Trifter

ach country has its own unique and popular dish. Want to try foreign dishes? Here are some of the most popular dishes from Europe, Africa, North & South America, Africa, Australia & Oceania, and Asia. Pick your choice. (Photos courtesy of Wikipedia)

Jannson’s Frestelse – Sweden

Jannson’s Frestelse or Jannson’s Temptation is an onion and anchovy mixture layered in between this slices of potato to make this popular Swedish dish. Fresh cream is poured on the top and the pie is baked until it is golden brown.

Danish Pastries – Denmark

These sweet rolls are rich, flaky, and often iced. The Danes eat them at anytime of the day, but particularly at midmorning with cups of strong coffee. Delicious Danish pastries have become popular in many parts of the world.

Irish Stew – Ireland

Ireland’s best-known dish is a stew from lamb or mutton. It is simmered in hot water with potatoes, onions, carrots, leeks, and pearl barley. Potatoes have been a staple food in Ireland since 1800s. Irish stew is traditionally served with dumplings made from suet.

Wurst – Germany

Wurst means sausage, and Germany is said to have over 1,500 different kinds. Every region has its specialty, often sold as snacks on the street with a roll and a large dollop of mustard.

• Bratwurst is long and served grilled.
  • Weisswurst is boiled and
  • Frankfurters are named after the city they came from – Frankfurt

Fundue – Switzerland

Fundue is a famous Swiss dish made with melted cheese. Cheeses such as Gruyene and Emmental, produced on Swiss dairy farms, are heated in a pot and flavored with garlic, pepper, white wine, and kirsch (cherry liqueur). Fresh bread is dipped into the hot cheese using forks.

Quiche Lorraine – France

Quiche Lorraine consist of a shell of crisp pastry, filled with beaten eggs, cream cheese, seasoning, and chopped bacon. The tart is baked for 45 minutes in the oven until it is golden brown. This is a traditional dish from Lorraine, a region in northeastern France. French cuisine is thought by many people to be the finest in the world.

Paella – Spain

Paella is rice flavored with saffron, garlic and herbs. It is mixed with seafood, chicken or ham, and vegetables. This popular dish is named after the large shallow pan in which it is usually cooked. It comes from southwestern Spain.

Spaghetti Bolognese- Italy

This dish from Bologna mixes spaghetti with a meat and tomato sauce. Spaghetti is just one form of pasta. Each region of Italy has its own favorite types of pasta and its own special sauces.

Greek Salad – Greece

Greek salad is made with tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, and cubes of feta, a crumbly white goats’ cheese. It is sprinkled with herbs and olive oil. Crusty bread and Greek wine called retsina often accompany this traditional dish.

Goulash – Hungary

Goulash is Hungary’s national dish. This rich stew is made with meat, onions, and potatoes. It is often served with noodles and slices of black bread. Goulash is flavored with paprika, sour cream, mushrooms, cabbage, or peas may be added according to the preference of the cook.

Tagine of Lamb – Morocco

To make a tagine, lamb is stewed gently with pumpkin, raisins, and chilies. This is served with either rice or couscous (tiny grains of wheat). Sugar and fruit, as well as strongly flavored spices, are added to many Moroccan meat dishes.

Couscous – Tunisia

Tunisia is famous for its couscous dishes. Couscous is made from wheat that has been pounded into fine grains. It is steamed until it is fluffy and served with either stewed lamb or vegetables. The Arabic name for it (kuskus) comes from the word kaskasa or “to pulverize”.

Kyinkyinga – Mali

Kyinkyinga are a type of kabob sold by street vendors all across West Africa. On the skewers are pieces of green pepper and meat flavored with ginger and peanut sauce.

Okra Stew – Ghana

Okra stew is a popular West Africa vegetable. When cooked and used in soups and stews, it becomes smooth and sticky. In Ghana it is cooked with prawns, fish, meat and vegetables such as eggplants and tomatoes.

Chin Chin – Nigeria

Chin chin are small pastries flavored with sugar and spices. Green or pink food coloring is sometimes added. They are a popular party snack, enjoyed with palm wine. Chin chin may also be served at weddings and birthday feasts.

Beg Wot – Ethiopia

Beg wot is a thick stew made with red meat, tomatoes, and chili peppers. It is ringed with aubergine slices and served with green basil leaves on a bed of injera bread. This slightly sour tasting flat bread is used as both a food and a communal plate.

N’Dizi Na Nyama – Tanzania

N’Dizi Na nyama is a tasty stew made from beef, coconut milk, tomatoes, and unripe bananas or plantains. Bananas are widely grown in Tanzania and are often used in cooking.

Jambalaya – USA

Made up of leftover, jambalaya mixes ingredients such as rice, shrimp, green peppers, and fiery spices. It is a recipe from New Orleans that blends French and African cookery.

Tortillas – Mexico

Tortillas have been a basic food for the majority of Mexicans since before the time of the Aztec civilization. These thin pancakes are made from corn or wheat flour. They can be eaten plain or as part of tacos (a fried tortilla stuffed with a meat or cheese filling). They are also served as enchiladas (rolled tacos covered with a hot sauce).

Hallacas – Venezuela

Hallaca is a traditional Christmas dish. It is an envelope of corn flour pastry filled with a meat stew. The filled pastry is then wrapped up in plantain leaves and cooked in boiling water. It is usually eaten with ham and bread.

Borscht – Russia

Borscht is a classic Russian soup. There are many different recipes, but one brightly colored favorite has beets as its main ingredient. This dish is eaten cold in summer and hot in winter. Sometimes meat or mushrooms from the woods are added. Barley is also used to thicken it.

Hummus – Syria

Hummus is a spread made from crushed, shelled chickpeas. The spread is often mixed with tahini, a toasted sesame seed paste. Flavored with garlic, lemon juice, and salt, hummus with tahini has a delicious nutty taste. Syrians eat it with flat bread and olives.

Falafel – Israel

Falafels are little round patties made of chickpeas. They are deep-fried to a crisp golden brown. Israelis often eat them on their own as a snack. Alternatively, they can form part of a meal, stuffed into pita bread with a crunchy salad of cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and hot chili pepper. Falafels are sold from stalls on many busy Israel streets.

Klaicha – Iraq

Klaicha, small pastries stuffed with dates and dusted with sugar, are a popular food in Iraq. Date palms are widely grown here. Dates are not just used in sweet dishes. Various Iraqi favorites combine dates or some other fruit with meat.

Stuffed Quinces – Iran

These quinces are stuffed with ground meat and spiced with cinnamon. Apples are sometimes used instead of quinces. Fruit and meat are often eaten together in Iran. Mixing sweet and sour flavors started with the Persians.

Prawn Balls – Saudi Arabia

Prawn balls are flavored with the spices coriander and turmeric. They are eaten with a tamarind sauce which is both bitter and sweet. Delicate spicy foods like this have cooling effect in the searing heat of Saudi Arabia. The prawn balls are served with rice which is eaten at most Saudi meals.

Jalebi – India

Jalebi are sticky, orange-colored Indian candy. They are made of twisted strands of batter. These strands are first deep-fried i9n pans of hot oil. Then they are dunked in syrup that has been flavored with saffron. Jalebi are made and sold in restaurants or on the streets. They can be eaten either hot or cold.

Htamin Le Thoke – Myanmar

Htamin le thoke consists of small dishes of leftovers such as rice, onions, potatoes, noodles and spinach. Tamarind juice is poured over the top. This juice comes from the pods of the tamarind tree, which contain a reddish sweet-and-sour pulp.

Chow Mein – China

Chow mein is a very popular main course in southern China. It consists of egg noodles that are stir-fried with vegetables and shredded chicken or other meat. The dish is flavored with sesame oil. Chinese cooking varies greatly from region to region, but noodles are eaten almost everywhere.

Sushi – Japan

Sushi is a favorite snack food in Japan. Slices of very fresh, raw fish, prawns, pickled vegetables, or foods wrapped in seaweed are laid on carefully molded mounds of rice. The rice is flavored with vinegar. Although the ingredients are simple, a skillful chef makes sushi beautiful to look at as well as good to eat.

Chicken Satay – Malaysia

Small pieces of chicken or other meat are skewered and barbecued over glowing charcoal to make satay. The dish is flavored with spices and served with a hot peanut sauce. It is often eaten with sliced cucumbers, onions, and ketupat (boiled rice wrapped in palm leaves).

Unu Bona Boroma – Papua New Guinea

Unu bona boroma is a dish consisting of boiled, sliced breadfruit in a sauce of fried bacon, onions, and chicken stock. Breadfruit (unu) is extremely popular fruit throughout the south Pacific.

Lamingtons – Australia

Lamington, a tasty snack, are squares of cake coated in chocolate and coconut. Most Australian food is based on recipes brought by settlers from Europe.

Baked Kumaras – New Zealand

Kumaras (sweet potatoes) are a traditional Maori food. They are baked in their jackets and taste delicious served with sizzling pork and apple, or with lamb. Kumaras may also be boiled, roasted, fried, or scallop (sliced, seasoned, and slowly cooked in milk).

Adobo – Philippines

Adobo is the traditional and most popular dish in the Philippines. Sliced pork or other meat are sautéed with garlic and onions and seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar. Pepper, pimiento and laurel leaf are also added to make it taste more delicious and spicy. It is usually served with rice, the staple food of Filipinos.

There are still other popular dishes from different countries of the world. Watch out for more.

For related articles see

12 Vitamin Rich Exotic Fruits from the Philippines And Other Tropical Areas

Famous Culinary Uses of Cassava in the Philippines

The 17 Most Popular Exotic Foods in the Philippines

Chicken: A Miracle Food

 Popular Culinary Uses of Rice in the Philippines