By virtue of the existence of more than two thousand species of fish in the rivers that bathe the state of Amazonas, the Amazonian culinary values fish above all. The most consumed species are the tambaqui, tucunare, pirarucu, jaraqui, pacu and matrinchã, which may be served fried, grilled or cooked. Most cooked dishes, called “caldeirada” are accompanied by “pirão”, a sort of manioc flour mass cooked in the fish broth, or by tucupi, a yellow broth made from manioc juice fermentation. For fried fish “baião de dois” (a mixture of beans, rice and spices) and uarini flour is a must.
Regional fruits complement the menu and may be consumed in natural status or in the form of juices, sweets, jellies, and ice cream. Among the most appreciated are the mango, pitomba, cupuaçu, graviola, watermelon, tucumã, tapereba, pupunha, araça-boi, biriba, abio, buriti, bacaba, açai, pataua and the widely known guarana of Amazonia.
In the morning menu of Amazonians, coffee with hot milk accompanied by French bread with tucumã and curdled milk, also called “x-caboquinho”, has become a sort of institutional meal.
