Venezuelan cuisine is full of flavor, color and textures. Find out what are the typical dishes that you cannot miss when you visit a Venezuelan food restaurant.
In this way, you will know what to ask for when you are in one and you can enjoy the gastronomic experience that this Latin American country offers to the fullest.
Creole flag
The Creole pavilion is one of the typical dishes of Venezuelan cuisine.
It is made with white rice, slices of fried banana, black beans and shredded meat.
Although those are its main ingredients, can be prepared according to the variants of each region of the country, exchanging meat for stewed dog.
Black roast
The black roast is a dish that is prepared with a nice piece of round. The meat is cooked slowly in a broth containing onion, carrots, oregano, panela, and laurel.
During cooking, the broth is reduced until obtaining a brown sauce, by the color of the paper.
It is a dish worth trying for the contrasts that exist between the flavor of the meat and the sweetness of the sauce.
It is a very versatile recipe that you can accompany with rice, pasta, mashed potatoes or a salad.
Well
The bienmesabe is one of the emblematic desserts among the dishes of Venezuelan cuisine. If you are lucky enough to visit a traditional Venezuelan restaurant, don’t miss the opportunity to end the evening by tasting this recipe. Our advice is to take it into account from the beginning to get to desserts with an appetite.
This sweet consists of layers of coconut cake, filled with coconut pastry cream.
The cake used is fluffy and wet, since it is bathed with a mixture of condensed milk, coconut milk and rum. ¡To lick your fingers!
It is decorated with meringue and powdered cinnamon is sprinkled to add more flavor.
Arepa
Surely you have heard of the famous arepa since it is a dish that is not missing at the Venezuelan table.
Arepas are made with white corn flour, water and a pinch of salt.
Once the ingredients are mixed, a dough is obtained from which small buns are taken and shaped until a kind of disc is obtained.
Arepas can prepare on an iron or fry, and then fill them with the different salty ingredients. Depending on whether you are in a more traditional or innovative restaurant, you can find very diverse blends for your arepas.
Some examples are ham and cheese, woven meat, queen pepiada – a mixture of chicken with avocado and mayonnaise -, cheese with black beans, baked leg, dried chicken, scrambled eggs, and dogfish.
This popular dish has amazing versions, like sweet arepas or pork rinds.
Andean Pisca
Andean pisca is another of the Venezuelan cuisine worth trying.
It is a soup that is prepared with chicken broth, which is thickened using milk and cheese. Eggs, cubed potatoes and carrots are added to this.
This soup is delicious and not heavy at all, so you can eat it at breakfast or at any time of the day. File in all Venezuelan brunch.
Hallaca
One of the important dishes of traditional Venezuelan cuisine is the hallaca. It prepares for December festivities such as Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
It is made by spreading a ball of dough prepared with white corn flour on a banana leaf, previously washed.
Ingredients like the popular are placed in the center of the dough meat stew, raisins, olives, onion, wick chicken, red pepper, and capers.
The banana leaf closes, until the ingredients are covered, with a characteristic rectangular shape. It is tied with a thick cotton thread and cooked in a pot with boiling water.
Depending on the region of the country, variations can be found in the recipe. For example, to the halls cooked egg, dogfish or peas are added (bees).
Parakeet
The parakeet is a Venezuelan variant of classic scrambled eggs.
They have the same way of preparation but are seasoned with other ingredients. Tomato and chopped onion are added in small pieces.
It is eaten during breakfast and dinner like a filling for bread, empanadas and arepas.
Cachapa
Another typical of Venezuelan cuisine is cachapa.
It is a dish with a shape and elaboration similar to pancakes, but the hunk are prepared with ground tender corn dough, so there is something more consistent.
They are eaten freshly made and can be filled with cheese mozzarella, pieces of fried pork, ham and cheese, butter, woven meat, chicken and woven pork.
The cachapas stand out for the contrast of flavor that exists between the sweetness of the dough provided by the corn and the salty part that provides the filling used.
Puppies
The little piece is a pastries product which can be compared to croissants.
The cubs are filled before being baked with salty flavors. Some of the bits sold are from Philadelphia ham, ham, and cheese, ham, and cheese, and bacon ham.
You can eat them at any time of the day, accompanied by a refreshing drink.
The best thing about the cubes is the contrast between the flavor of the filling, the softness of the dough and the sweetness provided by the cinnamon syrup layer that is added before baking.
Coconut goat
The coconut goat is another of the Venezuelan cuisine dishes that you must try. Is typical of the country’s coastal regions and is offered in many Venezuelan restaurants as one of its great insignia.
It consists of pieces of goat meat cooked in coconut milk. The preparation is added grated onion, English sauce, garlic, ground black pepper, bay leaf, wine vinegar, tomato in pieces, curry, red paprika, sweet chopped onotus and chili oil.
Can be served with rice, fried green banana, fried or cooked cassava (blemished) or one fresh salad to taste.
Bejarana cake
The Bejarana cake is one of the desserts that are part of the most popular Venezuelan cuisine.
As it could not be otherwise, its main ingredient is banana, mixed with cinnamon powder, fresh cheese, nutmeg, syrup, butter, paper and cloves.
It has a dense texture, similar to a bread pudding. It is decorated with sesame seeds.
Flies
The mandocas are one popular frying in Venezuelan gastronomy.
They are made with a dough whose main ingredient is banana. Panela, cornmeal, anise seeds, and sometimes fresh cheese are also added.
Once you have a dough with a moldable texture, they are given a shape similar to water droplets. To finish, fry in hot oil until golden and crisp.
You can accompany them with cheese and reduced panela syrup.
Ham Bread
Ham bread is another of the Venezuelan cuisine dishes that are served on Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
But don’t let that stop you from trying them at any time of the year if you find them on the menu of a Venezuelan gastronomy restaurant.
It is a bread that is filled with cooked ham, raisins and olives. Depending on the restaurant, you will find other versions with slices of bacon and cream cheese.
Like other recipes, the flavors of bread are wonderful. On the one hand, you have what salty ham, in contrast to the sweetness of the dough and raisins.
Chicha
Chicha is a sweet and refreshing drink, ideal to enjoy during the hot summer, and of course, very typical of Venezuela.
It is prepared with cooked rice, ground cinnamon, sugar, vanilla essence and milk. The ingredients are liquefied and a thick consistency drink is obtained.
When serving, a glass with enough ice cubes is used, decorated with condensed milk and sprinkled ground cinnamon.
Coconut kisses
A Venezuelan recipe with a sweet touch that you can’t miss are the coconut kisses.
These are cookies prepared with a traditional mix, but grated coconut and panela are added.
By baking them, you get some soft cookies and perfect sweets to accompany with a good coffee.
Empanadas
Empanadas are a indispensable dish in Venezuelan cuisine. They can be eaten at any time of the day.
They are like a kind of crescent-shaped cakes prepared with white corn flour, which is filled and fried before eating.
You can order empanadas filled with cheese, wiped meat, ham and cheese, minced beef, dog, chorizo, shrimp, dominoes -black beans and cheese-, parakeet, sausages, octopus and black roast.
In addition, we recommend that try the sauces they offer on site, like garlic sauce or guasacaca.
Tostones
Tostones, too known as patacones, they are popular in traditional Venezuelan cuisine.
They are prepared with male or normal banana. The banana is cut into slices that are fried and crushed to give them their irregular disc shape.
In Venezuelan gastronomy they are a excellent companion of the dishes, as well as they can be served separately with salad, cheese or sauces.
Majarete
Another delicious dessert from Venezuelan gastronomy is the majarete, have you heard of it? Su combination of flavors will make you want one more portion.
This dessert is made with corn flour, coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks and panela.
Its flavor and consistency is similar to that of the coconut flan.
Tizana
The tizana is a popular drink from Venezuelan cuisine, perfect for cooling off during the summer.
It is prepared with a lemonade base with grenadine or watermelon juice with lemon and orange.
Fruit is added to the juice in pieces. Some of those used are mango, pineapple, papaya, orange, banana, grapes, apples, watermelon, and strawberries.
It is served cold and the fruit is eaten while you take it.
Chicken powdery
To finish the list of the emblematic dishes of Venezuelan cuisine we find the powdery chicken or chicken pie.
It is a cake prepared with a brittle dough similar to quiche with a very different filling.
The filling is prepared with dried chicken, sweet chili (pepper), green paprika, onion, olives, raisins, red paprika, garlic, chives and capers.
It is an ideal dish for food or if you are celebrating a special occasion.
With this complete review of the most emblematic gastronomy of Venezuela, you are ready to visit any Venezuelan food establishment and order the dishes that are most to your liking. The list is so long, we fear that you will have to repeat several times.