Quick answer
The food to eat with arrack in Sri Lanka is a spread of small, spicy plates called bites. The classics are devilled chicken, pork, beef or fish (stir-fried with onion, capsicum and chilli in a sweet-sour sauce), hot butter cuttlefish (crisp fried cuttlefish tossed with chilli and butter), fried cashews with curry leaves, tempered chickpeas and fried sprats. Bites are salty, hot and often fried, which suits a long, cold arrack and soda. Order two or three to share for a table of four.
Key takeaways
- Bites are the small, spicy plates Sri Lankans order with arrack, playing the same role as tapas or meze.
- Devilled dishes, stir-fried with onion, capsicum, chilli and a sweet-sour sauce, are the most common bites.
- Hot butter cuttlefish is a Sri Lankan Chinese restaurant classic and one of the island's favourite bar snacks.
- Vegetarian bites include fried cashews with curry leaves, tempered chickpeas and devilled potatoes or mushrooms.
- Bites are usually hot; asking for less chilli when you order is normal and understood.
What bites are, and why they go with arrack
Bites are the food that goes with arrack in Sri Lanka. The word covers anything small, shareable and strongly flavoured that arrives while people are drinking, before or instead of a full rice and curry meal.
Bites suit arrack for simple reasons. Salt, fat and chilli call for a cold, fizzy, lightly sweet drink, and the food slows the drinking. A table without bites is considered slightly reckless.
Devilled dishes
Devilled dishes are the heart of the bites menu. Meat, fish or vegetables are fried, then tossed in a wok with onion, banana chillies, capsicum, tomato, chilli flakes and a sauce that balances sweet, sour and hot.
- →Devilled chicken: the default order, on almost every menu.
- →Devilled pork: fattier and richer, a favourite with arrack drinkers.
- →Devilled fish or prawns: best on the coast, where the catch is fresh.
- →Devilled beef: common in clubs and hotel bars.
- →Devilled potatoes, mushrooms or paneer: the vegetarian versions.
Seafood bites
Seafood bites are where coastal Sri Lanka excels. Negombo, Mount Lavinia, Galle, Mirissa and Trincomalee all have restaurants where the catch comes straight from the harbour.
- →Hot butter cuttlefish: battered, fried crisp and tossed with dried chilli, spring onion and butter.
- →Fried sprats: tiny whole fish fried with onion and chilli, eaten by the handful.
- →Prawns fried with garlic and pepper.
- →Crab or prawn rolls and cutlets: crumbed, deep-fried short eats.
- →Fish fingers of seer or tuna with lime and chilli sauce.
Vegetarian and lighter bites
Vegetarian bites are plentiful, which matters to the many Sri Lankans and visitors who do not eat meat. Several are among the best things on the table.
- →Devilled cashews: fried with curry leaves, chilli and salt.
- →Tempered chickpeas: boiled chickpeas fried with coconut, mustard seed, dried chilli and curry leaves.
- →Mixture: a crunchy spiced blend of fried lentils, noodles and nuts.
- →Manioc chips: thin fried cassava crisps dusted with chilli.
- →Papadam and fried dried chillies.
Matching bites to the way you drink
Matching bites to arrack is intuitive. The longer and plainer the drink, the more spice it can take; the finer the arrack, the gentler the food should be.
- →Arrack with soda and lime: seafood and anything fried.
- →Arrack with ginger beer: devilled pork or chicken, where sweetness tames heat.
- →Arrack with water: tempered chickpeas and cashews.
- →Aged arrack neat: plain roasted cashews, jaggery or dark chocolate.
How to order bites in Sri Lanka
Ordering bites in Sri Lanka works the same way from a village restaurant to a five-star bar. Choose two or three plates for four people, ask for them to come as they are ready, and add more as the evening goes on. Portions are generous, and a bite listed as a starter is often enough for three people to pick at.
Lankan Stays & Trails guides can order a balanced spread for you on a first evening, adjust the chilli to your taste and steer you towards restaurants whose kitchens they trust for seafood.
Frequently asked questions
What do Sri Lankans eat with arrack?
Sri Lankans eat bites with arrack: small, spicy shared plates such as devilled chicken or pork, hot butter cuttlefish, fried sprats, cashews fried with curry leaves and tempered chickpeas. The food is salty, hot and often fried, to go with a long, cold drink.
What is a bite in Sri Lanka?
A bite is a snack or small dish eaten with alcoholic drinks. Menus in bars and restaurants often have a section headed bites. The term covers everything from a bowl of mixture to a full plate of devilled meat shared by the table.
What is devilled chicken?
Devilled chicken is a Sri Lankan dish of fried chicken pieces tossed in a wok with onion, capsicum, banana chillies, tomato and a sweet, sour and spicy sauce. It is the most popular bite in the country and is also eaten with fried rice.
What is hot butter cuttlefish?
Hot butter cuttlefish is cuttlefish or squid coated in light batter, deep-fried until crisp and tossed with butter, dried chilli, garlic and spring onion. It comes from Sri Lanka's Chinese restaurant tradition and is one of the island's best-loved accompaniments to a drink.
Are there vegetarian snacks to have with arrack?
Yes. Fried cashews with curry leaves, tempered chickpeas, spiced mixture, manioc chips, devilled potatoes and devilled mushrooms are all widely available. Most are vegan as well, though it is worth asking whether butter or dried fish has been used.
Are bites very spicy?
Most are, by international standards. Devilled dishes and hot butter cuttlefish are made with plenty of chilli. Ask for less spice when ordering, which kitchens are used to, and have plain rice, bread or a cold drink to hand.