The national dish of fried rice and beans gives a hint of the kind of cuisine you can expect from Costa Rica tourism. Gallo Pinto consists of fried rice and beans, and you will find many other dishes heavily favour rice and meat. Salsa Lizano is to Costa Rica as soy sauce is to Japan, while Chan and Rchata offer the chance to try drinks with a rather unusual consistency.
National Dish:
Gallo Pinto – fried rice and beans
Gallo Casado – ‘married’ / served with: coconut milk, cabbage, tomato salad, fried plaintains,
Meat:
Chicharrón fried crispy pork
Olla de Carne beef stew
Chifrijo salsa and tortilla chips
Rice with chicken, Rice with tuna
Sauce:
Salsa Lizano
Drink:
Fanta Kolita fruit punch, Rchata cinnamon cornmeal drink
Chan slimy seed drink
Fresco de frutas (fruit salad) floating on a base of cola and water,
Agua de Pipa (open coconut), Ginger Beer
Beer:
Pilsen, Imperial and Bavaria
Spirits:
Cacique/Guaro sugarcane spirit, Aguadulce
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
