Lobster and simple seafood dishes are common and extremely cheap in Salvador da Bahia. A lobster dish is cheaper than a fast food dish in
Europe or at the USA. Simple seafood is an excellent food option, shared by many Salvador’s visitors with conservative food habits.
But for those who aren’t afraid of gastronomic news, and whose stomachs can handle peppered food, the dishes that should be tasted have strange names, with African origin: Vatapá, moqueca, caruru, acarajé… They are seafood based dishes, but they also have other ingredients.
| Vatapá is a kind of seafood stew, with ground peanuts, green peppers and, most of all, coconut milk and dendê (a palm oil). Vatapá is a reference dish. Others as caruru are a variant of vatapá (it’s a kind of vatapá with lots of okra), while the acarajé dish is a vatapá with fried bean cake. |  |
| The moqueca is also a seafood dish, and a stew-like of shrimp and other shellfish, with coconut milk, dendê oil and hot pepper. The difference is in the included tomato paste and some complementary herbs: onion, garlic, parsley… |  |
Though they may be not attractive at a first look, any of these dishes are delicious, even when sold at street corners or at sides of the beaches
by typical bahians, in their white dresses. You will not forget this cuisine. After savoured, most people sigh for a next experience.
Just be careful with hot pepper. Ask for little pepper, if you aren’t initiated, or just don’t add it (some times it is served separately).
