Mini Lesson 4 : Rice or Beans on Top? Brazil's Biggest Food Debate
In Brazil, rice and beans can be served three ways: feijão em cima (beans on top of the rice), feijão do lado (beans beside the rice), or feijão por baixo (beans underneath, rice on top). Which is correct is a genuine, ongoing debate among Brazilians.
Brazil's Biggest Food Debate
Ask ten Brazilians how their feijão should sit on the plate and you'll start an argument that beats most football rivalries.
The hero decision
- Em cima = beans poured over the rice, the most common default
- Do lado / ao lado = rice and beans served side by side, not touching
- Embaixo / por baixo = rice on top, beans underneath
Where I stand
I'm properly team por baixo or ao lado, Feijão first, Arroz on top, don't try to talk me out of it.
In a sentence
Eu prefiro o feijão por baixo do arroz = I prefer the beans underneath the rice.
Try this
Next time you're at a Brazilian table, ask "Você prefere o feijão em cima, do lado ou por baixo do arroz?" and get ready for an actual opinion, this isn't small talk here.
Words we learned today 🇧🇷
Embaixo = Below
Ao lado / Do lado = Next to / Beside
Em cima / Por cima = On top / Above
Arroz = Rice
Feijão = Beans
If today's lesson made you want more, I'd love to have you as a student.
I'm Samar, I'm Brazilian! I teach Brazilian Portuguese, one-on-one or in small groups, for anyone who actually wants to learn properly.
Samar Rawlinson
Samar is a Brazilian Portuguese teacher from Rio de Janeiro. She teaches real, spoken Portuguese online to English speakers in the UK, USA and Australia.
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