Brazil · São Paulo Inspired by Mocotó, São Paulo

Dadinho: tapioca cheese cubes with pepper jelly

Name: Dadinho: tapioca cheese cubes with pepper jelly
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Brazil
Ingredients: 250 g pearl tapioca (granulated); 500 ml whole milk; 250 g coalho cheese, coarsely grated; 1 tsp salt; 500 ml vegetable oil, for frying; 4 red finger chili, seeded, for the jelly; 1 bell pepper, red, for the jelly; 150 g sugar, for the jelly; 50 ml apple cider vinegar, for the jelly

Fried cubes of tapioca and coalho cheese, crisp outside and soft inside, with a sweet and sour pepper jelly.

Time: 120 min
Difficulty: Medium
Per serving: R$5.90
Servings: 6 servings

Dish photo

Ingredients

for 6 servings

250 gpearl tapioca (granulated)
500 mlwhole milk
250 gcoalho cheesecoarsely grated
REGIONAL SWAP
No coalho cheese?
250 g of regular Minas cheese, coarsely grated, plus 1 pinch of salt; it melts more and browns less, but holds the dough the same way
Coalho is in the dairy section of larger supermarkets; regular Minas cheese is found in any of them
Changes the flavor a little
1 tspsalt
500 mlvegetable oilfor frying
4red finger chiliseeded, for the jelly
REGIONAL SWAP
No red finger chili?
4 malagueta chilies for a much hotter jelly, or 8 biquinho peppers for a mild one
Produce section of any supermarket
Changes the flavor a little
1bell pepperred, for the jelly
150 gsugarfor the jelly
50 mlapple cider vinegarfor the jelly

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Pocket Chef

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The Pocket Chef swaps what is missing and rewrites only the steps that change.

Dadinho de tapioca is a Brazilian bar snack: pearl tapioca cooked in milk with cheese becomes a firm dough that is chilled, cut into cubes and fried. Crisp outside, with a stretchy, hot cheese center. The sweet and sour pepper jelly is the contrast.

Method

1
- Jelly: blend the chilies and bell pepper in a blender with 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) of water.
- Put in a pot with the sugar and vinegar and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until it reaches a soft jelly consistency.
- Let it cool.
Line a rectangular pan of about 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inches) with plastic wrap.
3
- In a pot, boil the milk with the salt.
- Turn off the heat, add the tapioca all at once and stir for 1 minute.
- Cover and let it hydrate for 10 minutes.
4
- Mix the grated coalho cheese into the still-hot tapioca until combined.
- Pour into the pan, smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill in the fridge for 1 hour, or in the freezer for 30 minutes, until the dough is very firm.
Turn out and cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) cubes.
7
- Heat the oil to 180 °C (355 °F) in a deep pot.
- Fry the cubes in batches, 2 to 3 minutes each, until golden.
- Drain on paper towels.
Serve hot, with the jelly on the side.

Tips

The oil must be very hot, or the dadinho soaks up fat and opens. If it bursts while frying, the dough was not cold enough. The jelly keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and goes well with cheeses, toast and meats.

Brazil · São Paulo · per serving

Nutrients per serving

Calories

977 kcal

Protein

3 g

1% of kcal

Carbohydrate

68 g

27% of kcal

Fat

79 g

72% of kcal · fiber 1 g

Where the calories come from

protein1%
carbohydrate27%
fat72%

Pick a target per meal to compare the recipe. They are starting points, not individual advice.

By food

Nutrients of each food, per serving
Food	Qty.	kcal	Prot.	Share of calories
pearl tapioca (granulated)	42 g	149	0.1 g	15%
whole milk	85 g	52	2.7 g	5%
salt	1 g	0	0 g	0%
vegetable oil	76 g	670	0 g	69%
red finger chili	6.7 g	3	0.1 g	0%
bell pepper	20 g	5	0.2 g	1%
sugar	25 g	97	0.1 g	10%
apple cider vinegar	8.3 g	2	0 g	0%

Calculated with 8 of 9 ingredients. No data for: coalho cheese.

Source: USDA FoodData Central, editorial estimate, and TACO (Unicamp). Approximate values. Not medical or nutritional advice.

Dadinho: tapioca cheese cubes with pepper jelly

Ingredients

Adapt it to what you have

Method

Tips

Nutrients per serving

By food

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