15 TYPICAL DISHES OF THE AMAZON REGION OF COLOMBIA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The typical dishes of the Amazon region of Colombia are permeated by the Colombian, Peruvian and Brazilian cultures, due to the fact that the borders of these three countries converge in the Amazon jungle.

Most of the typical foods of this region are rich in flavors, with native ingredients and preparations or fusions of international cuisine. The ancestral knowledge of the native communities of the Amazon, plus the mixture of cultures between Colombia, Peru and Brazil has contributed to the development of a diverse gastronomy in the Colombian Amazon region.

Leticia, the largest Amazonian city in Colombia, is known for having a cultural and gastronomic richness granted by its privileged location on the edge of a triple border and the Amazon River (Colombia, 2017).

The typical foods of the Colombian Amazon include different and rich methods of preparation, such as moqueado, roast and wrapped in leaf.

Each of these techniques is influenced by the culture derived from fishing and everything that can be extracted from the river.

The pirarucú fish can be prepared in any of the ways previously explained and like many of the Colombian Amazon preparations, it is accompanied by yucca, vegetables, plantain and foods with the strong flavors of the jungle.

In general, the traditional gastronomy of the Amazon is appetizing, exotic, ancestral and highly attractive to tourists, as it derives from the cultural heritage of different indigenous groups in the region and the natural wealth that can be found in the area..

Top 15 typical dishes of the Amazon region of Colombia

1- Pirarucú

Image via viztaz.com.co. Author: Oscar Botero Giraldo

The Amazonian diet is largely made up of fish. The most emblematic fish in the region is the Pirarucú, recognized for its large size (which reaches three meters long) and its scales.

This product is one of the most sought after by tourists and people who visit the Amazon region of Colombia.

Pirarucú can be eaten prepared in multiple ways. One of the most common is as pork rinds. This is how the fish is cut into pieces, breaded and fried.

It is generally accompanied with lemon, vinaigrette, yucca, banana and vegetables (Procolombia, Colombia, 2014).

2- Grill Roast

Many of the typical foods of the Colombian Amazon are grilled. This is how fish and meat with salt are stuffed with vegetables (coriander, paprika and onion), wrapped in bijao or banana leaves and placed on the grill.

Like most traditional dishes from the Amazon, grilling is also served with yucca, mañoco wet and hot chili. The barbecue that is prepared with fish is made from piranha, tarpon or bocachico.

3- Runny

Image via viztaz.com.co.

Moqueado is a food that is derived from the indigenous tradition of the region. To prepare this dish, the fish is taken and wrapped in banana leaves.

Later, it is placed on top of a bonfire for two hours, in this way the fish is cooked or runny by the smoke that comes from the embers.

Those who cook should fan the fire from time to time to prevent the fat and juices that come out of the fish from putting out the embers.

Catfish or pintadillo is usually used for this preparation. The meat of other animals is also used, but in a less common way (SAVAGE, 2013).

4- Sheet Wrapped

Leaf wrapping is a preparation method that is used in different dishes. Bijao leaf is constantly used to wrap the food to be prepared.

It is an ancestral method of indigenous tradition highly diffused in the Colombian Amazon jungle.

The leaf wrap is used to prepare yucca tamales with fish and patarasca, a fish dish seasoned in fillets inside the bijao leaf (Ñañez, 2012).

5- Purtumute

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Purtumute is a stew of black and white beans seasoned with mote and coriander. Sometimes this stew can include corn and pine nuts (FoodColombian, 2012).

6- Rolled

The wrap looks like a long patty filled with beef, pork, and chicken. It also has boiled eggs and raisins inside.

7- Mojojoy

Mojojoy is one of the most iconic typical foods of the Colombian Amazon, since it is made up of a roasted white larva that can be stuffed with meat or chicken.

This larva is part of the diet of many Amazonian tribes due to its high nutritional content. It can also be eaten raw, roasted or fried (Procolombia, 2017).

8- Tacacho with Cecina

Tacacho is a traditional dish from the Colombian Amazon prepared with crushed fried plantain and lard. Jerky is dried and smoked pork that. It is almost always used to accompany the tacacho.

9- Humitas

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Humitas are doughs made of corn filled with cheese, chunky meat, and seasonings. This food is always wrapped in corn husks and cooked in a steam or a bain-marie.

10- Juanes de Yuca

Yucca juanes are doughs prepared with cassava, chicken meat, rice and jerky. The mixture of all these ingredients is wrapped in the leaves of a silver called achira and then steamed.

11- Inchicapi

Inchicapi is a chicken soup with cassava, corn, peanuts, coriander, salt and other seasonings such as cumin. Like most dishes served in the Colombian Amazon, it is accompanied by banana or rice.

12- Gamited

The gamite is a species of Amazonian fish that can weigh up to 30 kilograms. It is prepared on the grill, moqueado or wrapped in a leaf and served with banana and yucca flour.

13- Casabe

Casabe is a harp or tortilla made from yucca. It is used to accompany most dishes that include fish or meat.

14- Fariña

Fariña is a cassava flour made from ripe cassava and striped cassava. This flour is sifted and poured into a container where it is cooked and stirred until the cassava is dehydrated.

15- Copoazú Juice

Copoazú is an Amazonian fruit with a flavor similar to that of passion fruit. In the Colombian Amazon it is used to prepare drinks and juices.

References

1. Colombia, U. (2017). Uncover Colombia. Obtained from The Amazon, "The lung of the world": uncovercolombia.com.
2. (February 20, 2012). Food Colombian. Obtained from AMAZON REGION (AMAZON) - COLOMBIA TYPICAL FOOD: foodcolombian.wordpress.com.
3. Ñañez, AL (December 6, 2012). TYPICAL FOODS OF COLOMBIA. Obtained from COMIDA TIPICA REGION AMAZONICA: Comidastipicascolombialuci.blogspot.com.ar.
4. (December 19, 2014). Colombia. Obtained from Typical Colombian Foods You Should Definitely Try While Visiting Colombia: colombia.co.
5. (2017). Colombia. Obtained from What to Eat in Amazonas: colombia.travel.
6. SAVAGE, A. (July 22, 2013). Detour. Obtained from Tribal Cuisine: Exploring The Food Of The Amazon Rainforest: detourdestinations.com.