One of the easiest ways for a traveller to understand Panama is to sit down with a steaming bowl of soup. It might not look like the most exciting meal on the menu, especially when you're surrounded by ceviche, fried fish, grilled meats, patacones and other famous Panamanian dishes, but soup tells a surprisingly interesting story about the country's agriculture, climate and everyday cooking. A Panamanian soup can be incredibly simple or wonderfully loaded, and depending on where you are, what season it is and who is cooking, the bowl in front of you can contain an impressive collection of vegetables, roots, herbs and other plants.
The first thing a traveller should understand is that the word "vegetable" doesn't always work perfectly when talking about Panamanian soups. Some of the most important ingredients are technically roots, tubers, fruits or herbs, but in the kitchen they all play the role people expect from vegetables. This is especially important in Panama because the country's tropical climate allows an enormous variety of plants to grow, while traditional cooking has developed around ingredients that are filling, affordable and readily available.
One of the most recognizable ingredients is yuca, also called cassava. Yuca is a thick, starchy root that appears in countless forms throughout Panama and much of Latin America. In soup, it becomes soft and creamy while retaining enough structure to make the broth feel substantial. It is one of those ingredients that can turn what might otherwise be a light soup into something capable of becoming a complete meal. Travellers unfamiliar with yuca sometimes expect it to taste like a potato, but it has its own slightly earthy character and a pleasantly dense texture.
Ñame, or yam, is another important root you may encounter. It is particularly well suited to soups because it becomes tender and adds body to the broth. Depending on the variety and preparation, ñame can have a slightly slippery or creamy texture. It is a wonderful example of how Panamanian cooking makes use of hearty tropical roots that grow well in the country's warm and humid environment.
Then there is otoe, another root vegetable that can appear in traditional soups and stews. Otoe is related to taro and has a starchy texture that works beautifully in broth. It is not necessarily something a traveller will recognize immediately when looking at a bowl, but discovering ingredients like this is part of the fun of eating local food. Panama's soups can introduce visitors to vegetables and roots they might never encounter at home.
Potatoes can also make their way into soups, particularly in versions influenced by broader Latin American cooking. They are more familiar to most international travellers, but in Panama they can appear alongside tropical roots such as yuca, ñame and otoe. This creates an interesting mixture of textures and flavors, with familiar ingredients sitting alongside plants that are much more closely associated with the tropics.
Another vegetable that can make an appearance is corn. Technically a grain, corn is treated as a vegetable in many everyday culinary contexts and is an important part of the region's food culture. Pieces of corn on the cob can be added directly to soups, where they slowly absorb the flavors of the broth. Eating a piece of corn from a bowl of soup can be slightly messy, but that's part of the experience. It also adds sweetness and texture to an otherwise savory dish.
Carrots are another familiar ingredient that travellers may find in Panamanian soups. Their sweetness works particularly well with savory broths and meats, and they add a bright orange color to the bowl. Carrots are often combined with other vegetables and roots rather than being the star of the dish.
Pumpkin and squash are also worth watching for. Several varieties of squash are grown and eaten in Panama, and they can be used to add sweetness, color and creaminess to soups. When cooked for a long time, squash can partly break down into the broth, giving it a thicker texture. A soup containing pumpkin or squash can therefore taste completely different from a clear broth containing mostly root vegetables.
One particularly interesting ingredient is chayote, a green, pear-shaped member of the squash family. It is common in Central American cooking and can appear in soups and stews. Chayote has a mild flavor and holds its shape nicely when cooked. It doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients, which makes it perfect for a soup containing many different vegetables.
Green beans can also appear, providing a little crunch and freshness among the softer roots and tubers. They are particularly useful in soups because they retain some texture even after cooking, giving you something different to bite into.
Then there are cabbage and leafy vegetables, which can add another dimension. Cabbage is particularly good at absorbing the flavor of the broth, becoming soft and savory while still maintaining some structure. Depending on the recipe, other leafy greens may also be used, particularly in more rustic or household versions of soup.
Celery and onion are extremely important even though they might not be the most exciting ingredients to talk about. They form part of the aromatic foundation of many soups, helping create the flavor that everything else sits on top of. Onion in particular is almost impossible to separate from the broader story of Latin American cooking. It can be chopped finely and cooked into the broth or left in larger pieces.
Garlic is another important flavor builder. Technically an allium rather than a vegetable in the everyday sense, garlic contributes enormous amounts of flavor to a relatively small amount of soup. Along with onion, herbs and seasonings, it helps transform water, meat and vegetables into something that smells unmistakably like a home cooked meal.
Then you have culantro, one of the most interesting herbs a traveller can discover in Panama. Culantro is related to cilantro but has a much stronger and more intense aroma. It is widely used in Central American and Caribbean cooking and can be particularly important in soups. If you've eaten a Panamanian soup and thought, "What is that incredible herbal flavor?" there is a good chance culantro is involved.
Cilantro can also be used, particularly as a finishing herb. Fresh herbs added near the end of cooking can completely change the character of a soup, giving it a fresher and brighter taste.
Another ingredient travellers may encounter is green plantain. Plantains are technically a fruit, but in savory cooking they behave more like a vegetable or starch. Green plantains can be added to soups where they become tender and absorb the flavors of the broth. They are another reminder that the categories we use in Western supermarkets don't always make much sense in tropical cooking.
Banana can sometimes appear in savory dishes as well, particularly in regional and Caribbean influenced cooking. Different varieties of cooking bananas can be used in ways that surprise visitors who associate bananas exclusively with sweet breakfasts and desserts.
Peppers are another possibility. Sweet peppers can add color and flavor, while smaller varieties of chili can provide heat. However, don't assume every Panamanian soup is spicy. Much traditional Panamanian cooking relies heavily on herbs, aromatics and savory ingredients rather than overwhelming dishes with chili heat. If you like spicy food, it's worth asking for ají or hot sauce separately.
And then there is tomato. Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are used as a vegetable in everyday cooking and can form part of the base of certain soups. They contribute acidity, sweetness and depth, particularly when cooked down with onion, garlic and peppers.
One of the most fascinating things about Panamanian soup is that the exact ingredients can change dramatically from one kitchen to another. A soup served at a small restaurant in Panama City may look completely different from one prepared in a rural community in Chiriquí or Bocas del Toro. One cook might use yuca and ñame. Another might add corn and plantain. Someone else might have cabbage, carrots and chayote available. Traditional cooking is often less about following a rigid recipe and more about using what is available.
This is why travellers shouldn't be surprised if they order the same type of soup twice and receive two completely different bowls.
In Panama, sancocho is probably the soup that most travellers will hear about. It is one of the country's most famous traditional dishes and is often associated with chicken, broth, yuca and culantro, although recipes vary considerably. The simplicity is part of its appeal. A good sancocho doesn't need an enormous list of exotic ingredients. The quality of the broth, the tenderness of the chicken, the starchiness of the roots and the unmistakable aroma of culantro can create something incredibly satisfying.
And while sancocho is often associated with chicken, the vegetable and root component is what makes it particularly interesting for someone interested in Panamanian agriculture. Yuca, ñame, otoe, corn, plantain and other ingredients can transform the soup into something much more substantial than a simple broth.
For travellers who eat a plant based diet, soups can also be worth investigating, although you should never assume that a soup is vegetarian simply because you can see lots of vegetables floating in it. Many traditional Panamanian soups use chicken or beef stock even when the visible ingredients are mostly vegetables and roots. Asking whether the broth contains meat is important.
For anyone travelling through Panama, soup is also a fantastic way to experience ingredients that might otherwise be overlooked. You may walk through a supermarket and see strange roots, unfamiliar vegetables and tropical produce without knowing how to prepare them. Then you encounter the same ingredient floating in a bowl of soup and suddenly understand what it is for.
That is one of the great pleasures of travelling through Panama.
You begin to recognize the ingredients.
You see yuca and know what it tastes like.
You see ñame and remember the texture.
You see culantro and recognize the smell.
You see green plantain and know how it behaves when cooked.
You see chayote and remember the soup you had several days earlier.
Eventually, a bowl of soup stops being just lunch.
It becomes a map of the country.
The roots tell you about tropical agriculture. The herbs tell you about culinary traditions. The corn connects the dish to an ingredient with thousands of years of history throughout the Americas. The plantains reflect the enormous influence of tropical agriculture and Caribbean cooking. The combination of European, Indigenous, African and Caribbean influences can be tasted in the way ingredients are combined.
And perhaps that's why Panamanian soup deserves more attention from travellers.
It isn't necessarily glamorous food. You won't always see it on glossy Instagram feeds. It doesn't arrive with the dramatic presentation of an expensive restaurant dish. Sometimes it comes in a simple bowl at a small local restaurant, steaming away on a rainy afternoon.
But that bowl might contain yuca, ñame, otoe, potato, corn, pumpkin, chayote, carrots, green beans, cabbage, plantain, onion, garlic, peppers, tomato, culantro and other local ingredients, depending on the recipe and region.
It is warm, filling, inexpensive and deeply connected to everyday life.
And when you're travelling through Panama, sometimes the most memorable meal isn't the one that looks the most impressive.
Sometimes it's the humble bowl of soup that tastes like someone's grandmother has been cooking it for fifty years.