Bissau-Guinean Recipes
5 recipesGuinea-Bissau's cooking blends West African traditions with Portuguese influence, and the sauce is usually the star. Rice is the staple near the coast, grown in flooded fields, while millet and corn are more common in the interior. Peanuts, called mancarra, and cashews are ground into pastes that thicken stews, and palm fruit and palm oil give sauces their red color. Fish and shellfish are everywhere on the coast, and chicken is a favorite for feasts. Stews called caldos are made with fish, chicken or meat and served over rice, and caldo de mancarra and caldo de chabéu are the best known. Okra, black-eyed peas, cassava and sweet potato fill out the table, and fresh malagueta chili is used for heat. Meals are usually eaten at home from one shared dish, often by hand. Fruit juices, hibiscus tea and palm wine are typical drinks, and palm wine and cane spirit are offered at family ceremonies.
Staple ingredients
- rice
- peanuts (mancarra)
- palm fruit and palm oil
- fish and shellfish
- millet and corn
- okra
- cassava
- malagueta chili
Main Dishes
Cafriela de Frango (Bissau-Guinean Chili Lemon Grilled Chicken)GW1 hEasy
Caldo de Chabéu (Bissau-Guinean Palm Fruit Stew with Fish)GW1 hMedium
Caldo de Mancarra (Bissau-Guinean Fish in Peanut Broth)GW55 minEasy
Side Dishes
Drinks
Common questions
What is Guinea-Bissau food known for?
Rice with rich sauces called caldos, especially caldo de mancarra (peanut) and caldo de chabéu (palm fruit), plus grilled chicken cafriela and fresh fish. Peanuts, palm oil and chili are central.
What is the national dish of Guinea-Bissau?
Caldo stews are often described as the national dish, and caldo de mancarra, a peanut stew made with chicken or fish and served over rice, is the one most people mention first.
Is Bissau-Guinean food spicy?
It can be. Malagueta chilies appear in many sauces and marinades, and extra chili is often added at the table, so heat is easy to control.