Travel Guide : Brazil

[MulletProof]

As far as I know coxinha aren't made with potato I think that you're not succeding making coxinha because I think there isn't Maizena soup in USA, and it's one of the necessary ingredients !

yeah, that's what I was talking about .. the recipe is probably easy to do if you live in NYC but the rest of the ingredients are hard to come by anywhere else.. I used mashed potato as a supplement, cause when it's fake (processed potato from a box, that is) it tastes vaguely similar, but I know it's not the same thing.. at all.

 

[MulletProof]

She makes delicious coxinhas, but her speciality is pastel!

what is pastel? I googled it and found this, but it's not very clear.

 

[ckgirlbr]

what is pastel? I googled it and found this, but it's not very clear.

This is pastel!

 

[MulletProof]

you guys posted the same image. funny.
is it filled with something? is it sweet/salty?.

 

[xPedro]

Yeah, it's filled, and it's usually salty but it can be sweet too, it depends on the filling

 

[MulletProof]

^ cool. there's so much stuff.. I barely made it to coxinhas and empanadas (which differed in size, filling and texture from the ones I tried in Argentina) but I regret not trying a bit of everything in the salgadinho section, especially pão de queijo, which sounds extra yummy now that I know what they're made of . I was only there for a few hours though but it certainly helped me develop an obsession, now I desperately want to go back.


by the way, is it really necessary to use maizena for coxinhas? I'm familiar with mexican maizena, which is corn starch basically, is that the same as brazilian maizena?. I cannot imagine making it with that, and then using cream cheese (like the original) and keeping it all together.

 

[xPedro]

^ cool. there's so much stuff.. I barely made it to coxinhas and empanadas (which differed in size, filling and texture from the ones I tried in Argentina) but I regret not trying a bit of everything in the salgadinho section, especially pão de queijo, which sounds extra yummy now that I know what they're made of . I was only there for a few hours though but it certainly helped me develop an obsession, now I desperately want to go back.


by the way, is it really necessary to use maizena for coxinhas? I'm familiar with mexican maizena, which is corn starch basically, is that the same as brazilian maizena?. I cannot imagine making it with that, and then using cream cheese (like the original) and keeping it all together.

I don't know if it's the same maizena but I know (actually I asked my mom ) and it is necessary to use maizena!
And yes, Pão de Queijo is deliciiiiiiiiiious!

Now reading your replies I was thinking how difficult would be for me to get used to a life outside Brazil, without Coxinhas, Pão de Queijo, Leite Condensado ... things that are so commun for us here are so difficult to make or/and find outside Brasil!

 

[MulletProof]

Fortunately, if someone from home can send you hard-to-find ingredients, you're good to go.. you might not like cooking when you're at home but homesickness can turn everyone into a fairly decent chef, since you can only rely on yourself to fully satisfy your cravings .

leite condensado is easy to find as it's available through nestlé's la lechera line .. my sister used to buy it when making flan, it's delicious
(nestlé also sells doce de leite, do you eat it in Brazil as much as people in Argentina?).

 

[ckgirlbr]

(nestlé also sells doce de leite, do you eat it in Brazil as much as people in Argentina?).

Yes, we do, especially people from Minas Gerais state. They make the best ones, it's very good.

you guys posted the same image. funny.
is it filled with something? is it sweet/salty?.

That was the most beautiful pic from the first page of google images

Have you tried brigadeiro? Even my French teacher who comes from France loves it. And it's quite simple to do!

 

[MulletProof]

I have not but I googled it and.. . and note that I'm not a big fan of chocolate but it looks yummy!.

by the way, not sure if you guys will like this but I loved Anthony Bourdain's episode in Brazil, I was reading some of the comments on youtube and Brazilian posters were disappointed since he stayed in Sao Paulo the whole time but I liked this part, where he goes to Claudia's place for lunch (starting min. 4).. you totally get a 100% home vibe from her place..


ok, I don't know how to embed videos haha, here's the link.

 

[xPedro]

Have you tried brigadeiro? Even my French teacher who comes from France loves it. And it's quite simple to do!

Oh, yeah! Brigadeiro!
Is there leite condensado (condensated milk, I think that would be the translation) in the US?!

 

[ckgirlbr]

Not sure if you've already drunk, but you could try caipirinha too And all the versions: caipiroska (with vodka), with saque...

 

[MulletProof]

^ I haven't!, they do it at local Brazilian restaurants here, I just never tried it for some reason, I saw it in the video and it looked like the stuff I can absorb like water, oh the danger.

 

[ckgirlbr]

Especially with saque, you keep drinking and drinking, and when you realize you're already drunk

 

[xPedro]

Guys let's me ask you somthing, is there Maracujá outside Brazil??

 

[ckgirlbr]

I think there is! I met a German girl this year and she says there is Germany too (I think ). It's passion fruit in English

 

[xPedro]

It's funny that name since she's used to calm down

 

[Festat]

It's passion fruit in English

I have always wondered why.

 

[ckgirlbr]

So, my mother made coxinhas a few weeks back, I asked her if she had used maizena and she hadn't. She made them with 'regular' flour and potato. It's not as delicious as the ones made with maizena, but they're good anyway.

 

[MulletProof]

^ yummy!
I have given up trying .. I even burned my last ones, they were the most horrible and disgusting tribute (or should I say insult?) to the coxinhas I tried in SP. Lucky for me, I might be going to Brazil sooner than expected, as in.. April/Late March.
how's the weather around that time? is it still very humid? I'm stopping by Peru first and my Peruvian friend says it's kind of gray as it's already autumn but then Peru is kind of high so I don't know.. I remember Argentina in March being still insanely hot and humid.. will it get worse as I go up?