Réunion's cuisine is built on the cari, a local version of the curry that reflects the island's Indian heritage filtered through centuries of Creole adaptation. A standard cari consists of meat, fish, or pulses cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and masalé (a proprietary Réunionnais spice blend that varies by cook and by family), served alongside steamed rice, red lentils (grains), and rougail — a raw relish of chopped tomato, onion, ginger, and chilli that provides contrast and heat.
The most common caris are chicken (cari poulet), tuna (cari thon), pork (cari porc), and prawn (cari crevettes). Cari requin (shark curry) is a traditional dish; attitudes toward it are changing as shark populations decline, but it is still available.
Rougail saucisse — smoked sausages slow-cooked in a tomatoey rougail sauce — is the other cornerstone of Creole cooking. It is the island's most beloved comfort food and appears on almost every restaurant menu as a plat du jour.
Bouchons are small steamed pork dumplings, a legacy of the Chinese community. Despite the name, they bear a family resemblance to dim sum more than to French bouchées. You find them at snack stalls and markets throughout the island.
The island's Indian community has a strong vegetarian tradition, and purely vegetarian or vegan meals are easier to find in Réunion than in most of the Indian Ocean — lentil dishes, vegetable caris, and roti (flatbread) filled with curried vegetables are common.
Rum arrangé (infused rum) is the island's defining drink: local rum, typically from La Rivière du Mât distillery, steeped with vanilla, pineapple, ginger, litchi, or a combination of tropical fruits. Every bar and many households maintain their own house blend. The vanilla grown on the east coast of the island is among the best in the world.