Culture Customs – Food History & Authentic Dishes

Unknown

Cheese – Developed before Roman times, possibly by accident by storing milk in a container made from the stomach – the rennet (enzymes) turning the milk into curd and whey. Possibly discovered in 5500 BCE in current day Poland (as per evidence) or even earlier by an Arab trader, as stated by spoken legend. Swiss starter cultures produce carbon dioxide, which creates holes in the cheese, also called “eyes”.

🇪🇺 Europe

Head Cheese – Cold cut terrine or meat jelly (aspic) made from the head of the calf or pig

🇬🇷 Greece

Moussaka – Baked casserole meaning “heated” – ground meat, potatoes, aubergine, potato with bechamel sauce. Believed that Arabs brought this dish when they brought eggplant to the area. The Greeks decided to “cleanse” it by adding the French bechamel (white) sauce.
Souvlaki – “Little skewers” – Cubed meat on skewers. It was served in Ancient Greece as kandaulos, consisting of the grilled meat, pita bread, cheese, and dill.
Greek yogurt — A recent creation from the late 1980s – yogurt that’s strained of liquid, becoming rich with smooth-texture
Bugatsa – a pastry filled with cream and/or cheese, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Most famous bugatsa in Crete is served at Kipkop
Spanakopita – Spinach pie of cookied spinach in flakey phyllo dough. Invented for field workers to carry them in their pockets. Originated from a Turkish dish during their occupation of Greece 400 years ago.
Gyro – Similar to Shawarma, meat on a vertical spit, sliced and placed in pita bread with tzatziki sauce and fresh veggies. Gheereezo means to turn, and was said to be invented during Alexander the Great’s time when soldiers cookied meat on their swords over fire.

🇩🇪 Germany / 🇦🇹 Austria

Lunch is biggest meal of the day, called mittagessen “Mid-day’s food” in German
Germknodel – A dessert (fluffy dough filled with spiced plum jam) that can be served as main dish of lunch
Wiener Schnitzel – Means Viennese Cutlet, breaded veal
Pretzels and Sauerkraut, but you haven’t lived until you tried German savoy cabbage roulades. Preferably with boiled potatoes and a beer.
Doner Kebab – “Rotating kebab” – From 1970s in Berlin, beef and possibly lamb, slow grilled on a vertical skewer with their fats & juices and served in a sandwich form. Originated from Turkey as Shawarma “to turn”, as regular kebab (platter not sandwich form).
Kasespaetzle is pretty amazing. As is Maultaschen. Knödel
Kohlrouladen with rahm fries. My rotkohl (red cabbage in reduction) and currywurst sauce are pretty fire too.
Leberkässemmeln – Classic ground meat meatloaf sandwich, in Bavaria it is served in beer gardens and in Austria at street kiosks
Kinder Bueno – Chocolate bar
Flammkuchen “flame cake or pie” – A specialty on the French-German border, similar to pizza. Usual toppings are gruyere, mushrooms, munster cheese or a dessert version with fruit (apples or blueberries)
Sauerbraten – National dish, pot roast with gravy that may date back to Charlemagne or Caesar.
Currywurst – Fried pork sausage (bratwurst) served over fries, topped with curry-spiced tomato sauce.

🇨🇿 Czechia (Czech Republic)

Chimney Cake – Trdelník – spiral shaped donuts

🇳🇱 Netherlands

In the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway, it is common to eat sandwiches for lunch. Such as chocolate sprinkles (“hagelslag” which means hail) on buttered bread. Similar to Australian Fairybread
Frikandel speciaal – skinless deep-fried sausage served together with mayonnaise, curry ketchup and chopped raw onion
Saucijzenbroodjes or the Dutch Sausage roll.
Stroopwafels and perhaps even more infamous Dutch double salt liquorice aka “dubbel zoute drop”.
Poffertjes – Mini Dutch pancakes
Frikandellen
Bitterballen – Breaded and fried meat stew balls. Kroketten are similar but in a bigger sausage shape.
Waffel
Kapsalon “barbershop” – Doner kebab salad over fries. Invented when a barber asked for it at a shawarma spot.
Stamppot or hutspot – mashed potatoes with other veggies. Usually served with a smoked sausage or a cooked meat

🇬🇧 Britain / United Kingdom (UK)

Chicken tikka masala – Created by Indian chef’s cooking for British royalty
Fish and chips – French fries and fried white fish fillets (popularly cod, or alternatively haddock or flounder). Potatoes were fried as a substitute for fish in the winter months. Fried fish was brought to Britain by Western Sephardic Jewish immigrants (from Spain and Portugal) in 17th century for the food to survive shabbat and not spoil (as they’re not allowed to cook during the sabbath).
Cornish Pastries from Cornwall, Pork Pies – first made for King Richard in 1300s
Sunday roast with yorkies, roast spuds and gallons of gravy
Yorkshire pudding
Crumpet – Cooked on only one side (crunchy on bottom, soft fluffy like a pancake on top)
Eton Mess – Traditional English dessert with strawberries (or bananas), meringue (a later edition) and whipped cream, named after an annual cricket match in Eton College against Harrow School. “Mess” refers to either the appearance, or large quantity of soft food.
(Welsh) Rarebit – Grilled cheese on toast, with sauce made of melted cheddar with mustard, ale and Worcestershire sauce, which is poured over the toast rather than grilled.
Fruit cup (or Summer cup) is a gin-based spirit infused with herbs, spices, fruits, botanicals. Mixed with ginger ale or lemonade or both. One popular brand is Pimm’s #1.
Sponge Cake, with British origins in early 1600s, is a foam cake (eggs sugar and flour only, angel cake is no egg yolks only egg whites). The Pound Cake (Northern European origins in early 1700s) is a butter cake. Foam cakes have a high egg to flour ratio and are leavened by the air beaten into whole eggs or egg whites. Butter cakes on the other hand contain fat from butter, margarine or shortening and they rely on leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda.
Toastie – British term for a grilled cheese, except without butter
Marmite – Leftover yeast extracts from breweries. Is usually lightly spread over white toast with a heavy spread of butter but can also be made as a “Marmite and chippie” sandwich – butter, marmite, ruffle chips and bagged shredded cheese. Lots of B vitamins. “Marmite and chippie” sandwich – white
Cottage Pie / Shepherds Pie – The term cottage pie started first, and shepherd’s pie a decade later. The former is referred when it’s filled with ground beef, the latter with ground lamb. Mashed potato on the bottom, sides, and mashed potato crust on top, with leftover meat in the center. This might be too much mashed potato, so some opt only for mashed potato on top, with a medley of veggies (gravy, onions, carrots, celery) and ground beef under it.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Haggis – The “great chieftain o the puddin’-race” by Robert Burns, meat pudding of sheep’s offal with suet, oatmeal, onion and spices boiled in a bag. Eaten to celebrate Burns Night, traditionally served with neeps and tatties (mashed potatoes and turnip)

🇮🇪 Ireland

Colcannon – Mashed potatoes and kale (or cabbage), eaten year-round, usually with boiled ham. So beloved is it that there are songs about it and it’s also the traditional Irish Halloween dish

🇩🇰 Denmark

Æbleskiver (aebleskiver or ebleskiver) is a pancake ball (popover) served with fruit jam and powdered sugar. Traditionally eaten for Christmas, along with mulled wine (glög).
Lunch – Light meal of rye bread with topping of liver pate, herring, and cheese. Smorrebrod below is more of a delicacy for business meetings or special events
Smorrebrod – “Smear” or “Buttered bread” – Open faced sandwich. Rye bread was used as a plate and decorating smorrebrod became a fashionable craze. Traditional toppings include pickled herring, prawns or smoked salmon which is then paired with sliced egg, mayonnaise and cress.

🇵🇱 Poland / 🇭🇺 Hungary

Pierogi – From Russian “pirog” which means “pie”. Dumplings and stuffed with an ingredient such as – cheese, onions, ground meat, mushrooms, potatoes, sauerkraut, or sweet versions with strawberries or blueberries. Vareniki is the more common term in Russia.
Bigos – “Hunter’s stew” that has a sour taste due to the sauerkraut used.
Langos – Hungarian fried bread smothered with sour cream, sometimes made with garlic
Zapiekanka – Opened face sandwich with melted cheese and other toppings

🇫🇷 France

Croissant – Invented by an Austrian in Paris – Crescent to commemorate the moon during a Turkish attack of Austria. Croissant is a Viennese pastry, originally called a kipferl, and was named the croissant to commemorate a victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1683 by Christian forces in the siege of the city. It was named thus as reference to the crescents on the Ottoman flag. Apparently, bakers awake in the late hours of the night heard tunneling operations and alarmed authorities. In France, the law is that straight croissants must be all butter, so the crescent ones are either all butter or has other fats in it. Pain au chocolat are chocolate croissants.
Mayo was created in 1776 to commemorate a victory over the British in the Spanish town of Mahon.
Camembert cheese was called of “god’s feet” by a French poet.
Baguettes – More of a recent invention. Bakeries were called “Boulangeries” because bread was made round (“boule”). Baguettes were created to have more crust.
Praline – Named after the inventor.
Madeleines – Small sponge cake in the shape of a shell.
Raisin brioche bread
(Beef) Tartar – Raw ground beef either served with a raw egg on top, or with tartar sauce.
Cordon bleu – means “blue ribbon” such as the one worn by the highest degree of knighthood, L’Ordre des chevaliers du Saint-Esprit, instituted by Henri III of France in 1578. Breaded meat (veal, pork, or chicken) wrapped around ham and cheese.
Beef Bourgoignon – Beef slowly braised in red wine (Burgundy wine to be specific)
Quiche (Lorraine) – Although it is a French word, Italian and English chefs started making egg and cream in open pie pastry in the 13 and 14th centuries, respectively. Lorraine is a region in France and specifies that it includes egg, cream, and lardons (Bacon in English speaking countries). Varieties include quiche with cheese, mushroom, spinach, tomatoes. The word Quiche may come from the German kuchen (tart or cake).
Duck a l’orange – Roasted duck in bigarade sauce (named after the French word for sour Seville oranges). Possibly originally from Naples Italy
Red Wine – Cru is the finest wine that exhibits the qualities of the terroir (terrain) of the vineyard. Grand Cru (“Great Growth”) is the finest, while Premier Cru (“First Growth”) is right below it.
French Onion Soup – Usually topped with Gruyere cheese (slightly nutty and earth cheese)
Crepe – Made with buckwheat flour with ham and cheese for savory, and wheat flour for sweet with powdered sugar and nutella
Viennoiserie – Bread or puff pastry with added ingredients such as sweetness – e.g. pain au chocolat or viennoise au chocolat

🇧🇪 Belgium

French fries “Pommes Frites” were developed here – called “French” because the potatoes were cut “frenched” (julienne) – lengthwise into strips to ensure they are evenly cooked. Eaten on a daily basis, as side dish or snack.
Gaufre – Waffles with types – Liege (lusk) vs Brussels waffles. Liege has Brioche dense dough and Brussels has light airy dough. Invented based on a building construction item – waffle slabs.
Moules frites – french fries and mussels

🇨🇭 Switzerland

Intersection of Italian, French and German food
Raclette – A Swiss tradition (and also in nearby region of France) to consume melted Raclette cheese over cold cuts and vegetables
Fondue – Melted cheeses (and white wine and seasoning) over a communal pot on a portable stove. “Fondre” means to melt in French and fondu is the past participle (“melted”). Popularized after cornstarch was invented as it helps stabilize and thicken the mixture, and marketed by Cheese unions to increase consumption.
Absinthe – Anise, Fennel, Wormwood. Pernod got the recipe and started mass producing it in 1805, popularity skyrocketed during times of bad grape crops (no wine). Hemingway and Van Gogh were known to drink it for inspiration.

🇪🇸 Spain

Jamon Iberico – For a good one can cost 70 euros a kilo – jamon iberico is like Spanish caviar – it has to be iberico breed – enormous pig that is very brownish, fed at acorns at the end of their life and live in enormous properties, free range. Eat with your fingers or bread with a little tomato and garlic
Cava – Made in the same method as Champagne except with different grapes. Originally from Catalonia, 95% of cava is produced there. Cava means “cave” or “cellar” (where it historically was aged or preserved while being produced) and was adopted as the name of the drink to differentiate itself from Champagne.
Paella – Spanish risotto, usually with seafood. The only necessities that maek a paella are: rice, tomato, and saffron. The trick to making it is not to mix it, as the point of the pan being big is that the rice at the bottom gets crunchy. It is served in the original pan it was cooked in. The Moors brought saffron and rice to Spain from the Mediterranean and Asia.
Churro – Deep fried dough covered in sugar. Normally eaten for breakfast and dipped in champurrado (hot chocolate) or eaten with coffee. One theory is that they were brought to Europe by the Portuguese who visited China and ate youtiao. Or originally invented by Spanish shepherds who could cook them in a pan over an open fire.
Pastel (pasteis for plural) – Spanish word for cake
Empanada – Crescent-shaped golden fried pastry stuffed full of meat and veggies or even cheese, originated from Galicia Spain for working class people to carry.

🇵🇹 Portugal

Bakalao (cod) al pil pil – Raw fish in coconut or other marinade. It is actually not native to Portugal, it had to be salted a lot in order to survive the boat rides from the Nordic countries.
Txipirones en su tinta
Pasteis de Nata (or pasteis de belem) – Small sweet pastries – Portuguese custard egg tarts. Believed to be invented by nuns in nearby Belem where left over egg yolks were used to make the pastry’s signature custard filling
Espetada – Meat skewers

🇮🇹 Italy

Parmiginio Reggiano (cheese) is both popular and has umami because it is a little sour, a little salty, and little sweet
Tortellino – Battle of zappolino – tortellino. Venus was asleep in an inn, innkeeper decided to wake her up and was inspired by her beautiful belly button. Belly button represents life – umbilical cord, also looks like a heart.
History of Pasta – Arabs (specifically from Libya) brought pasta around the 9th century to the Mediterranean basin (Sicily) during their conquests. During Roman times, lagana was fried dough and it was used in layers with meat (lasagna). “Al dente” means “to the teeth”, pasta cooked right after the white in the pasta center disappears, the pasta “bites” back (maintains some firmness). According to the American Diabetes Association, al dente pasta is lower on the glycemic index than pasta that is cooked soft.
Stuffed pastas – Everywhere below Northern Tuscany, there is no stuffed pasta. Because they had no room for the animals except for Northern Italy, whom could have animals and animal byproducts.
Food – Romans initially had lunch be their biggest meal, then it switched to dinner. And the main meal for the big one was puls – a porridge made from emmer wheat (topped with salt and olive oil, or eggs cheese and honey for wealthier Romans). Wealthier Romans ate more wheat (and meat), and poorer Romans ate more Millet. Only the wealthiest would have feasts (with fanciful foods such as meat stuffed inside other meat), many including dancers and flutists, and at upper-class functions would include women, unlike the Greeks. Many dishes utilized spices ground with mortar and pestle – and were similar to what’d resemble a pesto. Garum would also be a popular sauce (the ketchup of the Ancient World) – and it is a fermented fish sauce (like an ancient version of modern day soy sauce). The great grandfather of worcestershire sauce.
Not until coming to America did Italians have a lot of meat. Spaghetti and meatballs are not Italian but Italian American – nobody in Italy made it. But Italian Americans did more quantity – a ton of pasta with a ton of meat sauce on top. But had less of a focus on quality.
Inventions – Romans invented the salad.
Cacio e pepe – “Cheese and pepper”
Pasta dishes – Sicily: Norma (named for the opera by native son Vincenzo Bellini, using eggplant) and pasta con le sarde (using sardines). Naples: puttanesca (spicy and pungent like the local prostitutes). Northern Italy – Bologna: bolognese (meaty style of Bologna); Genoa: genovese used the abundant basil plants to produce “pesto” (which is actually the name of the technique of mashing ingredients with a pestle).
Arancini – Fried rice ball croquettes. Suppli (“surprise”) are the Roman / smaller version which also include mozzarella in the center and rice is cooked in ragu sauce. Invented when an ancient emperor wanted to carry his rice around with him whilst hunting.
Naples – Pizza Fritta (fried pizza), Cuoppo napoletano filled with fritto misto (paper cone full of mixed fried stuff such as fish, seafood)
Pizza al taglio – Rectangular mini pizzas in Rome that are light and airy.
Arrosticini – meat skewers
Focaccia – A cheap street food – bread, either plain or other flavors such as sun dried tomatoes. Sfincione – Sicilian version, named after Arabic and Greek words for “sponge”
Gelato – slightly softer and less fatty than ice cream, traditional flavors include pistachio and stracciatella
Piada or piadina Romagnola – Italian flatbread sandwich with fillings such as prosciutto, melted creamy soft cheeses like squacquerone, tomatoes, and arugula). In the poem “La Piada” about it, a 19th century Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli describes it as “the bread of poverty, humanity, and freedom”, and “smooth as a leaf and as big as the moon.”
Porchetta – Deboned, rolled up pork, spitted and slow roasted over a wood fire.
Cacciatore – Means “hunter” as hunters between the 14th and 16th century would cook wild game (e.g. rabbit) with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers. Can be served on top of pasta

🇸🇪 Sweden

Drink Glogg (mulled wine) during Christmas
Surstromming – Fermented baltic herring. Sweden’s national dish, tradition since 16th century. The frozen seas would thaw for a short time, at which point they would salt the fish just enough for it to not rot. The tin cans can swell and get misshaped due to the fish fermenting inside.

🇷🇺 Russia / 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Okroshka, kholodets, Olivier
Seledka pod shubay aka Shuba – Herring under a fur coat is a salad consisting of layers. The top layer is usually beet with mayonnaise, the next layer of carrots, potatoes, then herring with onion.
Beef Stroganoff – 19th century invention by French chefs working for the Stroganovs (Russian merchant family). Beef, mushrooms, sour cream sauce.
Chicken Kiev – Unclear where it was first invented but the chefs in Moscow and St Petersburg were trained in France and French cuisine was becoming popular there amongst the wealthy. Breaded chicken breast wrapped around nugget of herbed butter. Sort of similar to cordon bleu.
Plov – Rice pilaf with onion and carrots with a chunks of meat
Vareniki – Beef dumplings topped with sour cream and dill
Chebureki – fried bread filled with meat or cheese
Samsa – In Kyrgyzstan – meat, onion and spice filled dough pockets
Herring under a fur coat – salad of diced pickled herring covered by layers of grated boiled vegetables, mayonnaise

🇬🇪 Georgia

Khachapuri – Georgian pizza topped with melted cheese (traditionally Georgian Sulguni or Imeretian cheese), butter, and a raw egg. To make easily – Follow this recipe, skip the dough making part – using Pillsbury pizza dough for the dough (to skip an hour of work, it’s just as good), use Muenster cheese and Feta cheese. Eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Syrniki/сырники – Tvorog (farmer’s cheese) pancakes
Khinkali – Dumplings
Chakhokhbili – herbed chicken stew

🇦🇺 Australia

Flat White – Composed with a thin layer of microfoam, as opposed to a thick layer that a cappucino has. Creates rings in the cup with every sip.
Timtams, lamingtons, meat pies, and kangaroo meat.
Lamingtons and Fairybread (Bread, sprinkles – specifically Hundreds and Thousands, and butter)
Sticky date pudding
Pavlova
Bunnings snag (sausage cooked on a bbq) on white bread
Halal Snack Packs (HSP). For the uninitiated it’s doner kebab meat on a bed of chips with sauce on top, usually garlic, BBQ and chili.
Billy tea (e.g. made in a billycan)
Vegemite – Leftover yeast extracts from breweries. Is usually lightly spread over white toast and a heavy spread of butter. Australia developed their own version of British Marmite following disruption of imports during WWI.
Avocado Toast – Possibly conceived at a restaurant in 1993 in Sydney Australia, got popular after a restaurant started serving it in California
Mac ‘n cheese jaffle – A toastie (or grilled) cheese made with the jaffle maker (probably named after waffles) which is a heated sandwich press. The difference between a jaffle and a toastie is that a jaffle’s edges are closed instead of open.
Meat pies

🇳🇿 New Zealand

Abalone (Paua in Maori language) – The Maori view Abalone as a treasure associated with the stars (the symbolic eyes of ancestors that gaze down from the night sky).
Kiwi fruit – Originally from China called Chinese gooseberry, it was exported from New Zealand to California and they renamed it Kiwi in honor of New Zealand’s the iconic furry bird.
See Marmite under “Britain”

🇹🇷 Turkey

Sarma (also Croatia) – Stuffed cabbage rolls with beef and/or lamb inside and celery and onions and spices – Also called Sarmale in Romania, gołąbki in Poland and Russia. Russians eat it with tomato sauce and carrots inside.
Dolma – Rice and mixed veggies with tomato paste mixed in wrapped in grape leaves
Raki – Called Lion’s milk, turns milky when water is added.
Shawarma “to turn” – A meat (possibly lamb), slow grilled on a vertical skewer with their fats & juices.
Durum – Translated is a “roll” but is more like doner kebab / shawarma in Germany. The bread is toasted crispier.
Baklava – Many layers of flakey crunchy pastry, syrup, and pistachio
Borek – bread pastry, many times filled with cheese
Gozleme – Flatbread possibly filled with meat, veggies, eggs, cheeses, or mushrooms, and is then baked on a griddle.
Lahmacun – “Turkish pizza” – thin crunchy dough topped with minced beef and spices
Kokorec – skewered meat (such as lamb intestines) served with bread
Simit – a less dense sesame covered bagel, perfect to accompany tea
Balik ekmek fish sandwiches – grilled mackerel
Kofte / Kofta – Coin-sized fried meatballs made with ground beef or lamb, eaten at special occasions or cocktail parties with toothpicks.
Dondurma – Turkish ice cream originating from the city of Maraş. Dense, chewy, slow to melt. Kesme (Kesmek – “cut”) Dondurma is eaten with fork and knife because it’s even thicker.

🇦🇲 Armenia

Skewered kebabs wrapped in lavash (flat bread)

🇷🇴 Romania

Mititei – “Little ones” – Small grilled ground meat rolls made from lamb, beef, pork and spices. Skinless sausage grilled on an outdoor grill, and legend has it a famous Bucharesti (the capital) restaurant ran out of sausage casings and had to serve hungry customers.
Ciorba de Burta – (Cow) “Stomache soup”

🇱🇧 Lebanon

Kibbeh is considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria. Pounded bulgur wheat together with meat into a fine paste and formed into balls, with toasted pine nuts and spices, and deep fried.
Cherry kibbeh are stewed cherry meatballs

🇲🇦 Morocco

Tagine – Named after the pottery where it is cooked, Berber stew that is cooked over hot coals for hours – meat, veggies, spices and sometimes fruits and nuts.
Couscous
Pastilla – Made for weddings and special events – filo dough wrapped around chicken and sweet spices, topped with sugared almond crumbs
Maakouda potato fritters
Steaming snail soup
Sheep’s head

🇮🇱 Israel

The Maghrebi egg dish shakshouka (shakshuka), brought to Israel by Tunisian Jews, is a common breakfast choice, comprising eggs poached in tomato sauce
Falafel – Deep-fried ground-chickpea fritter balls, but can also refer to a pita sandwich including the balls and toppings (salads, pickled veggies, garlic-flavored yogurt sauce, hummus paste, tahini). Started in Tel Aviv. Might have originated in Egypt, Lebanon, or Palestine. In the 1950s, Yemenite immigrants in Israel started making falafel in the streets.

🇯🇵 Japan

Umami – Savory flavors due to glutamate, of which flavors linger on the tongue and are satiating. Examples: soy sauce, cheese, ketchup.
Breakfast – Miso soup (dashi, miso paste – soy, seaweed, tofu). Thought to have medicinal properties, alkalizing the blood and reviving the nervous system. Also rice soup (porridge hybrid jook)
Katsu – Flour was brought to Japan from America after WWII ended, Japan used it to fry things. Katsu means fried, i.e. Kushikatsu – fried meat on a stick
Okonomiyaki – “Make it as you’d like”, it’s a pancake with a mound of cabbage or scallions, then topped with whatever toppings (i.e. meat) you’d like
Sushi – Means “sour”. Five main types – nigiri (fish served on rice), sashimi (fish without rice), maki (rice and filling wrapped in seaweed), uramaki (seaweed wrap around the filling with rice on the outside) and temaki (cone-shaped).
Ramen – (Wheat flour) Late night drunk food. Chewy noodle imported to Japan from China in the 1920s, Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen in 1958, and Momofuku Noodle Bar opened in 2004 (in honor of Momofuku Ando). Hokkaido Ramen is miso flavor with corn included.tick
Wagashi (traditional sweets/confections) – Common ingredient is Anko – bean paste that are usually sweetened Azuki beans, desserts include Anmitsu, Dango – Rice flour balls on a stick, topped with sweet chestnut paste and sesame seeds, Daifuku/Mochi, Castella (cake originating from Pao de Castela – “bread from Castile” a cake from Portugal), Taiyaki (anko within fried dough/waffle in the shape of a fish), Dorayaki (anko within castella), Okoshi (mid-Edo period rice crispy treats)
Takoyaki – Street food of fried batter balls with a piece of octopus inside, topped with sweet sauce, powdered seawood, and paper thin airy bonito flakes that dance in a slight breeze
Yakitori – Meat skewered on kushi (bamboo or steel sticks) over charcoal fire, seasoned with salt (shio) or a thick soy sauce condiment (tare). Negima yakitori are sliced chicken thighs or chicken breasts skewered together with pieces of onions (negi). Served in restaurants and Izakaya bars. Nikuman are Japanese version of Chinese baozi buns.
Bento (“convenient”) box – Meal box of multiple dishes
Soba – Buckwheat noodles that are dipped in a sauce and slurped out of it (you must make the noise and bring some air into the mouth while eating). Yakisoba – Similar to Chinese chow main, stir fried noodles made with either ramen or soba, meats, veggies, and thick worcestershire sauce.
Nabemono (“Nabe”) – Japanese hot pot.
Oyakodon – “Father and child” – referring to chicken and the egg. White rice topped with egg, chicken, and scallions. Popular for lunch because it is quick to prepare.
Korokke – Deep fried snack similar to a French croquette, stuffings such as potato, meat, tuna, curry, cream, and okara (tofu/soy).
Gyudon (beef over rice) served at a Gyudon-ya open 24/7. Sakedon (sake bowl).
Karaage – “Dry frying” chicken – deep frying after coating arrowroot starch.

🇨🇳 China

Shanghai – Xiao Long Bao skins were thicker, but as in Din Tai Fung in Taiwan, having taken from dish from Shanghai, invented the thinner delicate skins. Similar is shengjian mantou, tangbao or guantang bau, large soup-filled bao buns made with pork or crab stock.
Bacon – Invented 1500 BC in China
Jian Bing – Large breakfast crepes stuffed with eggs, cilantro, crispy wonton crackers, sauces (chili, hoisin) and bean paste, made at street carts
Bao (or Baozi) buns – “little eats” is a fluffy white bun stuffed with veggies or meat. Eaten for breakfast or a snack. Char siu bao, filled with Cantonese-style barbecued pork. Similar is Rou jia mo – cumin stewed pork placed in open buns as a sandwich.
Jiaozi – Dumplings, goutie is a variety that are panfried (potstickers)
Egg Waffles – Invented in Hong Kong
Nepal – Momos – Usually steamed, sometimes fried, dumplings
Xinjiang people – Pulled noodles, or laghman
5 most popular noodle dishes – Reganmian (hot dry noodles),
Shaobing – Common street snack originating in Northern China (Shandong). Layered flatbread topped with sesame seeds, served with soy milk or tea and possibly stuffed with sweets such as red bean, black sesame, or jujube (red date) paste.

🇹🇼 Taiwan

Peanut ice cream roll
Papaya milk
Pepper bun
Red bean wheel cake
Pineapple cake
Sun cake (taiyang bing)
Bubble Tea or boba tea or pearl tea – creamy or fruity tea and chewy black tapioca balls sucked through a large straw

🇹🇭 Thailand / 🇱🇦 Laos / 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma)

Pad Kee Mao – Drunken Noodles – The noodles aren’t drunk. Should be called “drunkard’s noodles.” It’s for sobering up a drunk person.
Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam) – Northern Thai (Isaan) / Laos dish, varies in sweetness and spiciness
Tom Yum Goong – Spicy shrimp soup
Tom Kha Gai – Chicken in coconut soup
Pad Thai – “Thai stir-fry” – Thailand’s national dish. Fried rice noodles, tofu, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, eggs, and possibly chicken or pork. Combination of sweet, sour, and salty, and also well-varied textures. After the 1932 revolution that ended the absolute monarchy, there was a public contest to find a new national noodle dish and pad thai was chosen.
Pad See Eiw – Thick noodles
Pad Krapow – Fried basil
Panang – Thai curry
Gaeng Keow Wan – Green curry – The spiciest of them all
Khao Soi – Creamy coconut curry noodle soup
Kao Niew Ma Muang – Mango and Sticky Rice
Laos – Or Lam, a spicy stew with mushrooms, eggplant, meat, lemongrass and chillies
Burma – Mohinga, soup for breakfast or other meals of rice vermicelli in a fish broth of onions, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass
Kai Yang – Grilled or barbecued whole marinaded chicken

🇰🇭 Cambodia

Kuy Teav – Rice noodles and pork broth, sweeter than pho
Num Pang – sandwich

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Avocado Milkshake
Rendang – Slow cooked (to preserve it for longer in the hot and tropical climate) and similar to an Indian curry.
Sotoc
Nasi Goreng – stir fried rice
Satay – Pork or other skewered meat marinated with coconut and dipped in peanut sauce, served with achat (a pickled cucumber salad). Originated in Indonesia (but possibly earlier from Indian migrants to the Java region of Indonesia), but also popular in Thailand.
Nasi Campur – “Mixed plate” served at warungs, the local food outlets on Bali. Choose from sate lilit, spicy tempeh, chopped vegetables, spice-rubbed meat, chicken, and tofu
Gado-gado – Mixed salad
Bakso – meatball soup
Mee Goreng – Mee means noodles

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Pho – A soup main dish. Typical for lunch, Vietnam’s national dish known for complex unique flavors yet simplicity. Chicken or beef broth, made from the bones simmering 3+ hours. Chewy rice noodles, different cuts of beef slices, and crunchy sprouts.
Banh mi (Viet sandwiches) – Meaning “bread”, baguettes were brought over by the French and wheat products were expensive, so viewed as a luxury item. Filled with meat such as grilled pork, and veggies – cucumber slices, cilantro, pickled carrots and daikon
Bun Bo Hue (beef vermicelli originated from Hue)
Banh xeo – “sizzling pancake” – savory fried pancake
Bun Thit Nuong [sp?]
Bo Kho
Cha ca – Hot pot meal of fish, spices and other greens served with noodles, peanuts
Cha gio – Fried spring rolls
Com suon grilled pork chops

🇰🇷 South Korea

Korean BBQ
Kimbap – Korean sushi – egg, veggies
Tteokbokki – Spicy (gochujang sauce) stir-fried dish of cylinder-shaped rice cakes, sweet red chili sauce, and fish cakes. Popular dish bought from street vendors known as pojangmacha. Originated during Joseon Dynasty period, both used as a cure and served as a royal court dish.
Jeon – Korean pancakes, served as appetizers, side dishes, or snacks. Savory or sweet with ingredients such as sliced meat, chicken, seafood, and veggies. Eaten daily and traditionally prepared every year during the Korean Lunar New Year and Korean Harvest Festival.

🇸🇬 Singapore / 🇲🇾 Malaysia

Kaya toast (sweet coconut egg jam / sometimes with pandan leaves flavor)
Hainanese Chicken Rice – The rice is the star of the show. Sliced steamed chicken is juicy, having been boiled in a broth which give it all its flavor, and served at room temperature with cucumbers and herbs, hot sauce, sweet soy sauce, and a light chicken stock soup with vegetables. Also: Duck rice
Chilli Crab
Curry Laksa – Sarawak laksa in particular (from the province of Sarawak) is incredible
Char Kway Teow – a flat fried noodles, stir fry of different textures
Hokkien Prawn Mee – spicy shrimp noodle (mee) soup. Invented by Chinese sailors after WW2
Bak Kut Teh – “Meat Bone Tea” – pork cooked in broth
Ais Kacang – Shaved ice with assortment of toppings
Cendol – dessert of coconut milk mixed with brown sugar, green starch noodles, red beans
Barbecued (Sambal) Stingray
Fish Head/Sliced Fish Bee Hoon Soup
Oyster Omelet
Nasi lemak – meaning “rich rice”, the hearty meal including coconut rice (nasi lemak itself), fried anchovy (ikan bilis), curry paste (sambal)
Roti canai and Teh Tarik
Durian
Wanton Mee – Wanton noodle (mee) soup
Tau Huay (Douhua) – beancurd tofu sweetened with sugar syrup
Rojak
Popiah
Nasi Kandar – Tamil Muslim traders popularized this in Penang – steamed rice with various curries and side dishes

🇵🇭 Phillipines

Sinigang – Leafy greens and veg and some kind of protein (shrimp) in a bright sour broth made from a variable number of South East Asian fruits (tamarinds / bilimbi usually) and long banana chillies. Especially great after a day in the fridge because upon heating it up again the entire broth gets infused with the spiciness of the chili and just makes it all the more enjoyable. Personal favorites for the vegetable components are radish, water spinach, and chinese eggplant. For more taste – fish sauce (patis in Tagalog).
Adobo – means “Marinade, sauce, or seasoning” in Spanish
Nilaga – A stew similar to sinigang, except not sour
Bicol Express (Sinilihan) – Spicy stew, named after passenger train from Manila to Bicol region (known for its spicy dishes)
Halo halo – “Mix mix” is a sundae-like dessert of shaved ice and evaporated milk with all kinds of other sweet toppings (fruit, ice cream, jellies, beans).

🇪🇬 Egypt

Ful (ful medames) – fava bean stew as a national breakfast dish, presumably since Ancient Egypt
Sugar cane juice
Yemen – “Martabak” – “Folded” which is stuffed bread
Ta’amiya – A version of falafel made of fava beans instead of chickpeas. Also served in a pita with pickled toppings, salad, tahini sauce.

🇷🇸 Serbia / 🇲🇪 Montenegro / 🇲🇰 Macedonia / 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina / 🇧🇬 Bulgaria

Plieskavitsa – hamburger, from the verb “to clap” (how you form the meat before you grill it)
Kačamak
Cicvara
Boza
Stuffed peppers
Banitsa – Rolled filo dough sheets with cheese – Bulgarian breakfast pastry (served hot or cold), and is eaten with plain yogurt, ayran (yogurt drink) or boza (a fermented drink). Hidden treats or messages are added for special occasions.
Cevapi – National dish of grilled ground meat (5 or 10 small logs), usually placed in a round flatbread and served with onions and a side of kajmak (thick cream)
Burek – has to be filled with ground beef to be burek. Local proverbs suggest that if a woman can make a good burek, she’s eligible for marriage.

🇮🇷 Iran / 🇯🇴 Jordan

Gaz, it’s individually wrapped and it’s basically white nougat with pistachios in it. we also have pistachio brittle that’s like peanut brittle but with… you know…. pistachios
Sabzi and Fasenjan – Fesenjoon. Delectable stew containing pomegranate concentrate, walnuts, and sautéed onions that comes out sweet, sour, and savory all at the same time
Lamb Torsh – lamb marinated with pomegranites
Loobia polo
Rose-water flavored ice-cream
Paloodeh
Doogh
Spiced Fava Beans – street food
Knafeh – Cheese pastry in Jordan – gooey, white cheese base with semolina bits baked on top and covered in sweet syrup

🇮🇳 India

Biryani – Rice and meat, derived from muslim indians and the term derived from birian – which means “fried before cooking” in Persian
Street food (chaat) found at chaatwallas (street vendors) – Pani Puri and Golgappa – tiny crunchy puff balls (puri) with filling (chickpeas for Pani Puri, potato for Golgappa). Chaat comes from the Hindi verb “to lick”. Other variations include: Puchka, Gup Chup, Bataasha), Bhel puri – puffed rice, noodles, veggies, chutneys, Aloo Tikki – spiced potato snacks
Other street food – Pav Baji – vegetable curry with bread roll, Vada pav – spicy mashed potatoes fried and put into a small sandwich with green or red chutney, Yogurt-marinated goat and chicken kebabs
Paneer – Indian home made white cheese
Masala Chai Tea
Butter Chicken, Kadai Gosht
Idlis
Dosas – Fermented crêpe made from rice batter and black lentils, Ancient Tamil (South India) dish from 1st century AD and one of most popular snacks. The masala dosa is a variation that’s stuffed with a delicious filling of parboiled potatoes, fried onions and spices. Often served with coconut and tomato chutney.
Samosas, malai kofta, palak paneer, avial, dal makhni, paneer tikka, dhokla
Tikka – Boneless chicken roasted over charcoal in a tandoor (traditional cylindrical clay oven), marinated red with spice and yogurt, and kept juicy by being brushed repeatedly with oil or butter. Confused often with Tandoori – which is baked and kept bone-in.
Kerala fish curry
Galub Jamun – Dessert meaning galub (flower water) with the size of a plum (jamun) – syrup-soaked doughnut ball.
Roti – Flat unleavened bread made with wholemeal flour, cooked on an iron griddle named Tava. India’s rice. Possibly invented in Persia (much thicker) or traveled to India from East Africa (unleavened bread made of wheat was popular).
Sri Lanka – Kottu Roti (“chopped bread”) has its origins in Batticaloa, in the east of Sri Lanka and is chopped together flatbread, egg, meat and spices.
Appam (Hoppers in Sri Lanka) – a breakfast or dinner of a thin bowl-shaped crepe made from rice flour and coconut milk, with the option of a fried egg inside and usually served with a simple curry
Chana Masala – Spiced chickpeas – most popular vegetarian dish in India
Paratha – Breakfast flatbread, sometimes stuffed with boiled potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, chili, paneer, sometimes accompanied by yogurt, chutneys, curries. In Punjab, paratha is traditionally paired with lassi.
Lassi – Yogurt drink, sometimes mango flavored.

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

Lunch – traditional Bengali lunch is seven course
Singara – Flakey thin-fried pockets full of spiced potato and vegetable mixture

🇫🇯 Fiji

Lovo – Cook marinated meat and veggies (wrapped in leaves) in the ground – very smokey bbq

🇲🇽 Mexico

Tacos – National dish. Soft corn tortillas full of beef, pork, or chicken, often traced back to Mexico’s 18th century silver mines – gunpowder wrapped in paper and placed into the rocks were called miner’s tacos. Used to excavate ores. Carne asada is meat grilled over coals, originating in the north of Mexico.
Al Pastor Tacos – “Shepherd’s style tacos”. Lebanese people who emigrated to Mexico brought with them the tradition of spit-roasting meats (like Shawarma except lamb was replaced by pork). Red due to being marinaded with dry chiles. Sometimes served with pineapple (origin unknown). Gringa is a version with flour tacos.
Carnitas – “Little meats” Pulled pork that is braised, slow roasted in its fats to be kept juicy. Served with tortilla and other taco accountrements (veggies, beans, salsas, lime). Originated in Michoaca and mostly cooked for special family occasions or holidays.
Cochinita pibil – “Baby pig underground or buried” – Pork cooked underground, Yucatan
Churros – Late night snack, either plan or rolled in cinnamon and the consumer dips in a cup of thick hot chocolate.
Raspados – Shaved ice
Enchilada – Means “to season with chili”
Flauta (flour tortilla version) / Taquito (corn tortilla version) – Mexican’s version of spring rolls – small, rolled, crisp-fried corn tortilla possibly filled with shredded chicken, beef, cheese, veggies. Possibly invented in San Diego by a tortilla factory owner, but still popular in Mexico.
Tlayuda – Oaxacan, large semi dried tortilla with refried beans, pork lard, a meat, and veggies. Served open or folded in half when being grilled
Chimichanga – Deep-fried flour tortilla wrapped around all the ingredients such as shredded chicken/beef, rice, beans, onions, and cheese
Mollette – Mexican bruschetta – bread topped with refried beans, melted cheese, salsa
Gordita
Street corn
Tortas – Sandwiches using French-inspired bolillos or teleras (kinds of bread rolls), with a meat and veggies.
Tamale – Shredded meat and vegetables stuffed in a steamed, ground corn (corn masa dough),wrapped in corn husks, leaves, or banana leaves. Mexican food is usually served with sauces and salsas, but tamales are the exception and usually eaten plain. The tamales are traditionally accompanied by atole, a masa drink. Dating back to the Aztecs, at least to the 1550s when the Spaniards were served the dish by the Aztecs who made them with beans, meat, and chiles.
Nachos – Tortilla chips, melted cheese, and jalapeños was made for a group of military officers’ wives in 1943 at the Victory Club restaurant in Mexico. The maitre d’, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya couldn’t find the cook, so he combined the readily available ingredients for the ladies and became head chef a few years later.
Burrito – “Little Donkey” as the tortilla folds look like bedrolls and packs that donkeys carry – Wheat flour tortilla wrapped around meat, beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese. Some claim that the dish originated in 19th century by either the vaqueros in Northern Mexico, farmers in California, or the miners from Sonora.

🇺🇸 United States of America

Breakfast – Pilgrims from Netherlands ate waffles and later pilgrims ate cornmeal flat cakes for breakfast and also corn based dishes for lunch and dinner (e.g. oatmeal). In the 1800s, cold breakfasts trended (popcorn with sweetener and milk) and further marketed (Kellogg “granola” cereals) and hot breakfasts considered too indulgent (bacons, eggs, pancakes, hot coffee). Canned fruit juice (OJ) also became popular due to its vitamins and also tomato juice as breakfast drinks.
Lunch or Dinner – Ham and egg sandwiches became popular during the Civil War
Pie – derived from the magpie which is a bird that collects a variety of things and places it in its nest, as originally cooks placed everything available in the pies (any meats, veggies, etc.). The crust was developed so that people could eat it informally without the use of utensils
Hawaii – Hangi – cooked underground by the Maori, Poke – Poke bowls were started in New York – cubes of raw sushi – ahi tuna, salmon, or other fish marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil; garnished with cucumber, avocado, seaweed; and served over greens or rice. Poi – an iconic Hawaiian food, taro sauce eaten with lomi lomi (a salmon dish) or kalua pork to balance out of the salty dishes (can be two-finger poi – scooped with two fingers, three-finger poi – scooped with three fingers – depending on thickness)
New England – Place wet seaweed ontop of coals and cook seafood and things ontop of the seaweed. Common clambake fare includes clams, mussels, quohogs (big clams), maine lobster, crab, corn on the cob, potatoes, onions and carrots. Often people will bring sides to a clambake, such as green salads, potato salad, pasta salad, seasonal fruit (strawberries, watermelon) or other picnic type food
Hamburger – Germanic originally. Sliders were invented by White Castle and US Sailors called them “sliders” because they slide down easy and were greasy.
New Orleans – Blackened fish (dipped in melted butter and very spicy cajun spices and blackened on a cast iron pan). Drinks – Sazerac (official drink of New Orleans), Vieux Carre (means French Quarter, oldest signature drink of New Orleans)
Smoothies – Started in the 1920s in New Orleans and California (smoothie king and jamba juice)
NYC – Cupcakes – Popular among bakeries because they cook fast and popular among people for comfort food post-9/11
Wisconsin – Cheese curds
Missouri – Gooey Butter Cake (St Louis)
Cheese dogs – Chicago
Philly Cheesesteak – Pat’s in Philadelphia, instead of hot dogs, tried making a sliced rib-eye sandwich with cooked onions in an italian roll.
Fajitas – “Faja” means strip (cheap) cut of beef. Texmex (Texas Mexican), grilled skirt steak in a wheat flour tortilla appearing in 1975. In the 1940s, Mexican ranch workers tenderized the skirt steak by pounding and marinating it in lime juice before cooking it over open fire and serving with wheat tortilla and condiments.
Shrimp and Grits – The crops the British brought over didn’t fare well. The Native Americans taught the British companion farming – specifically crops that worked well in America – corn squash, beans, which are also referred to as the three sisters. Corn grows in cornstalks which allow beans to grow up them. Beans adds nitrogen into the soil. And squash has prickly leaves and adds moisture. Corn can be ground into grits, and ground further into polenta, then ground further into cornmeal then finally into corn flour. Grits can be boiled and get creamy when cooked as long as possible. English diets consisted of heavy dishes with lots of starches and proteins (bangers mash, fish chips, meat potatoes, shepherds pie). This is how shrimp and grits was born – starchy grits and fishermen caught American shrimp which were smaller and sweeter, creating a poor man’s two ingredient English breakfast. Hominy is corn treated with lime to remove the hull.

🇨🇦 Canada

Icewine – The Germans invented it (eiswein) and brought it to Canada – but in Canada it’s colder so they can make icewine ever year and also achieve creamier texture. The thicker grape skin allows it to stay on the vine longer without rotting, and it is harvested while frozen on the vine (-8 or colder). The grape is frozen and thawed repeatedly – the sugar molecules polymerize and get more concentrated and sweeter. Only 1 drop per grape is collected and the window of picking can be 1 to 14 hours long, so they must have a lot of people on standby to pick them either at night or early in the morning.
Poutine – Poutine means “mess” in Quebecois slang. Name possibly refers to “boudin” sausage’s the pudding-like filling (pudding is also an English word that also comes from “boudin”). French fries, squeeky and soft cheese curds (but not melted) topped with gravy invented in Quebec.
Nanaimo Bars
Butter tart – similar to a pecan pie without the nut topping and runnier due to not using corn starch, also does not have flour with Sugar Pie has flour
Pies – Bakeapple (Cloudberry), Saskatoon (similar to blueberries), Sugar
Lumberjack Breakfast – eggs, assorted fried pork strips/slabs/slices, and flapjacks

🇮🇸 Iceland

Hotdogs made from mostly lamb, particularly at the most famous stand Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur which translates to “best hot dogs in town”. Usually ordered with everything – which includes rémoulade (mayonnaise with finely chopped pickles) and fried onions

🇧🇷 Brazil

Brazilian food was possibly developed around the campfire with the multiple peoples resisting the Portuguese – Africans brought over as slaves, also people from Holland, French, and natives.
Botecos – Casual outdoor bars usually with food
Pão de queijo – Breaded cheese balls – crunchy on the outside, soft on in the inside. Similar to gougeres, except made with tapioca flour and minas cheese instead of wheat flour and gruyere.
Guaraná Antártica – soda
Coxinha de frango – Crispy croquette. Named after a chicken drumstick, usually filled with spicy chicken
Brigadeiro – Truffle chocolate balls
Feijoada – National dish, bean stew with pork and beef, similar to the French Cassoulet
Pastel (pasteis for plural) – Portuguese word for pastry (many of which are like a fried empanada usually), comes in a variety of fillings
Picanha – A unique beef cut. Other countries don’t cut it separately. It is the rump cap.
Moqueca de peixe – Brazilian seafood (fish) stew
Escondidinho – Brazilian shepherd’s pie / casserole
Espetinho – skewered street meats
Acaraje – Afro-Bahia dish of ground beans and shrimp patties fried in dende (palm) oil, served as a sandwich with shrimp and veggies inside
Tapioca crepes

🇵🇪 Peru

Lomo Saltado – perfectly seasoned steak, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. Make it a montado with a big fried egg and some parsley on top.
Anticuchos – Popular within the Incan Empire as “meat and flame”, the Spanish conquistadors invaded and brought skewers over with them. Slaves were mostly fed offal (meat spare parts), so now anticuchos refers to skewered beef hearts.
Aji de Gallina
Ceviche – National dish. So famous that the country has a holiday to celebrate it on June 28. Raw fish with a lime marinade. Served within minutes of being prepared because freshness is key. Traditionally sea bass, sole in Lima.

🇧🇿 Belize

Carrot based habanero hot sauce that they put on everything – Marie Sharp’s

🇦🇷 Argentina

Fernet Branca and Coke is the country’s unofficial drink – consuming 75% of all fernet (particularly Zanto Fernet) and making the country a large consumer of coca cola.
Asado – Barbeque cooked over a stick, families do this once a week
Choripan – “chorizo (sausage) + pan (bread)” – Sausage sandwich topped with a garlicky chimichurri sauce

🇻🇪 Venezuela / 🇨🇴 Colombia / 🇬🇹 Guatemala / 🇭🇳 Honduras

Arepa – Cornmeal (ground maize) traditional bread, stuffed with meat or sweet fillings. Used as the bread in a sandwich in Venezuela, but eaten by itself or with toppings (such as an onion-based sauce called hogao) in Colombia.
Hot chocolate – eaten with an arepa for breakfast in Colombia
Chuchito – Similar to a Mexican tamale – shredded meat and vegetables stuffed in a boiled, ground corn
Baleada — Honduras’ street food staple. Instead of everything corn in Central America, this is made with wheat flour. Stuffed with cheese, beans, eggs, and/or various meats

🇸🇻 El Salvador

Pupusa – Stuffed corn tortillas, filled with refried red beans, cheese and some chicharron (salty pork)

🇨🇱 Chile

Pastel de choclo – Casserole – “corn pie”, combines the cultures of the native people (South American corn) and the Spanish conquistadors (ground beef)
Completo – hot dog, completo italiano has pesto and mayo has toppings

🇧🇴 Bolivia

Api con Pastel – Bolivians start their day with a breakfast of api – sweet drink of red boiled corn, and pastel which is a large fried dough pastry with cheese in the center, covered in powdered sugar
Saltena – Fried pockets similar to empanadas – filled with chicken, ground beef, a boiled egg, herbs, and an olive

🇭🇹 Haiti

Mayi moulen kole ak legim – cornmeal, beans and vegetable stew. For a change from all the fried food e.g. plaintains, pork, potatoes etc.

🇲🇹 Malta

Qassatat – pastry (or pastizzi) that are round with a whole at the top so you can see the fillings – such as either peas or ricotta or spinach

West Africa / 🇳🇬 Nigeria / 🇬🇭 Ghana

Jollof Rice – A one pot dish
🇺🇬 Uganda – Kikomando – beans mixed with slices of chapat

🇿🇦 South Africa

Bobotie – Casserole of curried meat and fruit with a creamy, egg-based golden topping
Madagascar – Mofo – Spiced beignet fritters or pakoras. Such as mofo anana (“leafy green bread”) that are mofo filled with leafy green strips and spices.
Bunny chow – Hollowed out piece of plain, white sandwich bread stuffed with chicken or mutton curry

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Coffee – Coffee was born here, and coffee ceremonies take 20 minutes but well worth the wait!

🇯🇲 Jamaica

Jerk chicken or oxtail – Jerk marinade is made with allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers, and named from the Peruvian word “charqui” for dried strips of meat. Also blackened by being cooked over green pimento wood over charcoal.
Oxtail stew
“Festival” – sweetened bread that’s a common late-night snack for its ability to right a stomach full of rum

Caribbean / 🇧🇸 Bahamas

Johnny cake – a fried snack made with corn meal. Sometimes used as sandwich bread such as with fried fish in between.
Fried conch

Miscellaneous

Toast invented to make use of stale bread and also to make it firm enough to spread on (butter, jam, savory foods)
Gros Michel banana was brought from Southeast Asia to Central America and exported to Europe and North America, until Panama disease struck. The Cavendish variety is now the grown variety, resistant to the disease.

Cross Reference Dictionary of Similar Dishes

Pizza (Italy) = Khachapuuri (Georgia) = Flammkuchen (Germany)
Canederli In Brodo (Italy) = Matzah Ball Soup (Jewish)
Lasagna (Italy) = Pastitsio (Greece)
Champagne (France) = Prosecco (Italy) = Cava (Spain)
Pastis (France) = Arak (Middle East) = Absinthe (Switzerland)
Palm Wine = Toddy (Malaysia, Sri Lanka) = Emu (Nigeria) = Lambanog (Phillipines)
Fortified Wines – Marsala (Sicily, Italy) = Porto (Oporto, Portugal) = Sherry (Jerez de la Frontera, Spain) = Madeira (Madeira) = Vermouth (Piedmont, Italy)

Vegetables / Fruit / Grain History and Popularity

Kale
Quinoa – Dietary staple in the Andes (cereal-like seed), and grown in small quantities in Colorado. Oprah popularized it in 2008, cooking it with mushrooms for her 21-day cleanse diet.
Acai berries
Goji berries
Pitaya / Dragonfruit
Spinach, Eggplant, Sugar Cane, Pasta – Arabs (specifically from Libya) brought these around the 9th century to the Mediterranean basin via their conquests