Village Food in AMAZON RAINFOREST - Lemongrass Ants + EXOTIC Energy Drinks! | Manaus, Brazil!

- Good morning, I hope you are having an incredible day, I am Mark Wiens, I am in Manaus in the state of Amazonas, right in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. We will stay in the city, but today we will take a trip to the

village

, take a boat, go to a local town, eat some amazing, locally prepared, homemade, Amazonian

food

. It will be an incredible adventure in the Amazon. So we're on our way. (island music) On our way we will first try to look for some

exotic

fruits... and the Amazon is simply a paradise of fruits,

exotic

fruits, we will try to look for some exotic fruits for breakfast before going to the river to take the boat. (island music) - Mari-Mari Sells an incredible selection of exotic fruits.

Fruits I had never seen before. Amazonian tropical fruit stand. Is this called Maru Maru? - Mari-mari. - Mari-mari, Mari-mari. (chatter and traffic passing by) You wouldn't even think it's a fruit and you like to twist it open. Inside it looks like Mentos, like a pack of Mentos. Wow, it immediately tastes like a green apple, but slimy, it's amazing what comes out of that pod. They just fit perfectly, they're like little tablets. Its similarity to the flavor of a green apple is notable. (chatting and speaking in Portuguese) Really juicy, very fresh, very chewy. - Inga - Inga Locally it's called Inga, but I'm pretty sure the English name is Ice Cream Pods, or like ice cream pods, that's what it is.

You can feel it's a little creamy, wow! Alright. - We lost one. It doesn't really have much of a scent. Mmmm, it's like creamy. It tastes a little like vanilla ice cream. (indecipherable speech) You just suck on the meat and it's a little slimy. - Bariba? - Biriba. - Huh? - Bi-ri-ba. - Biriba, the biriba. - The outside appearance is just amazing, oh, here it is back here, you can see this is the fruit but it looks like a custard apple, yeah, a little bit like a custard apple or a sour sap, but then it has these amazing little spikes.

Almost like melting, like making juice because it is very ripe. Oh, you can smell a little like cream. - Trying to get something out of this. Oh, this one is amazing. Mmm, it's so sweet, it's perfectly tart and it kind of dissolves in your mouth and then you have these little seeds that are almost like watermelon seeds. Very similar to cherimoya and then kind of like that, with a sour sap type acidity, like a mild acidity that tastes amazing, like pudding. Pudding in a pod. That's so good. (car door closes) (island music) I just got to the market, let's go see the market, maybe some more fruits?

And just see some of the local life in Manaus before taking the boat into the jungle. (chat and friendly chat) - Túcuma? - Wow, obrigado. - We are right at the entrance of the market, we find another fruit, it is called Tucuma. And they peel the skin and cut it like a flower formation, almost like a plastic aroma. Wow, that's not sweet at all, more like bitter, but the flavor keeps coming, it's almost like confusing what it tastes like, almost meaty? - That is abundant, you can feel the oil, the fat that it contains. The vibrant colors, so many fruits and vegetables from the Amazon. - This whole area is full of markets but we will approach the municipal market, where we will try a very common local street

food

for breakfast as a sandwich. - Obrigado.

It looks like a mini passion fruit. It's like opening the skin, inside it looks like a longan. Mmmm, oh that's amazing, it's perfectly tart and again like milky, the amount of milky fruits. I just looked behind me, look at this guy, he's chewing on one of those capsules we ate earlier in the morning. That's amazing, just eating it like it's a drumstick. Fruit consumption here is out of control and they are all like unique fruits. Each of the fruits is new to me. Jini-papu, jeni?? - Jenipapo - Jenipapo, his name is jenipapo. Wow, that smells like fermented raisins.

The whole shell, it's not even a shell, it's soft and then it looks fibrous and soft on the inside, that's unique. Wow, it has something like, there's almost steam coming out of it, but it has a very ripe, very, is it almost inexplicable flavor? It tastes like butter, it tastes like caramel to me. We just entered the indoor section of the municipal market, here they sell fish, incredible, huge, beautiful, so fresh, fresh from the huge rivers. - Okay, any sandwich we choose is good. - So right inside the market we stopped at a small cafe, they have several cafes where they only have some seats, some tables, some plastic tables around, we ordered what is one of the specialties of this region in the Amazon. (island music) (general chatter) We have two different things, both with that fruit we just tried a while ago at the market.

But two surprising things, the most traditional is actually the sandwich that is on a bun. There's banana in there, I think it's just banana. Fried banana and Tucu-bea fruit on toasted bread. But the other one we have is just fascinating to me. Like a circular tapioca, cassava peel. I can't wait to try this. That just works. The tapioca shell is kind of springy, then you have the really sweet caramelized banana combined with that, meaty, it's actually like meaty Tucu-bea, with palm oils and then you have the salty cheese. . - That's a brilliant combination that just works.

That is incredible. - Okay, let me take it out of the packaging so we can see everything, again it's like toast, bananas, I think there's no cheese, oh wait, here's cheese on the bottom, okay, there's cheese on the bottom too. there. But then a bunch of fruit, a bunch of fried bananas. Add some chilli sauce to this, it's a must. Everything stays together better. The same ingredients only wrapped in bread, thin and crusty bread. Don't take this sandwich, this could be the next great sandwich. It's such a good combination, there's palm nut shavings, Tucu-bea, there's sweet banana, there's salty cheese.

You could wrap it in anything and it would taste good. (friendly chat) They're so friendly here, they're so kind, that was so delicious, like a sandwich, an Amazonian sandwich sandwich, okay, we've got to move now. - One of the main fish they have in this region of the Amazon river is a Tambaqui fish. It is a fairly good sized fish, it has a lot of meat and very few bones. We will buy one of the fish here and then we will go to a local town and buy one fish because we are not completely satisfied. Are you sure they will have?

But we are going to buy a fish here to bring with us. - How many kilos are they? Four kilos, five kilos? - Four kilos. (tribal chant music) - Hey, we get to the dock and then to the river, this is where we'll take a boat to town. (island music) - This is beautiful, the color of the water, I guess this is the Río Negro, which is the black river, but it's like, it's almost like brown water. It's not like cloudy water but that's the real color of the water, it looks like brown. (island music) We just stopped by a local house, we're just seeing if they're home, if they're available, if they can cook some food for us. (island music) - Beautiful and the boat ride to get here was fantastic, the trees, just the variety and diversity of trees, it's like a kilometer from town so I don't know how authentic it will be.

And then they said they could do a little dancing, so I'm not sure if it will be a little touristy, but it will still be fun, it will be a learning experience, it will be just beautiful here too. (tribal drums) - There's a school back here, they even have a soccer field and then these are some of the houses, some of the houses. (mixed animal and human talk) The monkey is a little playful, he jumps everywhere, he is preparing the grill there. We're going to have the fish we brought, some other things they cook that they prepare from here. (chat and food prep, chopping, slicing) It's like a full time job, the monkey keeps coming back, hi kid, hi buddy.

He is friendly but just jumps on everyone and everything. - Chocolate? -Bacaba. -Bacaba. - Batawau. (rustle of grains) (drizzle of water) - Chebe. (South American language spoken) - Wow, the monkey just jumped out of nowhere. Wow, no, that's not chocolate, it's some kind of fruit. You know it's not sweet at all, wow, it's amazing. It tastes almost like mixed bark. Like he tasted like you were drinking bark, amazing. But it's creamy. -Okay, I want to try this other one that he just made. -Guarana. -Guarana. Oh, yes, oh, that tastes like ginseng, without any sweetness, it tastes like ginseng, like root, like root.

And then the other one I want to try, is this guarana? - Yes. - This is the guarana powder. Yes, it smells like ginseng. (South American language spoken) - Chebe. - Chebe. Oh man, slightly sour and crunchy like unpopped popcorn. That's good, it's like you're drinking and eating at the same time. - One of the things they eat here are

ants

. And then he went to get some

ants

, he puts them in water so they don't come out of the bucket and I'm not sure how they're going to prepare it yet. Yes, it's definitely going to rain soon.

The clouds are approaching, it's getting dark, we can already feel some drops. (Spoken in South American language) Mmm, wow, it's an explosion of flavor, it tastes like freshly released

lemongrass

in your mouth, that's delicious. (South American language spoken) - Okay, completely natural, this is after we drink the grain of water, you put the red ants on top. Wow, completely natural dish, no seasoning, it's just the ants, that

lemongrass

like pop. Oh, I think I felt that ant. - You get like the crunch of the grain that's been soaking in the water and then that vitality of the ants, the ants have such a powerful flavor. - It's called chebe, the grain is called chebe.

Chase that with some guarana. That just tastes healthy. And you also have these little corn chips that taste just like dried ground corn. (sting) - This is one of the best fish in this area of ​​the Amazon. It is such a meaty fish, this fish is famous because it has ribs, literally like ribs. (She spoke South American language) She boiled soup in the river, right outside her house. She boiled it, it seems with some chilies, some onions and it's pretty good. (general chatter) - Actually, they were eating this and offered me a bite. Mmmmm. - Well, huh? - Good good.

Oh yeah, that's wonderful, the plantain is more like banana, it's not sweet and then it's like pure fish, fish broth, salty fish broth. Oh yes, mmmm. Obrigado. That's great. Like simple, simple. Plantain or plantain fish broth. (tribal drums) (South American language spoken) - And they put it on a fairly hot fire, the flame burns and yes, that is a beautiful, beautiful fish, it is a good size, it is a family fish. - One more drink you just made, this is yuca or fermented cassava I think. Oh wow, it tastes bitter and slightly alcoholic, but I think slightly fermented.

Mmmmm, that's nice. -Yes, I'm sure they cut the slits in the fish and this is a very local fish from the river, probably right outside her house. Xaniqi, the name of the fish. I have to try some of this, maybe dip it in the soup. Ohh, that's wonderful, the fish is quite salty. Really soft texture and very oily flavor. She simply served me some cassava on my plate. Oh, to eat with soup too? The fish is excellent. It's so simple, like a natural flavor, it's natural. It's delicious, like the creamy cassava, the fish broth. Wow, the fish is ready, wow. (island music) (general chat) - And without condiments.

Tasty? - Tasty. - That's how you ate it, you only take a little of the fish, a little of the Tambaquil, the roasted fish that is already ready. He put some on her plate and then mixed in a bunch of cassava and is putting some more in right now. You can mix it with the fish and eat it as is. No additional seasonings, just pure. The cassava, the fish, right now I'm going to make a dish. (laughs) - Tambaquil. (South American language spoken) - Those are the ribs there. I have some fish and I mix it with that yucca.

And you can see that these are the ribs of the fish. Everyone is just grabbing and everyone is just family here, it's amazing and everyone is just sharing the community, the cultural community of sharing food and enjoying it as a family, this is fantastic. Mmm, that's really good. Just the pure, like all food is so pure. No extra additives, no extra anything, just the ingredients, just the ingredients, it's like two or three ingredients mixed together. From the juices, the fish, the cassava powder, the fish that is boiled directly with a little onion. This Amazonian food only focuses on natural ingredients from here.

That said, with all the simplicity and all the similar natural ingredients, we bought some chilies and brought some chilis, so they would go great with the fish. This is something from Manaus, this is chili from Manaus. (Father speaking in South American language) - Tucupi. - Oh, there's tucupi here, which makes it orange. A little bit of this and I'm going to try these ribs. If you get a real rack of these ribs, they might actually look like pork ribs from this fish. This is a smaller shelf. Oh, that's amazing. The fish itself is excellent, so oily, it's like a fish with a pure flavor, as if it had no fish at all and a lot of it, and then yes, there are hardly any bones, just the ribs.

Check it out. Yeah, look at those ribs. I eat these huge, clean bones and that's it and the rest is like pure meat. (general talk) That's just wonderful and then with that chili sauce it's a little bitter and just like the vibrancy, it's not very spicy but it has a vibrancy of flavor.chili, that bitter taste, the vapors. - Have you noticed that they don't eat rice, they only eat flour? - Cassava. - Cassava flour. - Oh, this one is fresh off the grill, this is the other half. Going back to my squash, you can see how oily that fish is.

He also likes chili. Yes ok. - Tucupi. - Tucupi, tucupi chili sauce. This is simply a beautiful, fragrant, fruity flavor. Mash this, try a piece of cassava. Oh yes, the cassava is very good, yes. And I believe that cassava is native to here, this is native to here. Oh, this is sure to be where you will find the best cassava in the world, almost all starches are cassava. In different shapes and forms. - If you can hear, I'm not sure if you can hear in the background, but literally like on the river, just a hundred meters away there is a party, a sinking party boat, you can even hear the music from here, but this is just a town of an incredible and humble family and the amazing thing about this experience is that we didn't plan it, we didn't even announce it, we didn't even know what we were going to do, but, So this is how they would eat.

Like nothing extra is added, it's exactly the way they would eat and the food, the flavors are not complex, it's just the land, the food, the abundance of the Amazon in which the ingredients are the highlight and then just this . A special moment to spend some time and eat as a family is spectacular, it's incredible. This has become something beautiful. (screams and trumpet sounds) (South American language spoken) (drum beating) - Oh, they're going to do a little presentation for us, I'm not sure where they normally do their presentation. Oh, the monkey! (drumming and singing begins) - That was beautiful and I love it, this is not a remote town, they are literally like a kilometer from the city and again you can even hear the boats, the party boats, but what's so good about it? surprising this town?

It's that they are preserving their cultural traditions and I was asking them about painting on their bodies and they do it from time to time, it lasts about 15 days and, for them, it is a ritual, it is religious, it is cultural. But it's cool to see them, I mean, even one of the girls has braces, so it's not a remote

village

, but it's cool how they are preserving their traditions and their culture here. (general chatter and laughter) They surprised us with a turtle, I'm not sure-- (laughs) Now he just gave it to me so I'm just carrying a turtle, oh, it's to show Mika.

Tortoise. (chatter and laughter) (playful shouts from the soccer game) - Many years have passed, but now is the time in the Amazon, this is great, on the sand field. (island music) (chattering and cheering) (laughter) Totally lost right now, I'm so tired, drenched in sweat, the kids here are amazing, they're so cool, they're so friendly. Look at how they are playing with Mika now after the game. They are amazing, they are very kind to us too. (water comes out of the bottle) (general chat) - A little guarana, the natural one, this is an

energy

drink, yes. Ahhh, oh that's what I need.

The monkey

drinks

from the same pumpkin. - That tastes amazing. -There are still some ants floating there too. This is the next one, the other one. Mmm, yes, a little bitter, it tastes amazing, with cassava chips here. (laughs and water splashes) - Dude, they're fast too, yeah. (loud splashing and kids talking) - After swimming in football, the kids are awesome. They are literally climbing all over the pole. Here it comes. (child calling) (loud splash) I'm definitely not brave enough to climb the tree, but I have to climb, wow! (strong splashes) - Hit the bottom? - Yes, I hit rock bottom immediately, I'm on my feet right now. - Oh man, that water feels amazing. (loud splash) Wow! (loud splash) Oh wow, that's so refreshing, that's so amazing, this is beautiful (laughs) They have so much

energy

.

Dude, they're like they surpass us in everything. Oh man, you gotta be a little careful with the piranhas in this water, seriously. There aren't any here, but around this area they are defin-- - (distant) On the other side of the river-- - Oh, on the other side of the river there are piranhas, so on this side of the river we're like safe swimming. (loud splash) You are champions, you are champions. Well. - This is so beautiful, the family is amazing, the tranquility of this town and I have to be honest with you when we left today, we honestly didn't have a full plan, we were just going to try to find a town. , come learn about the Amazonian culture and it will become something spectacular.

One of the most memorable days I have had on this trip to Brazil. And if you think the food was excellent, it was a learning experience, the

drinks

were fascinating, but it was the people, it was the family, it was the father and the mother, it was all the children, who did it. just the next level. That made it such a memorable, special, and privileged experience. Again, thanks to this family, thanks to Guilherme and Raffaela, I will have their links in the description box below and oh yeah, and if you haven't seen this whole Brazil travel and food series yet, I will have the link for the list full playback in the description box below, so go watch all the videos and I will say goodbye to Manaus, from the heart of the Amazon

rainforest

and I want to say thank you very much for watching this video please.

Remember to like it if you enjoyed it, leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed, click subscribe now and also click the little bell icon to get notified about the next video I post. Thanks again for watching, goodbye from Manaus. See you in the next video.