Vaho (or baho) is a Nicaraguan weekend steam-pot dish, layering sour-orange-marinated beef with plantains and yuca over banana leaves to steam slowly.
Open the banana-leaf pot of vaho and steam billows over tender shreds of sour-orange beef, soft sweet ripe plantain, firm green plantain, and creamy yuca. Bite: the beef is meltingly tender and tangy, the ripe plantain caramel-sweet against the savory meat, the yuca soaking up the juices, the curtido sharp on top. A whole steamed feast — the Nicaraguan family Sunday.
Sour-orange marinade tenderizes and flavors the beef; steaming everything together in sealed banana leaves lets the ingredients exchange flavors — the beef juices season the plantains and yuca while the leaves perfume it all. Ripe and green plantains give a sweet-starchy contrast.
Variations
With pork instead of beef. With more ripe plantain (sweeter). With chili. With a tomato sofrito layer. Smaller individual parcels. With a side of gallo pinto.
On the Palate
Where Vaho sits in the Nicaraguan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min active + 2 hours 20 min waiting
- 170 min
Marinate 1 kg beef brisket/flank in sour orange juice, onion, garlic, and salt overnight.
Watch outMarinate the beef in the sour orange overnight — the acid is what tenderizes the tough brisket and seasons it through.
- 25 min
Line a large heavy pot with banana leaves, letting them overhang.
- 33 min
Layer in the marinated beef.
- 46 min
Add 2 green plantains and 2 ripe plantains (in skins, halved) and 500 g yuca chunks.
- 54 min
Pour in the marinade and a cup of water; scatter onion and tomato.
- 63 min
Fold the banana leaves over to cover and seal; lid the pot.
Watch outFold the leaves over snug and lid it tight — the trapped steam is what cooks and blends everything, so don't let it escape.
- 7150 min
Steam over low heat 2.5 hours until the beef is tender and the plantains soft.
Watch outKeep the heat low and steam the full time till the beef pulls apart at a fork and the plantains go soft.
- 84 min
Unwrap at the table and serve with cabbage curtido.
