one go.

“There’s one Brazilian snack I miss in Beijing,” Lindauro sighs. “It’s called pamonha. I love it, it’s a paste made from corn. If there’s one thing that I won’t miss the opportunity to eat when I go back to Brazil, it’s pamonha. Especially with barbecue. I’ve tried to make it.”

“More than once!” interrupts Talita, pointedly.

Lindauro concedes, “Yes … But I didn’t achieve the final result …yet!”

The feijoada arrives, and doesn’t disappoint. The centerpiece is a large, steaming bowl of stewed black beans and pork ribs, immersed in a deep black broth. Surrounding it are plates of sausage, tomato, vegetables, cassava flour mixed with bacon, and rice. There’s also a citrusy, spicy sauce for you to add a spoonful or two. (Be warned: It’s very spicy.)

Feijoada is comfort food to top all others – we could easily have carried on nibbling on it all afternoon. “This is something we’d do for weekends,” says Talita. “It’s easy to do at home, so in Beijing friends will invite us around for a feijoada. It’s best to cook it one day in advance, that way the flavor will be stronger.” Lindauro, perhaps sensing our rising enthusiasm for the dish, is quick to add a note of warning. “You wouldn’t eat this every day. It’s not a good idea in terms of health. You need to eat it in moderation.”

Try a caipirinha (RMB 48) with your feijoada. Made with cachaça, lemon juice and sugar, with a dash of water, this sweet-and-sour cock-tail is widely available in Beijing bars. Alameda offers the traditional lemon variety, as well as a passion
fruit option.

And finally, what of “Brazilian” barbecue? “There are two real Brazilian barbecues,” Lindauro says. “One is Casa Brasil, opposite the embassy. I think there are two Brazilian guys cooking there now. But the best is Brazilian Churrascos. There’s a Brazilian guy cooking there. It’s not good like in Brazil, but good for Beijing.”Ultimately, that’s about all we can ask for.

Click here to see the September issue of the Beijinger in full.