Around the world in food!

[Freya]

For 2017 I don't plan on visiting any foreign countries. I'm kinda poor, that's hard. I love food though and I love to cook! I'm in a bad place to actually go to authentic restaurants that serve other cultural food outside of Mexican. Woo, middle America for you.

So I need some help and advice from our more worldly EoFFers! I want to cook a meal from a different culture once a month. Except.... I don't know what food I'm missing to be able to pick something! This is where you guys come in! I know many of you are FROM other countries and cultures. So tell me! What's a good meal that represents you and your culture!

Mind you, I'm American so, I don't need American recipes, I make those all the time.

I'll come up with a list of 12 meals from 12 different cultures and I'll work my way through it throughout the year! I appreciate all the help in advance!

[Fynn]

Okay, so there's a bunch of things in Poland that are good and easy to make. Pierogi are the most popular, but they can be kinda hard to make. I'll try to think of something simpler and come back to you later!

[FFNut]

From Canada try bannock. It's not great for you, but once in a while it's not bad. Good as a side dish to a meal.

[Pheesh]

Australia gets a lot of its culinary identity by poaching things from other cultures and mashing them together, so it doesn't really have well known dishes.. That said, you could go with a couple of well known desserts; pavlova, lamington, or ANZAC biscuits.

As for Italy, I can't imagine you'll need any help finding a dish that you want to cook. There is a ridiculous amount of choice and if America is anything like over here, then most people eat Italian food as commonly as any other cuisine. If I were you though, I would try pasta aglio olio, assuming you've never had it before. It's my favourite kind of pasta and often times not something that non-Italians have tried. It's simple, cheap, and if you do it right it's absolutely amazing.

[Night Fury]

For English food I would recommend Toad in the Hole. It's sausages cooked in yorkshire pudding batter, served with mash and gravy. It's comfort food at its finest imo.

[FFNut]

For English food I would recommend Toad in the Hole. It's sausages cooked in yorkshire pudding batter, served with mash and gravy. It's comfort food at its finest imo.

Ohh that sounds really good. May make that tonight!

[Gu-fu-fu]

So, I love to travel and new types of food are one of my favorite things about getting to go on a trip. I also tend to seek out friends who aren't necessarily from my country as I went to Uni in another country and loved it.

So that said, here are some of my favorite things to eat/make from other cultures (so far).

I know this may be odd, but I love the Japanese version of a Chinese dish, Mabo Tofu (or Ma Po Tofu). I usually end up buying the sauce packets because I am not a great chef, and here they are on amazon! https://www.amazon.com/House-Foods-M...ords=mabo+tofu

There are other levels of spicy, btw, and overall this brand is really not very spicy. Oh, and if you buy stuff on Amazon, you can totally use that EoFF link to give the site some money.

Anywho, I am actually vegetarian so I make it with veggie ground beef, soft tofu, and scallions, but obviously, as the package says, it is supposed to be ground pork. I have the habit of throwing in veggies I have on hand as well, because I always need to eat more veggies. So no, this is in no way a really authentic dish when I do it. Buying Chinese or Japanese rice to eat it with makes a ton of difference though, so I totally recommend that. Mmmm, superior rice.

My favorite Japanese tea is Genmaicha, a green tea with toasted brown rice in it, which you can also buy on amazon, though it totally does not pair very well with this dish, imo. But it general, worth trying.

As is mochi! I love it best in soup though it is more popular in its sweet forms here on the East Coast of the U.S. You can buy squares of it like this https://www.amazon.com/Takano-Mochi-...keywords=mochi

Crepes are surprisingly not that hard to make, though it may take a few tries to really get the hang of making them thin enough, cooking them just right, etc. You can of course serve them with butter and sugar (my fave for sweet), lemon juice and sugar, nutella, etc., or you can make them savory. My favorite savory crepes are folded around spinach and swiss cheese.

As for family recipes, I have a great recipe for a sharp cheddar Welsh Rabbit (a cheese sauce, no rabbit involved, and sadly the name is an insult to the people of Wales) served over hard toast (toast very slowly dried out in the oven, not browned) and tomato slices. Feel free to message me if you want to try it. It is very rich (so much cheese) but lovely once in a while, especially in winter.

Mushroom blintzes are amazing too, as are homemade latkes. I make Spinochnik, which is the Bulgarian version of Spinakopita, with feta, Phillo dough (I so buy the Phillo Dough, or Phyllo if you prefer that spelling) and spinach. The trick is to brush the layers of dough with butter as you layer them, imo.

Moussaka is also delicious and not overly heavy, and cheese fondue is actually pretty easy to make, though I have never tried to make it without a fondue pot, but if you invest in one you could always make Raclette (kind of a broth that you then cook meat and veggies in at the table) and/or a nice dessert fondue. Totally impresses people more than the work it takes to make.

And I am going to stop now as I could keep going until you are totally overwhelmed.

[Freya]

So suggestions so far:

Canada - bannock
Australia - pavlova, lamington, or ANZAC biscuits
Italy - pasta aglio olio
England - Toad in the Hole (this is an amusing name I love it)
Chinese/Japanese: Mabo Tofu
Japanese: Genmaicha, Mochi
Bulgarian?: Spinochnik

What is the Moussaka one from?

ahhh so many from gu-fu-fu

Lots of good suggestions so far! You guys are great!

[Fynn]

Moussaka is Greek!


From Poland, I think I'm gonna give you a recipe for Chłodnik, which is a type of cold soup - a perfect dish for the hot summer days. Do you prefer the more Lithuanian-inspired, pink beetroot version, or the cucumber-and-garlic, white Polish version?

[Freya]

Well Seeing as i've never had beetroot anything.... I'm going to probably go for cucumber and garlic

[Fynn]

It's the version I prefer, really. My mom is all about that pink one, though. It just depends on what you like.

I'll try to translate the good recipe I have for you soon. But like I said, make sure you make it during one of the hotter months!

[Shauna]

I would suggest haggis but it's illegal over there so.

[Fynn]

Haggis is illegal in the US?! Why!

[Shauna]

It's banned because of what it's made of.

[Freya]

Ahhh it's the lung part. The heart and liver is fine but the lung is a no-no. I guess. Honestly that sounds crazy of a combo