What to eat in Panama?

What to eat in Panama? Here you have some of the typical dishes, recipes and food that you have to try in Panama..

Sancocho panameño
The Panamanian sancocho is one of the most distinctive dishes of the gastronomy of Panama. The real Panamanian stew is made with goose bumps and the delicacy is served as soup. The dish is a stew of hard meat and cilantro, oregano, onion, garlic, vegetables and a little salt are added. The hen is cooked on a low heat keeping it moist with jets of water. Once the dish is cooked, yam is added, a tuber from the wet areas, and it is accompanied with rice.

Rice with beans
Rice is one of the most common foods in Panama and you can count on the fingers of one hand the days that this ingredient is not placed on a Panamanian table. There are hundreds of ways to prepare it and one of the most common ingredients to accompany it are beans.

Corn tortilla
Breakfasts in Panama are usually very nutritious and abundant. Among the various ingredients it is quite common to eat corn tortilla, a pancake-shaped corn dough that is often mixed with fresh cheese or banana.

Fried yucca
Fried yucca is a very succulent plant that usually accompanies many dishes. Normally it eats to long pieces and it is cooked to slow fire until it softens. Then the pieces are fried until they have a golden color and served with other ingredients such as chicken or eggs. Fried yucca is also cooked as a dish and a very common recipe is carimañola. The cassava is stuffed with seasoned ground beef and cheese.   

Ceviche Panameno
Ceviche is a common delicacy in several countries of Central America and Latin America in general. In Panama City - and also in other places - there is a seafood market where there are many places that serve it very well. The ceviche consists of cutting pieces of fish or pieces of shellfish that are then macerated in lime or lemon juice. In Panama it is common to eat it as an appetizer and it is often complemented with tomato sauce or salty soda crackers.

Panamanian tamales
The tamale is a very common dish in several countries and its peculiarity is that the wrappers are leaves of vegetables. In Panama the tamale is usually made of banana leaves and cooked with a mass of corn mixed with raisins and a little broth. Then it is stuffed with chicken meat or pork.

Carne “Ropa Vieja”​
La Ropa Vieja is the way in many countries of Central America and Latin America they say to the frayed meat, specifically of skirt. The meat is cooked with a base of tomato, garlic, onion and a little paprika and is served with a portion of rice. In Panama it is common to serve it with patacones, pieces of green banana fried and flattened.

Cachapas
Cachapas is a very popular dish in Panama, although it is also popular in Venezuela and Colombia. The cachapas are arepas or corn tortillas cooked in a pan that are usually filled with white cheese. Do not cut yourself to eat them with your hands, it is the ritual that is followed for this delicacy.