What International Foods Have You Tried ?

[StarSong]

I've eaten and enjoyed sushi and sashimi dozens of times, but stopped indulging after adopting a whole food plant based diet.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

How does everyone feel about Fish Sushi, I would be concern about getting sick, it needs to be refresh, even then...

Chris, sushi is something I never thought I'd eat but I've had it twice. When I flew down to Washington DC to visit my friend in her new apartment (same one I went to the Indian restaurant with), she suggested we get something from a sushi place she liked. I agreed because I'd heard so much about sushi and was curious. A couple of decades later, my sister and I went to a restaurant that among other things had a sushi bar. They make it look so pretty that I decided to try a couple of things. Neither experience was a bad one but these days, so much is being said about how polluted our waters have become, I decided not to eat sushi again.

 

[Lethe200]

There’s nothing really distinctive about Canadian cuisine. Mostly meat and potatoes as the base. Now with many nationalities moving to Canada, we have lots of variety for ethnic food. This is a huge generalization re most mom & pop restaurants, they’re often owned by oriental folks. We’re lucky they brought these skills.

Some of us would call Poutine Canadian cuisine. Not me. Yuck.

Oh, thank you - some of the restaurants here make a big thing of poutine, and it is one of those dishes whose appeal has always escaped me.

I mean, it's a fair amount of trouble to make really GREAT, crispy, perfect French fries......so why would you want to turn them soggy and make them taste greasy? I love frites, and I love braised meats of any cuisine, but I just don't want to smash them all together.

The Peruvians do a similar dish to poutine - lomo saltado, served with rice on the side. Can't do that one, either.

 

[Marie5656]

While in Disney World (of all places) I was at EPCOT, in the China land. I ate at a very traditional Chinese restaurant, meaning not the Americanized Chinese dishes we are used to. Took me a while to decide what I wanted, at it was different than what I used to. Forget what I chose (this was over 25 years ago) but I liked it. Have also eaten non Taco Bell Mexican in Mexico.
It is amazing how different "real" international food is, from what we may be used to.

 

[Gary O']

What International Foods Have You Tried ?​

I've mentioned loving Mexican food;

I could eat several plates of their authentic rice and beans in one sitting

Heh, I have

 

[StarSong]

Oh, thank you - some of the restaurants here make a big thing of poutine, and it is one of those dishes whose appeal has always escaped me.

I mean, it's a fair amount of trouble to make really GREAT, crispy, perfect French fries......so why would you want to turn them soggy and make them taste greasy? I love frites, and I love braised meats of any cuisine, but I just don't want to smash them all together.

The Peruvians do a similar dish to poutine - lomo saltado, served with rice on the side. Can't do that one, either.

I had to look up poutine (thanks for the assistance, duckduckgo.com). Wouldn't be my cup of tea either.

 

[Cameron]

Up until i was about 30 I pretty much ate north american. With the off local chinese place, italian etc but nothing out of the normal and most of that food was catering to north american tastes. I then , having the travel bug, backpacked through south america and had to get used to the food in ecuador, peru, boliva , chile, argentina and brazil. Always remember the rich flavours. Hot spices to the point i was melting. A roasted guiena pig, in ecuador, meat pastries in peru. Loved the all meat places in argentina and brazil, waiters constantly bringing different cuts of meat to you. A few yrs later backpacking in asia I tried most foods stalls at train stations. Loved the noodle dishes. Lots of interesting things I had no idea what i was eating though ! after a walk in a local market where there were caged kittens, dogs, monkey etc to buy for food...kind leaned vegetarian for a while. Although will never forget asking for a chicken dish in a small village and shortly saw the chef chasing a chicken with a meat cleaver. Love indian food. My ex was from Hungary and her mom taught me a few recipes and am addicted to cabbage rolls ever since

 

[StarSong]

It is amazing how different "real" international food is, from what we may be used to.

So true. I had an Indian neighbor for couple of years. He invited my husband and I over for a feast of a meal (though for them it was a typical Sunday dinner) with his extended family. The food was beyond divine. So much better than any Indian food I'd ever been served in a restaurant.
My daughter-in-law's parents were both born in Korea. The traditional foods my DIL serves and teaches me to make are so delicious - every ingredient at its peak of freshness and appetizing to the eye as well as the palate.

The timing of immigration waves also factors in. For instance, the great immigration wave from Italy > US occurred 1880-1920. Most modern American versions of Italian food are still pretty close replicas of that era and the next couple of decades (Depression cooking) despite Italy's cuisine evolving considerably during the intervening 140 years. Italian food in Italy has noticeably less meat and cheese, is more lightly spiced and carries less sauce than Italian-American foods.

 

[asp3]

When my wife and I have traveled more recently (last 5 to 8 years) we like to take food tours to taste some of the local foods that are chosen to be highlighted. My favorite tours were in Phnom Penh and Amsterdam. The one in Phnom Penh was the most interesting and different and included some insect dishes as well more familiar dishes. Another good and interesting tour was in Casablanca.

Unlike @hollydolly I've had authentic Indian food in India that was hot. We used to have what they call "home cooking" meals brought into the office I was working in Bangalore, India. I was the lone non Indian in the office while I was there and their lunch providers prepared the food the way they normally would. I loved those meals and have found a few places here in the Silicon Valley area that have similar food.

My favorite regional foods are Ethiopian and southern Indian dishes. I also love Japanese, Thai and Korean dishes. I love spicy dishes but also enjoy more elegant and refined dishes as well. I generally don't enjoy lesser used animal parts (brains, glands, chicken feet, etc...) but have tried some I like.