Panama

🇨🇴Colombia

Ají (Panamanian)

Ají

A fresh Latin American table sauce of chopped chili, onion, cilantro or culantro, and vinegar; Panama's ají and Colombia's ají criollo are served with fried foods, soups, and rice.

🇵🇦Panama

Almojábano

A Panamanian corn and cheese fried pastry, crispy and savory, a breakfast and street classic

🇨🇴Colombia

Arroz con Coco

Colombian Caribbean coconut rice: white rice cooked with coconut milk, sugar, and raisins, giving it a sweet, golden flavor. Served with fish and coastal meals.

🇵🇦Panama

Arroz con Guandú

Panama's signature rice dish with pigeon peas, coconut milk, and herbs, a Christmas and daily staple

🇳🇮Nicaragua

Bienmesabe

A Nicaraguan sweet cake with corn, milk, and cinnamon, a festive and daily classic

🇵🇦Panama

Bistec Picado

A Panamanian minced steak with onions, tomatoes, peppers, and spices, served with rice and plantains, a daily and home classic

🇵🇦Panama

Bocado de la Reina

A Panamanian custard dessert of coconut milk, sugar, and egg yolks, baked until set and dusted with cinnamon.

🇵🇦Panama

Bollos

A Panamanian corn dough wrapped in corn husks and boiled, served with cheese or meat, a daily and breakfast classic

🇵🇦Panama

Cabanga

A Panamanian sweet of grated coconut, green papaya, and honey, cooked and cut into bars, a breakfast and coffee classic

🇵🇦Panama

Carimañolas

A Panamanian yuca dough filled with ground beef or cheese, deep-fried until crispy, a street and breakfast classic

🇵🇦Panama

Carne en Palito

A Panamanian beef skewer, marinated and grilled, served with patacones and ají, a street and evening classic

🇩🇴Dominican Republic

Carne Guisada

Dominican stewed beef in a tomato-and-sofrito sauce with garlic, peppers, and oregano, served with rice and beans. A core component of la bandera dominicana.

🇵🇦Panama

Cerveza Atlas

A Panamanian classic lager beer from Cervecería Nacional

🇵🇦Panama

Cerveza Balboa

A Panamanian lager beer

🇵🇪Lima, Peru

Ceviche

Fresh raw fish cured in lime juice with red onion, aji amarillo, and cilantro. Peru's national dish.

🇵🇦Panama

Ceviche Panameño

Panamanian ceviche of fresh corvina or shrimp cured in lime with onion, cilantro, and hot pepper, served in a cup.

🇵🇦Panama

Chicha de Tamarindo

A Panamanian fermented corn drink with tamarind, pineapple, banana, and anise, a traditional and festive classic

🇵🇦Panama

Chicheme

A Panamanian thick corn drink with milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, a La Chorrera and daily classic

🇵🇦Panama

Chichita Panama

A Panamanian cocktail of seco with grapefruit and pineapple juice over ice

🇨🇴Colombia

Cocadas

A Panamanian coconut ball with raspadura, condensed milk, and cinnamon, baked until golden, a Holy Week and daily classic.

🇩🇴Dominican Republic

Culantro

A Dominican herb (culantro/recao) with long, serrated leaves and a strong, aromatic cilantro-like flavor. Used in sofritos and stews, a key seasoning.

🇻🇪Venezuela

Dulce de Coco

A Dominican dessert of grated coconut, milk, sugar, and cinnamon, cooked until thick and creamy. Served cold, a roadside and colmado staple, sweet and coconutty.

🇨🇴Colombia

Dulce de Papaya

A Colombian sweet of green papaya simmered in syrup with cinnamon and cloves until tender. A rustic, traditional dessert, served with cheese.

🇵🇦Panama

Ensalada de Feria

A Panamanian potato salad with beets, carrots, peas, mayonnaise, and sometimes apple, a festive and daily classic

🇨🇴Atlántico, Colombia

Enyucado

Caribbean coconut-yuca cake: grated cassava folded with coconut, anise and cheese, baked until the top caramelises. A Costa Abajo classic shared by Colombia's Atlántico coast and Panama.

🇪🇸Spain

Flan

Flan de huevo

Spain's classic caramel custard made with eggs, milk, and sugar, with a soft caramel sauce on top, found in every Spanish home and restaurant.

🇵🇦Panama

Guacho

A Panamanian thick rice soup with meat, seafood, or vegetables, a hearty and rustic classic

🇬🇵Guadeloupe

Guanábana (Soursop)

Guanábana

A Panamanian tropical soursop fruit, eaten fresh or in juices and desserts

🇨🇴Colombia

Guarapo

A sugarcane drink served fresh or lightly fermented across tropical Latin America, with Colombia and Costa Rica among its established forms.

🇵🇦Panama

Hojaldras

A Panamanian fried dough pastry, crispy and golden, dusted with sugar, a breakfast and street classic

🇵🇦Panama

Huevitos de Leche

Panamanian milk candies shaped like little eggs, made by cooking milk and sugar into a soft, creamy fudge.

🇨🇴Colombia

Lechona

A Tolimense specialty: a whole pig stuffed with pork, rice, peas, and spices, roasted for hours until the skin is crackling. Served with arepa and aji, a festive dish.

🇵🇦Panama

Mamallena

A Panamanian bread pudding of soaked bread, milk, eggs, and sugar, baked until golden and often topped with meringue.

🇵🇦Panama

Pesada de Nance

A Panamanian nance fruit cream with sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon, served with crumbled cheese, a regional and daily classic

🇵🇦Panama

Plátanos en Tentación

Panamanian ripe plantains baked in a sweet brown-sugar sauce with cinnamon, often topped with cheese.

🇩🇴Dominican Republic

Pollo Guisado

Dominican stewed chicken in a tomato-and-sofrito sauce with garlic, peppers, and oregano, served with rice and beans. A common variant of la bandera's meat component.