Brazilian · sauce/condiment
Vatapa
Vatapa reads richness 5.5, nutty 5.1 and umami 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Brazilian sauce/condiment, about 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.
The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10
- Umami & Savory — 4.8 / 10
- Sweet & Fruity — 3.7 / 10
- Sour & Bright — 1.0 / 10
- Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
- Rich & Fat — 7.1 / 10
- Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10
The measured notes (of 18)
Richness 5.5 · Nutty 5.1 · Umami 4.1 · Allium 3.9 · Salinity 3.4 · Marine & Briny 3.4 · Sweetness 3.1 · Heat 2.2 · Fruity 1.8 · Floral 1.7 · Earthy 1.3 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Herbaceous 0.9 · Sourness 0.9 · Bitterness 0.7
What's in it (11)
- 1 cup dried shrimp
- 4 slices stale white bread
- 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
- 3 tbsp dende (red palm oil)
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 2 malagueta peppers
- salt to taste
Time & effort: about 35 min (25 min active) · effort: easy
Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 135.4 kcal, 5.5 g protein, 8.9 g fat, 9.7 g carbs
Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.
How it's cooked (3 steps)
- Soak bread in coconut milk, then blend together with soaked dried shrimp, peanuts, cashews, onion, garlic, and ginger into a smooth thick paste.
- Cook the paste in a pan with dende oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and turns a deep golden orange.
- Season with salt and malagueta pepper and use as a filling for acaraje or a sauce for seafood.
Dishes with a similar flavor shape
- Matapa — Mozambican
- Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup) with Fufu — Ghanaian
- Nasi Dagang (East Coast Rice with Tuna Curry) — Malaysian
- Crab and Callaloo (Dasheen Leaf Soup with Blue Crab) — Trinidadian
- Caruru de Camarão Seco — Brazilian
Keep reading: what richness, nutty, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.
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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.