Superfoods Brunch and More: The Amazon Comes to the Fullerton

Brazil offers a lot more than Açai when it comes to superfoods. Chef Paulo Machado highlights power-packed ingredients this week at the Fullerton.

Chef Paulo Machado, a Brazilian native and advocate of indigenous ingredients, is here in Singapore for a week at The Fullerton Hotel sharing his passion for Brazilian food.

Chef Machado is a member of the slow food movement and has brought with him a suitcase full of native ingredients such as Tucupi (a yellow sauce extracted from wild manioc root in Brazil’s Amazon jungle), different kinds of Yuca flours, interesting Brazilian chillies (pimientos) typically marinated in vinegar and salt, and even interesting spices like Cumar — all in an effort to cook some interesting dishes here in Singapore and raise awareness of Brazilian ingredients and superfoods.

While ingredients like Açai are well known and even trendy, Brazil, and particularly the Amazon, is home to dozens of superfoods and power packed ingredients that many of us are quite unfamiliar with!

Yuca is a key ingredient in Brazil (it is the root of the cassava plant and pronounced yoo-ka) and many dishes are made with yuca- such as chibe soup – a chilled soup made with yuca flour hydrated in fresh water and herbs such as coriander, parsley and cumari spice. Cumari is cooling for the system (important in the hot Amazon climate) and rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Farofa is another dish made using shredded Yuca and garlic. It is served as an accompaniment to the popular Brazilian barbequed meats to cut the richness of the food. Caruru is an okra salad thought to be great for the digestive system and is made with a mixture of okra, onions, tomatoes and dende oil. Dende oil is essential to Brazilian cooking and is derived from the fruit of the palm tree. It is high in Omega-6, beneficial for the heart

There are a number of exciting events planned around Chef Paulo’s visit to The Fullerton Hotel between 9-15 April, including:

• An intimate cooking class by Chef Paulo at The Lighthouse Restaurant, where guests can interact with him while he displays some elusive Brazilian ingredients. Learn to whip up dishes like Caldinho de Feijao (Traditional Black Bean Soup), Moqueca Baiana de Frutos do Mar (South-east Brazilian-style Seafood Stew), and Romeu e Julieta (Soft Cheese with Sweet Guava Paste). The session takes place from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. (inclusive of a 3-course lunch) and is priced at $88 per person. Limited slots available. Click here to purchase.
• Brazilian Dinner Buffets: At Town’s dinner buffets, discover bracing salads such as Salada de Abobrinha com Pimentas Amazonicas, where zucchini is marinated with herbs and perfumed with peppers from the Amazon. Mains include Barreado, a typical dish from the south of Brazil, where meat is simmered for 14 hours in a closed clay pot and served with manioc flour and plantains. Dinners take place from 6.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday: $59 per adult; $30 per child; Thursday to Saturday: $79 per adult; $39 per child.

• Superfoods Sunday Brunch: Açai smoothies and bowls are all the rage but there is more to superfoods when it comes to Brazilian cuisine. Pack in the nutrients at Sunday brunch on 15 April with dishes such as Salada de Quiabo – Caruru, a high fibre okra salad mixed with onions, tomatoes and azeite de dende. Farofa employs shredded yucca and garlic to lend itself as a piquant accompaniment to juicy, grilled meats, and Chibe serves as a refreshing chilled soup, where yucca flour is hydrated with water and perfumed with cilantro, parsley and cumari (a chilli pepper) spice.Get a dose of natural caffeine with Guarana (“coffee of the forest” derived from the maple family) and Açai, which will give you an energy boost for the rest of your day. Brunch is served 12:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (last pour at 3.00 p.m.) $168 per adult with free-flowing house wine and Champagne; $120 per adult with chilled juices and soft drinks; $60 per child.

The Fullerton Hotel, 1 Fullerton Square, Singapore 049178, Tel: (+65) 6733 8388, www.fullertonhotels.com