Posted by Julian

As you know, one of Book of Cooks’ main goals is to make cuisines and food specialties from around the world more widely known, available and affordable…in other words, to help you discover what’s cooking in your neighborhood. The idea is for you to always be able to find a cook or a baker specialized in Romanian, Persian, Ukrainian, Argentinean, Greek/Aegean or Sri Lankan (you name it!) cuisine and get whatever taste of the world that you are craving for, how you want it, when you want it. Looking for an authentic Fasole cu cârnaţi? Qormeh sabzi? some delicious Pierogis? Maybe a succulent Moussaka? Why dream about it? It’s just a call away!

So…a couple of weeks ago I asked the Yahoo! Latinoamerica and Yahoo! Brazil communities: which are the home-cooked meals that Latin Americans miss the most when traveling or living abroad. The idea was to spawn some open answers from which we could then identify those meals or dishes that are most popular in each country. We got what we wanted….with flying colors. It was fascinating to see how much passion and sentiment national dishes inspire (please note that I am purposely using the term “national dish” much more loosely than Wikipedia does). So I wanted to highlight some great comments that I found among the thousand-plus answers that I read.

For Brazilians it was unbelievably unanimous: Arroz feijão, hands down….so I decided to go with the majority and voted for Mongague‘s answer (although my personal favorite from Brazil is the Frango Pasarinho!). But just like there is no “correct recipe”, there isn’t a “correct” answer to this question! I absolutely loved and enjoyed reading all of them…not to mention that some of the usernames were really funny. Like, for example, ChivoBrincado (ugh!!) who says he is “abroad” as soon as he walks out his door. Some answers like this one from OilMe were incredibly detailed; or insightful like Pavel’s; and some like this one from Corrupta kinda made me blush!

After getting to answer #1069 and convincing myself that no country can claim “ownership” of the empanada,  :=) I think most of us who followed the discussion came to the conclusion that we miss and like the food that we grew up with, whatever reminds us of our childhood, scents, family, friends, culture, personal stories.

“It’s not just the food. It’s the reminiscence to our culture and our roots”

Capucine Zenobia

Random sample from Latin American countries…	Most Popular answers on Yahoo! Answers….
Guatemala	Rellenitos
Colombia	Sancocho
Nicaragua	Vigoron (Granada), Guapote Frito
Mexico	Mole, Tacos, Pozole, Tortillas, Chilaquiles, Chicarrones, Enchiladas
Argentina	Locro, Empanadas, Milanesas, Asado
Costa Rica	Gallo Pinto
Honduras	Frijolitos, Tamales, Cuajada, Tapado Costeño, Sopra Marinera
Peru	Ceviche, Papa a la Huancaina, Mazamorra Morada, Anticuchos
Venezuela	Arepas, Chachapas
Cuba	Moros y Cristianos, Cerdo Asado, Yuca con Mojo, Tamales con Yuca
El Salvador	Popusas
Ecuador	Menestras, Guatitas, Encebollado
Brazil	Arroz Feijao, Feijoada

¿Qué comidas caseras de tu país extranás más cuando estás en el exterior?

Qual o prato brasileiro que você sente mais falta, quando viaja para o exterior?