Food from Nicaragua is so much more than chicken, rice and beans. The food here has a Caribbean flair which is particularly noticeable in the coastal regions of Nicaragua. Whether you choose to eat in local eateries, street market stalls or restaurants, you can bet that Nicaragua food is full of flavour.
It’s time to get excited about food from Nicaragua!
1) Arroz con pescado
Popular Nicaragua food – Grilled fish
Arroz con pescado is a dish of rice, scored deep-fried whole fish, and homemade tomato sauce. The sauce is prepared by frying onion, tomato, chiltoma (sweet pepper), salt, pepper and a little butter.
The sauce is poured over the whole cooked fish when served.
Cooked green plantains and fresh salad are typically served alongside this much-loved dish in Nicaragua.
2) Indio Viejo
Indio Viejo is delicious food from Nicaragua. Photo Credit: visitanicaragua.com
Indio Viejo (literally translates to Old Indian) is a Nicaraguan dish that has its origins in pre-Colombian times.
It’s also similar to the popular Cuban dish called ropa vieja. Indio Viejo is a thick soup made of maize dough with onion and shredded beef.
It’s a slightly sweet flavoured soup that is traditionally served with cuajada (curd cheese) tostones (fried green plantains).
3) Churrasco con Chimichurri
Nicaragua food faves – Churrasco con Chimichurri
This sounds super simple, but it is oh so delicious. A grilled piece of beef, typically skirt steak is flame-grilled, sliced and drizzled with chimichurri sauce.
Chimichurri is a zingy fresh salsa made with parsley, garlic, chilli, oregano, lemon juice and red wine vinegar. It’s one of my favourite sauces ever and tastes amazing on other grilled meats and vegetables.
4) Baho
Nicaragua Food – Baho. Food from Nicaragua you need to try. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
A dish that is typically eaten on the weekend. From personal experience, it’s a meal that is perfect if you’ve had one too many beers the night before.
This dish is prepared by chopping chunks of beef, plantains, cassava, green plantains, capsicum and onions. These ingredients are steamed together on low heat in a large cooking pot sealed with layers of banana leaves.
This process is to trap all the incredible flavours of the contents inside. After cooking slowly for five to eights hours, the dish is ready. Baho is served with a cabbage slaw dressed in vinegar.
It’s the perfect accompaniment to this dish as it cuts through the meat and vegetables, enhancing the flavour.
5) Berenjenas rellenas (stuffed eggplants)
Eggplants are typically cut in half, lengthways and baked until tender before the pulp is removed.
Then, a combination of vegetables and rice, or a blend of ground meat (usually pork and beef) and vegetables are generally used for stuffing the hollowed out eggplants.
Vegetables used to fill the eggplants include zucchinis, onions, tomatoes, mashed potatoes, peppers and chili. Garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or parsley is used to flavour the filling along with salt and pepper to taste.
6) Vigoron
A tasty dish. Vigoron is food from Nicaragua that is fun to eat. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
This is a quick and easy dish to prepare and a common dish to cook in all Nicaraguan households. It’s made up of chicharrones (fried pieces of pork rind), chopped cabbage, onions, tomatoes, fresh chilli and boiled yucca.
I learned that the way to eat Vigoron is to take a piece of pork rind and top it with a piece of yuca and salad.