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More countries treat rice as a staple than people in Japan tend to imagine. With Chinese communities living all over the world, soy sauce and other condiments are surprisingly easy to find too. Here are a few of the dishes I ate while living in Central America.

Ceviche

The first dish to introduce is ceviche. It's eaten throughout Latin America, originally from Peru and Mexico. You cut seafood into chunks or thin slices, add the juice of citrus fruits and seasonings. In Japan you can find ceviche mixes at Kaldi and similar shops, so if you've never tried it, give it a go.

People are often surprised when I say Costa Ricans eat raw fish, but ceviche is something Costa Ricans eat regularly. Each shop and country adjusts the seasoning, so it's fun to compare ceviche across the region.

Ceviche
Ceviche. The exact balance of citrus tang and seafood umami that makes this a Latin American staple.

Gallo Pinto

In Costa Rica (and neighboring countries), gallo pinto is a famous dish. Cooked rice is mixed with stewed beans (mostly black or red), then seasoned with spices and sauce. Plainly put, it's the sekihan (red rice) of Central America. In Costa Rica it's a breakfast staple.

Gallo pinto
Gallo pinto. Costa Rica's classic breakfast: cooked rice mixed with beans — Central American "red rice."

You can make it at home in Japan too — give it a try if you're curious.

Gallo Pinto — Recipe

Main
  • Cooked rice
  • Black beans (canned is fine)
  • Cilantro
Sauté
  • Garlic
  • Bell pepper
  • Onion
  • Celery
  1. Sauté garlic, bell pepper, onion, and celery with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the rice and black beans to the pan.
  3. Season with Salsa Lizano.
  4. Top with cilantro.

* Salsa Lizano is Costa Rica's traditional sauce. If you can't find it, oyster sauce + curry powder makes a reasonable substitute. Canned black beans are convenient.

Rice & Beans

Rice & beans uses rice and beans like gallo pinto, but the big difference is that the rice is cooked with coconut milk. It's eaten mostly along the Caribbean coast and comes out sweeter than gallo pinto.

But rice & beans is a Caribbean dish from places like Jamaica. Why is it eaten mostly in Costa Rica's Caribbean region? Pulling on that thread leads deep into Costa Rica's history of racial discrimination. There's a heavier history etched into the food than I expected.

Central American food was richer than I'd imagined. The simple combination of rice and beans takes on so many different faces from country to country and region to region. Travel changes how you look at food.
Costa Rica Central American Food Ceviche Gallo Pinto Food