Bobó de Camarão

Bobó de camarão is shrimp simmered into a creamy purée of cassava root, coconut milk and dendê oil. It's Bahia's other great shrimp dish alongside vatapá, and where vatapá gets its body from bread, bobó gets its thickness from cassava — a starchier, denser stew that holds together differently on the plate.

What it really is

Cassava root boils until fully soft, then mashes or blends into a smooth purée that forms the base of the whole dish rather than sitting as a side starch. That purée cooks further with coconut milk, dendê oil, tomatoes, peppers and onion until it turns into a thick, bright orange sauce, and fresh shrimp stir in near the end, cooking gently just until they turn pink and opaque without overcooking in the hot purée.

Cassava, not bread, is the structural difference from vatapá. Both dishes share the coconut milk, dendê oil and shrimp base that defines Bahian Afro-Brazilian cooking, but bobó's cassava purée gives it a heavier, more porridge-like body than vatapá's bread-thickened paste — a distinction worth explaining since the two are easily confused.

How it's served

• Hot, in a bowl or spooned over rice.
• With a side of fresh coriander or scallion scattered on top.
• As a main course, filling enough to be the whole meal.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the crustaceans.
• Say what thickens the dish, since guests familiar with vatapá may otherwise expect the same texture.
• Note the dendê oil's role, since its colour and flavour are central to the finished dish.