A mania for meat

Foie gras－marinated inacai, mango and passion fruit chutney.[Photo/China Daily]

So if it is genuine Brazilian style you are after, you should not miss the Brazilian food festival that began in Beijing on June 25 and will last until July 5. The star of the show is chef Elia Schramm, who has flown in from Rio de Janeiro just for the occasion.

The festival is hosted by Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel in conjunction with the Brazilian embassy and the Latin American airline LAN and TAM, Latam Airlines Group.

Barbecue is a dish shared with many other countries and cultures, so what makes the Brazilian version so special?

"One big difference is the way we cut the meat," Schramm says. "We do barbecue very differently from the Argentines and the Americans."

A cut of beef called picanha is the most sought-after in Brazil, he says.

But picanha - the word is Portuguese - defies easy translation into English. In the US and China it is rarely found in markets. Some think it is top rump or top sirloin cap, but my Brazilian friend says none of the English translations hits the nail on the head.

"It is the tenderest, best part in the back quarter of the cow, and you only find it in Brazil," he says. "It's a triangular cut and should weigh no more than 1.5 kg. If there's more than that, there's a part of the maminha (bottom sirloin) with it."