Eating good food from best tasting cuisines from across the world is a great way to get a good head start on your day. Food is an essential part of our lives and people across the globe have access to most world cuisines right from their own homeland. The point that may interest many is the world cuisines taste different from country to country. A local flavor tuned to the tastes of the regional people always takes precedence over the original country specific cuisine. The following is a list of top world cuisines with their popular food items which are liked by many people from across the globe.
Thailand
Thai cuisine uses strong aromatic components and has a spicy edge to all its dishes. Thai people were migrants from Southern China and with them they brought a strong influence of Chinese flavors to Thai Cuisine and so it’s not surprising to see the same popular Chinese items like Noodles, dumplings in Thai cuisine too, Pad Thai is national dish of Thailand. Apart from China Thai food is also influenced by kitchens of Malaysia and Myanmar. The use of shredded coconut and coconut milk in some dishes distinguish it from other similar cuisines. Some most relished Thai items are
- Tom Yam goong
- Som Tam
- Salty massaman curry
- Green curry
- Thai fried rice
- Chicken satay
- Mu nam tok
Mexico
Like the cuisines from India, Japan and China, Mexican cuisine is also complex. This cuisine has a strong Spanish influence, corn or maize is the staple food of Mexicans which is used for tortillas, enchiladas and quesadillas. Mexican cuisine uses ingredients like zucchini, cauli flower, potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, avacadoes, beans, canned, cheeses, chipotles, crema, limes and oregano in most of their dishes.
Different types of famous Mexican food are
- Carne Adobada- meat or chicken marinated in adoba sauce
- Gorditas- small cake made with corn flour and stuffed with cheese
- Tacos- use tortillas as a wrap stuffed with meat, chicken or sea food fillings
- Quesadillas-a corn or wheat tortilla filled with meat and grilled
- Enchilaadas are rolled tortillas stuffed with chicken pork or vegetables and baked
- Famous Mexican Drinks
- Tepache, a pineapple juice
- Tuba, a fermented juice from coconut tree
- Pulque, ferment made from Malguey plant
- Tequila
United States
Something peculiar about US is most of the regional food has origins from other countries. For instance the highly rated US Pizza has its roots from Italy, fries from Belgium or Dutch, Hamburgers and Frankfurters from Germany. These food items have been improvised in the kitchens of the US with a touch of an American flavor for the Americans. American fast food is considered unhealthy and junk by most critics across the world mainly for over processed foods like KFC, Twinkies and Hostess cakes.
Popular US food items are:
- Cheese burger
- Chocolate chip cookie
Spain
The most well known bar food in Spain is Tapas. Tapas are small portions of food, eaten before the main meal. Spanish cooking varies from region to region: Galicia is famous for its seafood including baby eels Vizcayan style codfish, Catalonia is renowned for meat and vegetable casseroles, Valencia is famous for Paella (Spanish rice dish) and Andalusia is famous for gazpacho (cold soup). Pork, chicken and beef are the most preferred meats. Spain has a relaxed attitude of alcohol consumption and you must sample their world famous fortified Sherry wine when you visit Spain.
Other popular Spanish food items are:
- Jamon Iberico
- Churros , a sweet fried dough
- Tinto de Verano, a red wine mixed with a fizzy lemonade
- Cocido, a fragrant and rich chickpea and meat stew popular in Madrid
India
Indian cuisine is popular across the globe for being very spicy in nature. India’s regional cuisines are so diverse that it has an endless list to it! Regional cuisines in India are dominated mainly by the culinary arts of Kashmir, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Goa and Kerala.
- Famous Kashmiri dishes include Mutton Rogan Josh and Dum Aloo
- Lucknowi and Hyderabadi schools of culinary art have always been fighting neck to neck. Both the cuisines are highly influenced by Islamic styles of cooking with different cooking techniques. For instance the Hyderabadi style uses the kacchi style to cook chicken biryani in dum (a special utensil to cook biryani). In the kacchi style the marinade of raw meat is placed at the bottom of the utensil used for preparing the dish and half cooked rice is layered above it and sealed for cooking in low flame while lucknowi culinary art uses pakki style to cook chicken biryani. In this style the half cooked meat and uncooked rice are cooked in a utensil with proportionate water and spices. That said, both the cuisines are a favorite among the people.
- Goan cuisine is mainly famous for sea food with influences from Portugese settlers and is often characterized by the use of Red wine in its dishes.
- Kerala has carved a niche for itself as the country’s most popular south Indian cuisine, mainly dominated by the use of coconut in its dishes.
France
French cuisine is delectable and the French believe in the importance of good food and use sophisticated methods to cook food. The most intriguing thing is the French dedicate long hours for meals and eat full meals usually consisting of several courses that include bread, cream sauces, dessert and wine. The famous foods of the French are:
- Baguette, French bread
- Baguette sandwich
- Croque-Monsieur, ham and cheese sandwich
- Mousse au Chocolat, chocolate dessert
- Macarons
- Escargot, delectable French dish made from garden pests
Japan
Rice is the most important ingredient of Japanese cuisine. Despite the recent decrease in rice consumption in Japan due to changing eating patterns of the Japanese people, rice still remains one of the most important ingredients of Japan. Some popular rice and seafood dishes from this delectable cuisine are:
- Rice Bowl
- Donburi
- Rice balls
- Kare Raisu
- Sushi
- Sashmi
