Beira Snack · Breaded Shrimp Pastry

Rissóis de Camarão (Shrimp Rissoles)

Photo: Ralbahitha / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The name 'rissol' traces back to the French 'rissole,' but the dish became so thoroughly Mozambican that vendors at Beira's Mercado Central sell them by the dozen alongside grilled fish and prawns, not as a foreign import.

A thin dough shell is filled with a creamy, béchamel-bound shrimp filling, folded into a half-moon, then breaded and deep-fried until crisp. Street vendors and market stalls across Beira sell them hot and wrapped in paper as a quick snack alongside other Portuguese-style pastries.

Why it's made this way: Beira's history as a major Portuguese-era port city left it with a strong seafood-pastry tradition, and rissóis de camarão became one of the most common bites sold from its bustling Mercado Central.

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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.