A Showcase of Bizarre Brazilian Foods
Every once in a while a food video will grace my social media feeds that just sends me into a tizzy. It’s a low quality video of someone producing a dish that just short circuits my brain.
“How could that taste good?”
“What madman was feverish enough to combine that set of ingredients?”
“Who buys this?”
These are the questions that wrack my brain and leave me confused and a little bit scared.
The one common denominator between these strange dishes is that they are Brazilian. Now, I am by no means saying that Brazilian cuisine in general is bizarre, or that the average Brazilian indulges themselves in these strange foods. But these dishes are all from the largest country in South America.
So with no further ado, I present to you, a showcase of bizarre Brazilian foods:
Sopa de Sushi
This soup is definitely a head scratcher.
How could this ever be thought of as a tasty treat?
The exact ingredients or preparation instructions for this delicacy are shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: it’s sushi soup.
I’m not entirely sure what the appeal of this dish is but I am sure there is one. A thick pureed like broth with pieces of sushi suspended within it is a hardy meal, and a waltz of textures. If you have ever had this soup, please contact me with a recipe. I would love to know how to make it, and don’t skimp on the mouth feel details.
Buchada de Bode
This entry in the showcase is probably not as off the wall as the last two. The Atlas Obscura bills it as the South American version of haggis. This traditional Brazilian food is goat organs cooked in the goat’s own stomach.
If you’re a fan of stomach meat and tripe, you might find the inclusion of this dish in this showcase somewhat unfair.
I personally have not been able to develop a fondness for dishes like that, and mostly cannot get past the textural issues that come along with eating stomach.
Weird pizza
If you’ve been around the internet a couple of times, you might have seen some of the absolutely bizarre varieties of pizza this world has to offer. Every culture has some weird take on what should go on pizza. Canadians have their pineapple covered ‘hawaiian’ pizza, and the Swedes have their banana curry pizza. However, I contend that there are none as strange as the offerings from Batepapo Pizzaria.
This pizzeria in Guarujá makes some absolutely mind shattering pizza. To the apologists out there, yes, I do know that this is only one pizzeria and does not represent the vast array of pizza joints and hangouts in the country of brazil. But one look at these pizzas, and the fact the business is still around putting out freakin’ weird pies has to make you wonder if it is such a small example, how is it still doing so well? Why are people still eating from this place?
So behold pizza lovers and haters, some of the pizzas that have been crafted and concocted by batepopo pizzeria.
Tire pizza
Whole Chicken Pizza
Cream and ? Pizza
And if you are interested in seeing that pizzeria make those totally bizarre pizzas, you can catch some of the action here.
Honorable/dishonorable mention
Sopa de Macacao
This is a tricky one because I can’t find a specific recipe or any trace of it online other than its existence as a meme. It is also important to acknowledge that the imagery of this meme has largely been co-opted by individuals with a racist agenda. That being said, the pictures of this soup and its notoriety are difficult to ignore. It’s not uncommon for humans to eat animals that most of us might consider unconventional food sources, but this one seems to be disturbing.
All I know of this soup is that it is mostly prepared by chopped up monkey bits, and the head was certainly not excluded. I am not going to include a picture of this meal because it could be unsettling for a number of people, but a quick search will be able to show you what I mean.
Whether this is real or not, it is based enough in truth that there are those out there who believe it to have actually been made, and has made it on to this list.
I hope you enjoyed this spotlight on some bizarre and unconventional foods you might find in Brazil. Yet, this list is certainly not indicative of Brazilian cuisine in general, and is just a showcase of the strange outliers.
While this list could be made for many different countries around the world, Brazil just seems to have some strange interpretations of foods or combination of foods that much of the world enjoys.