Saturday, November 26, 2011

RECIPE- Manioc Fritters (Bolinho de Aipim)

This recipe comes from Rio de Janeiro where they call manioc aipim. In most others regions of Brazil this staple food is called mandioca or macaxeira, but in the very colorful laugauge of the cariocas (residents of Rio de Janeiro) it's aipim.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, bolinhos are typical Brazilian bar snacks, and are probably nowhere more popular than they are in Rio. We don't know of any statistical study of bolinho-recipe popularity, but we'd venture a guess that the most popular of all bolinhos in Rio is the classic bolinho de bacalhau, made from salt-cod. Bolinho de aipim must run a close second, however.

As we mentioned yesterday, the typical bolinho recipe includes some form of protein plus some type of carbohydrate. In this recipe, the protein is mozzarella cheese (the chewy, rubbery pizza type, not fresh or soft mozzarella) and the carbohydrate is the manioc.

Properly made, bolinho de aipim is light and fluffy and is best served piping hot, right out of the deep fryer. Best accompaniments are a wedge of fresh lime and a good hot sauce. And, it goes without saying, a cold, cold beer to wash it down.

Fresh manioc root can be found in many Latin American and African food stores.  It's variously called manioc, cassava, yuca, aipim or macaxeira depending on the ethnic community the store caters too.
___________________________________________________
RECIPE- Manioc Fritters (Bolinho de Aipim)
makes 20 bolinhos

2 lbs (1 kg) precooked manioc, mashed and cooled
2 whole eggs
1 Tbsp butter
salt to taste
6 oz. (200 gr.) pizza-style mozzarella, cut into small cubes
dry bread crumbs
fresh vegetable oil for deep frying
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed manioc, one egg lightly beaten, the butter and salt to taste. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Using wet hands shape the mixture into small balls. Place each ball in the center of the palm of your hand, press in the center to make an indentation, then place one cube of cheese in the indentation. With your hands reform the ball around the cheese cube, sealing it in well. Reserve the balls on a smooth counter surface or cookie sheet.

In one deep soup plate lightly beat the remaining egg and in a second one add about 1 inch of dried bread crumbs. Pass each ball through the beaten egg first, then roll them in the bread crumbs. Return them to the counter or cookie sheet and reserve.

Heat the deep-fryer to recommended temperature for doughnuts. When hot add a few balls at a time to the hot oil - do not crowd them. When they are golden on all sides, remove from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towel. Continue with the remaining balls, frying in batches.

As soon as all the balls are cooked serve them immediately.

5 comments:

  1. Hey, James! I haven't found a post about this, but take a look in "Tacacá" and in "Manissoba". These are foods from the North. And take a look in "bolinho de chuva".

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And hey, I have to say that it's good to find foreigners that have interest in brazilian food, and don't simply run through the city to find a McDonald's or any food that you can find it anywhere. The first thing that we gotta learn is to overcome our tabus about everything. And I have to recommend to you, James, as a brazilian girl that studies international relationships, to take a closer look at our costumes, not only food. Brasil is not only carnaval, samba and beaches as lots of foreigners, unfortunatly, think. I, for instance, HATE carnaval, and I hate this image that our country sells to the world: that we are people that just want to party all the time that can't be taken seriously. There are many faces in our country, and I strongly recommend you to go to a big town like Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo and live it daily to see and feel our routine. Go out at night to the places that we are used to go, be more open minded towards our ways of getting close to strangers, which is a very hard thing to outsiders, generally. Anyway, I'm very happy to find people like you, James, that is interested in our culture!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Năm nào cũng vậy, mùa hè đến thì cùng với không khí nóng bức, http://dongtrunghathaoaloha.tumblr.com/ tôi cũng mắc không biết cơ man nào là bệnh tật! http://benhmatngu.tumblr.com/ Đầu tiên phải kể đến là việc làn da của tôi nổi loạn thực sự, mụn mọc khắp cơ thể, da dẻ lúc nào cũng nhớp nháp mồ hôi.http://thuoctriseo.tumblr.com/ Cùng với nó là cảm giác ngứa khắp người! http://lammoctoc.tumblr.com/ Chính vì vậy mà tính nết của tôi cũng thay đổi hẳn. http://phunu-mangthai.tumblr.com/ Mẹ gọi tôi là mắm tôm cũng bởi vì hễ có người động vào mình là tôi lại gào thét, dễ nổi quạu vô cùng. Ra hàng thuốc, http://giaidocgan.over-blog.com/ ngoài các loại thuốc chữa mụn mà tôi thấy loại nào cũng càng uống càng thêm vô vọng vì mụn nhiều không xuể, http://giaidocgan.newsvine.com/ thì các cô dược sĩ kê cho tôi rất nhiều các loại thuốc bổ thận mát gan. Khổ tôi, uống mãi cũng không thấy khỏi hẳn được.... Hè năm nay tôi về quê, http://giaidocmatgan.weebly.com/ cái nắng ruộng đồng còn gay gắt hơn ở thành phố. http://tangcuongtrinho.weebly.com/ Tôi sợ nhà quê không có điều hòa mát mẻ, http://cachchonglaohoa.weebly.com/ bệnh mùa hè của tôi lại càng trầm trọng. Tuy vậy, tôi đã nhầm...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I remember having a friend that I actively made a lot of things myself, my family really enjoyed these recipes, the feeling of enjoying those delicious dishes and playing rolling ball 3d to relax on the weekend made us closer.

    ReplyDelete