Jungle Cruise Themed Dinner

The long-anticipated Jungle Cruise movie recently premiered, and we did a themed dinner to celebrate the night!  This film is based on the beloved attraction in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  Full of corny dad jokes and groan-worthy puns, Jungle Cruise is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite attractions in the parks.  And I’m happy to say, the film was successful in incorporating that classic fun.

For our Jungle Cruise Themed Dinner menu, I took inspiration from one of my favorite table service restaurants in Magic Kingdom – Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen!  That may seem like a mouthful, but if you are a big fan of the Jungle Cruise attraction (like me) this restaurant is a must-do. 

Check out our dining review of the Skipper Canteen HERE!

The theming of the Skipper Canteen is a continuation of the theming of Jungle Cruise.  As the story goes, due to the success of the Jungle Cruises, the skippers opened the doors of their headquarters and kitchens to feed hungry travelers passing through.  The menu boasts exotic cuisine inspired by the flavors of Asia, South America, and Africa.  And lucky for us, a lot of these recipes have been shared online!

So, for our Jungle Cruise Themed Dinner, I went to work gathering recipes from the Skipper Canteen to bring those exotic flavors into our own kitchen.  Check out our menu below!

Main Dish

S.E.A. Shu Mai

For our main entrée, I utilized the recipe for Skipper Canteen’s S.E.A. Shu Mai dumplings shared on the Disney Parks Blog.  These steamed dumplings are made with pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, edamame, and various other ingredients. 

Preparing the filling for the dumplings was easy!  Crimping the wonton wrapper around the filling, however, was a labor of love (but oh so worth it). 

Steaming the dumplings requires the use of a steaming basket.  If you don’t have a steaming basket (like me), there is an easy way fake it!  You will need a large pot to boil water, a lightly greased plate for your dumplings (that fits in the pot), and three or four balls of tinfoil in the bottom of the pot.  The tinfoil balls should be large enough to support the plate of dumplings and elevate it over the boiling water.   When the water is boiling, rest your plate of dumplings on the tinfoil, cover the pot, and steam until they are cooked through.  I was doubtful of this method at first, but it worked great!    

Despite the extra effort involved in this recipe, it was well worth the it!  The dumplings were very tasty and deserved second helpings.  If you are cooking for palates that don’t like spicy food, I would leave the sriracha sauce out of the dumping mix and skip the spicy dipping sauce.      

Side Dishes

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

For our first side dish, I knew we had to serve the incredibly popular Brazilian Cheese Bread.  Considered a “secret” menu offering at the Skipper Canteen, this dish is also a popular Food and Wine Festival dish at the Brazil Marketplace booth.  Now this recipe isn’t from the Disney kitchens (they keep theirs safely guarded for the time being), but it does come from Brazilian baker Ricardo Gonzalez and King Arthur Flour.  You can find the recipe over at WDW News Today!

This recipe was easy to follow and came together quickly.  Before I knew it, the smells of fresh bread and garlic were filling my kitchen.  The Brazilian Cheese Bread was super tasty and a family-favorite dish for our Jungle Cruise Themed Dinner.

Looking for more Food and Wine Festival recipes?  Check out these festival-favorite recipes to make at home HERE!

Curried Vegetable Crew Stew

For our second (and healthy) side dish, I utilized the recipe for the Curried Vegetable Crew Stew I found over at Kim & Carrie.  I am a HUGE fan of curry, so this recipe was right up my alley.  But I knew my kids probably wouldn’t like the spices – or all the vegetables for that matter.  So, this recipe was for the adults!

This recipe for Curried Vegetable Crew Stew is a bit different than the one currently offered at Skipper Canteen, but I absolutely LOVED how it turned out!  It was the highlight of the meal for me, and I DEFINITELY plan on making it again.  The secret to the wonderful flavor is the Berber spice which you can mix up yourself by following the included recipe.  I can’t wait to use the extra spice for other recipes in the kitchen! 

If you are looking for a different Skipper Canteen side dish that is more approachable for kiddos, check out the recipe for Falls Family Falafel also shared by Kim and Carrie.

Dessert

Skipper Canteen’s famous dessert offering is the African-inspired chocolate cake – Kungaloosh.  After reading through the recipe shared by Kim and Carrie, I decided it was a little more labor intensive than I was up for.  For ambitious bakers, you can check out the recipe HERE!

On to my backup plan…

Monkey Banana Bites

When we visited Skipper Canteen, my daughter ordered the Monkey Banana Bites as part of her kids’ meal.  This sweet treat consisted of chocolate covered bananas with pistachio cake and whipped cream.  We really enjoyed this dish, so I thought it would be fun to recreate the dessert at home!

I chopped up a few bananas and froze them before dipping them in melted chocolate.  Then, I added some sprinkles to the top. 

Rather than bake a whole cake, I decided to make my very first ever mug cake!  I followed this recipe from Mildly Meandering, and added a couple drops of green food coloring to resemble the cake at Disney.  It was SO easy and turned out great!  Then I plopped a dollop of whipped cream on top of the cake and PRESTO!  We had our very own Monkey Banana Bites dessert to enjoy with our Jungle Cruise Themed Dinner.

It’s always fun to prepare recipes straight from the Disney kitchens!  It allows us to feel closer to our happy place when we can’t get there as often as we’d like to. 

Have you ever dined at the Skipper Canteen in Magic Kingdom?  Tell me about your favorite menu items in the comments!

Looking for other Disney Themed Dinners with recipes from Walt Disney World restaurants?  Check out our ‘Ohana – Lilo and Stitch Dinner HERE and our Liberty Tree Tavern – Hamilton Dinner HERE!       

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