The Vaho or Baho Recipe, depending on the language and culture, is a wonderful festive dish of Nicaragua. It is the true cornerstone of the country’s culinary influences.
It is prepared with cow breast (but sometimes also with beef liver), bananas, Yucca and several vegetables, and then the whole dish is steamed for a long time in banana leaves. The word baho itself comes from the verb “vaporize”.
This Nicaraguan Baho Recipe mixes the indigenous cultures of the country. It is usually accompanied by tanning, a salad of raw vegetables with cabbage, tomato, vinegar and/or lemon juice.
This is the traditional Nicaraguan dish that is always served on Sunday to eat. It is prepared on Saturdays for the next day so that the flavors combine perfectly. In general, Nicaraguans call this dish meat in baho and everyone loves it.
Baho Recipe Ingredients
- 2 kg cow’s breast, thinly sliced
- 2 kg Yucca
- 6 ripe bananas
- 3 green bananas
- Banana leaves
- 500ml bitter orange juice
- 5 garlic cloves, halved
- 5 large onions
- 600g tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced
- 1 small red pepper, sliced
- 1 small green pepper, sliced
- Salt
- Pepper
Baho Method
- Cut the onions in half.
- Pour the meat with salt generously and put it in a bowl.
- Add the garlic cloves, onions and juice from the bitter oranges.
- Stand it for 24 hours.
- After waiting, wash the meat very quickly to remove excess salt.
- Cut the onions used in the marinade into thin slices.
- Peel the Yucca and all the bananas and cut them in half.
- Line a large casserole with banana leaves, leaving them sticking out so there is enough room to cover the preparation, without leaving openings between the leaves: the water should not enter.
- Then form 3 layers.
- First, add the Yucca.
- Then add the green and ripe bananas. Stand them up (like cake cakes charlotte).
- In the space of the center, place the meat and cover with tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Close the leaves.
- Add about 700ml of water and bring to a boil for 2 hours over medium heat.
- Then reduce the heat and continue cooking for 2 hours. During cooking, add more boiling water if the water evaporates too much.
- While cooking the meat, mix all the ingredients of the coleslaw and keep it in a cool place.
- The Baho is traditionally served on a banana leaf.
Each portion contains a piece of ripe banana, a piece of green banana, a piece of Yucca and a portion of meat. Finally, the dish is covered with a portion of salad.