Ei, povo! Hi, people! Estão com fome? Are you hungry?

Today’s delicious post is going to talk about tapioca, a Brazilian culinary symbol which consists of a sort of white crepe with grainy texture made with manioc starch. The starch is  extracted from the mandioca (manioc or cassava in English) – also known in other regions as aipim or macaxeira – a widely consumed food staple in our country and one of the main ingredients in many Brazilian recipes.

Palavras-chave/Keywords: cozinhar (cooking), comida (food), receita (recipe), prato típico (typical dish), tapioca

The name tapioca derives from its indigenous origins and it is believed that it comes from the tupi dialect, being translated as tapi (bread) + oca (house).

Although mostly traditional in northern and northeastern Brazil, the tapioca recently became a favorite diet food and healthy option for an easy, quick and practical snack. Some of you may also be glad to hear that it is a gluten-free treat! You can find tapioca as street food all over the country but many people also make their own by purchasing the tapioca starch at any supermarket and preparing it at home. Fillings can be sweet or savory, so it’s a great opportunity to use your creativity here and just let your imagination run wild with the large variety of possibilities! So let’s get to the yummy part and learn how to make a perfect tapioca!

You can add any filling you want, but for this recipe we’re just using cheese, one of the most typical choices.

Image by Anizio (Olinda) da Silva on Wikimedia Commons under cc-by-sa-2.0.

Você vai precisar de: | You’ll be needing:

1. Três colheres de goma de tapioca hidratada | 3 tablespoons of hydrated tapioca starch
2. Meia xícara de queijo ralado de sua preferência | ½ cup of grated cheese of your choice
3. Frigideira | Skillet

Modo de fazer: | How to make it:

1. Preaqueça a frigideira antiaderente | Preheat a nonstick skillet
2. Peneire a goma diretamente na frigideira, formando um círculo | Sift the starch directly onto the skillet, making a round shape
3. Se necessário, alise com uma colher para formar uma camada uniforme | If necessary, flatten with a spoon to form a uniform layer
4. Ao ser aquecida, a goma irá se unir para formar uma superfície | Upon contact with heat, the starch will fuse to form a surface
5. Quando as bordas começarem a soltar, vire a tapioca com uma espátula | Once the edges are loose, flip it over with a spatula
6. Acrescente o recheio, dobre a tapioca ao meio e espere | Add the filling, fold the tapioca in half and wait
7. Quanto o recheio derreter, retire do fogo e sirva! | When the filling melts, remove from heat and serve!

É isso! Espero que gostem! This is it! I hope you enjoy it!

And here is another mandioca recipe from our previous posts:

https://blogs.transparent.com/portuguese/brazilian-food-caldo-de-mandioca/

Ótima semana! Great week!