The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Macau Foods. If you manage to be in an Macau restaurant or you are visiting Macau, I recommend the following:
1. African Chicken
If there is one dish that says everything you need to know about Macau’s culinary heritage, it is this one, which combines European, Indian, African and Southeast Asian influences. According to the original recipe, the dish is roast chicken with Piri Piri sauce. However, in Macau’s corner, peanut, tomato and sometimes pepper sauce are added to the dish. Thus, the African chicken has been transformed into a curry dish.
2. Braised Pork in Tamarind Shrimp Sauce
Although tamarind sauce can also be used in chicken, fish or salad recipes and in many Thai and Asian recipes, it makes a delicious stew with pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin in tamarind, dried apricots and sultana sauce is delicious with some cooked white rice as a side dish, which will take on a delicious flavor as it soaks up the sauce. The different flavors, the exotic touch of tamarind and the different textures will be unforgettable for the diners.
3. Macanese Chilli Prawns
The use of spices can lead to seasoning traditionally grilled dishes such as prawns with turmeric, coconut milk or cinnamon. The most common is to find them with pepper. Possibly one of the simplest and most exquisite recipes. After a light sautéing in chili sauce, the shrimps are ready to serve. They can be served with rice and presented in the form of skewers.
4. Capela
One of the most popular dishes in Macau cuisine, Capela is actually a grilled meat pie. Like so many other recipes in Macau, where everyone has their own way of cooking, the difference is in the ingredients. A capela is a meat pie enhanced with various other ingredients, according to one’s personal touch, which makes the dish exotic, like almost all dishes of the rich Macanese cuisine.
5. Macanese-Style Portuguese Chicken
One of Macau’s national dishes, this golden coconut curry is comforting, tempting and very satisfying. Macau Portuguese chicken curry celebrates Macau’s culinary heritage by combining elements of fish sauce, coconut milk, turmeric and paprika. This super delicious curry is spicy but not too spicy (the addition of chili oil helps with the heat) so there’s something for everyone.
6. Macau Egg Tart
Egg tarts eaten in many parts of China and Macau are derived from or heavily influenced by Portuguese cream cakes and English egg tarts. Macau cuisine now has a variety of egg tarts, including egg white, milk, honey and egg tarts, ginger tarts, chocolate tarts, green tea-flavored egg tarts and even bird’s nest egg tarts. In general, Hong Kong-style egg tarts come in two types of dough: puff pastry and puff pastry, and are traditionally made with ghee instead of butter or margarine.
7. Pork Chop Bun
Pork chop, pork bun or Choapa Bao is one of Macau’s most popular dishes. This Macau food is a pork chop that is crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, fried in soft bread. In the simplest form, the roast pork is placed on bread, while others use lettuce, sautéed onions and some condiments such as ketchup and/or mayonnaise.
8. Tacho
It is a stew of vegetables and meats such as chicken, pork or beef. Among its vegetables, potato and carrot stand out. The tacho is an authentic charm that perfectly shows the mixture of Portuguese and Macanese cuisine. It uses foods from Europe and Asia, combined with cabbage, cuts of ham, pork and Chinese meats, including sausages and ducks. This stew usually takes about 2 hours to cook and results in a full and tasty dish.
9. Salted Cod Fritters
These Portuguese salted cod fritters, called pastéis de bacalhau, are made with salted cod, potatoes, onions and parsley, fried like traditional Portuguese cuisine. Although their true origin is in the Nordic countries, cod cakes are so popular that they are considered a true “ethnic food”. Codfish crackers are the perfect snack (hot or cold) and are included in every Macau party, from the most sophisticated to the most humble.
10. Minchi
It is a favorite dish of Macau’s young people and its name comes from the English “to mince”. Minced pork and beef, onion, garlic, potatoes, soy sauce and fried egg are the ingredients of this Hong Kong Anglo-Indian influenced recipe. Although it may look very European in appearance, it has a distinctly Chinese flavor as the minced meat is seasoned with molasses and soy sauce.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Asian Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.
The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Macau Foods. If you manage to be in an Macau restaurant or you are visiting Macau, I recommend the following: