This appeared on Nomadic Boys website and is a nice article.
The Panamanian Cuisine has strong influences from Africa, Spain and its indigenous Native American population. There is a lot of similarity and overlap with some of our favourite famous foods of Colombia as well as several unique dishes we had never heard of before.
These are our 5 favorite Panamanian dishes we tried and loved during our big Latin American trip.
Sancocho de gallina Panameño: the national dish
Sancocho is a delicious, light chicken soup with potatoes, corn on the cob, culantro herb, yuca and plantains. Other ingredients often used include corn on the cob (mazorca), ñampi (a tropical root vegetable), hot sauce, chopped onions, garlic and oregano.
The traditional recipe of sancocho is from the Azuero region, but other regions have their own variations. For example, in the town of La Chorrera, it is referred to as ancocho chorrerano and is only made with free range chicken, onions, garlic, chili peppers, oregano and ñame. Whereas in the Chiriquí Province, it is called sancocho chiricano and it is made with squash, giving it a yellowish colour.
Due to the varied ingredients used to make a sancocho, it is often used as a metaphor for Panama’s racial diversity, showing that each different ingredient has just an important and equal role to play in the preparation of this very yummy dish. As such it is considered the national dish of Panama.
Sancocho soup – the national dish and also perfect hangover cure!
Ropa vieja: slowly cooked old clothes!
We first came across this dish when travelling in Gran Canaria. If you understand Spanish, this dish will always bring a smile to your face – it literally means old clothes.
Ropa vieja is a beef stew with spices like black pepper, cumin and oregano. The name comes from a legend that a man ran out of food while serving his guests, so he picked one of his garments and made a stew out of it!
Old clothes or not, the ropa vieja we tried in Panama City was delicious and definitely a dish to look out for.
Panamanian tortillas: thick corn cakes
Unlike Mexican tortillas, Panamanian tortillas are thicker, circular and made from corn dough. Tortillas are a popular breakfast dish in Panama, usually topped with melted cheese or eggs. They are similar to Colombian arepas, which are also a type of corn cake.
Panamanian tortillas are usually deep fried (tortillas fritas), but they can also be grilled (tortillas asadas).
The tortillas are an indigenous influence, dating back centuries. For example, in 1631 famous explorer Diego Ruiz de Campos wrote about the consumption of tortillas in the villages near the Caimito River, west of Panama City by its Native Americans inhabitants. The tradition has been kept alive since then!
Delicious corn tortillas for breakfast in Panama
Carimañolas: yuca fritters stuffed with lots of goodness
Carimañolas is another popular breakfast dish and afternoon snack in Panama. It is a torpedo shaped yuca fritter stuffed with cheese, seasoned ground beef and then fried.
Yuca, or cassava, is a woody shrubroot vegetable, common in Latin America and full of carbohydrates. Yuca is not to be confused with yucca, which is type of flowering plant in south California.
The origin of carimañolas is unclear, but it is thought it originate from the French word, carmagnole, which was a short jacket worn by working-class militants during the French Revolution (1789-1799). This jacket not only inspired a lively song called carmagnole but is also thought to have inspired this popular Panamanian dish, due to the reference of the cassava wrapping the filling as “a jacket”.
Carimañolas: Panamanian yuca meat pie yumminess!
Ron Ponche: THE unique Panamanian cocktail
This is Panama’s signature cocktail, similar to Egg Nog. It is a cocktail of rum mixed with egg yolks, vanilla extract and evaporated milk.
Ron Ponche is particularly popular during the holidays, especially at Christmas and New Years. A glass of Ron Ponche is sipped slowly, just like you would drink a glass of Baileys.
