Awa, by Aldo Yaranga: the jungle in first person | Miraflores Restaurants | Amazonian food

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In Brazil, however, the story is different. In cities like São Paulo, the ingredients amazonians They have found a place within the urban circuit in proposals such as Oro or DOM, recurring names in international awards. It’s not just about using the product, but about incorporating it into a contemporary story.

In that line, Awa affirms itself as a signature cuisine with an Amazonian base that avoids turning the jungle into an exotic landscape. It is not a staged jungle, but one that is built from experience: that of Aldo’s travels, but above all that of his links with producers, communities and suppliers.

The space accompanies without imposing: minimalist, intervened by plants that fall from the ceiling and a sound atmosphere that suggests more than it explains. From the living room you can see an orderly, almost surgical kitchen, where large fish amazonians They build a slightly surreal background. The immersion works: when you cross the door, the noise of Miraflores is left behind.

There appears one of the virtues of Awa: the balance between exploration and familiarity. There is always a ground wire. One foot in what is known and another in what is discovered.

You can feel it from the beginning, with sourdough bread accompanied by aguaje butter, with a fruity and slightly smoky profile. Or in the paco tartar —one of the great fish of the Amazon— served with avocado and a reinterpreted XO sauce (sweet chili, charapita, cecina, chorizo ​​and kion), which comes with a bellaco plantain tostón.

One of the most interesting axes of Aldo’s work is the sausages, which shine on his board: ham, sausage and paiche pastrami, as well as a smoked pork chorizo ​​with pickles and tucupí mustard. The intention is evident: to translate the Amazon to a recognizable language, and it is achieved.

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The “hand” section – bites to share – maintains some classics, such as grilled shells with mandarin lemon and skin jam, but adds new successes: chicken siu mai with chestnut, trout roe and a lemon ponzu Amazonianor the banana dough empanadas filled with a coconutty prawn stew, juicy and well resolved.

The paiche occupies a leading place. It comes from Pacaya Samiria, through sustainable fishing in the Brittany community, and is presented grilled, with precise cooking: juicy interior, firm texture. It is accompanied by a mishkina curry – that dressing Amazonian which mixes turmeric, chili peppers, annatto and sacha cilantro—which, when met with coconut milk, builds a complex but delicate layer of flavor.

There are also nods to Aldo’s training. A yolk pasta with clams refers to an ‘alle vongole’, but moves into another terrain with aguaje butter and cured lemon. Again, the same gesture: starting from what is known to move towards the flavors of the East.

In desserts, the exploration continues—macambo ice cream, citrus tart amazonians—, but the most solid closure is in a coffee flan made with beans from the D. Dago farm, in the central jungle. An organic and biodynamic coffee that is clearly expressed here with all its nuances.

Awa It has become a cuisine that does not need to exaggerate to be authentic. Explore, but don’t lose ground. It invites and attracts locals and others, because it knows that, in one way or another, when it comes to the jungle, almost all of us continue to feel like tourists instead of experiencing it as another feature of our identity. //