international cuisines - notes for 111 sem BHM

FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTION

INTERNATIONAL CUISINES FOR 111 SEMESTER 2007

SPANISH CUISINE

INTRODUCTION

History and geography have interwined to create one of the most varied and rewarding cuisines in the world.
Located in southwestern Europe, Spain is the third largest European country. It controls the crossroads between two seas -- the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is exceptionally mountainous and climatically it is much drier than the rest of Europe. The landscape ranges from arid mountain pasture to lush orchards and meadows, from magnificent coasts to rural or sophisticated towns.
Spain's location and the mineral wealth of its sub-soil have exercised an attraction for many people, especially foreign political and ethnic interests. Thus, its ethnic and cultural heritage is complex. It is an area of Europe much fought over and invaded.
It's history began with Phoenician, Greek, and Carthaginian coastal settlements. Later the Romans, and more importantly the Moors, brought with them elements of their own cooking which lingered and blended with Spain's culinary heritage. Imports from the New World included the tomato, potato, sweet potato, vanilla, chocolate, many varieties of beans, zucchini, and the pepper tribe. There are olives in profusion, vineyards and citrus fruit. Spaniards are very fond of garlic, they love all types of sweet and hot peppers and their beloved jamon serrano -- cured ham. The golden spice saffron enhances many Spanish foods, paella in particular. Spain's most famous wine -- sherry, both dry and sweet -- flavors entrees and desserts.

Spanish life-style is vastly different from Americans'. A typical dining pattern involves a light breakfast at 8 a.m.; a mid-morning breakfast at 11 a.m.; tapas at 1 p.m. with a three-course lunch following at 2 to 3 p.m.; a merienda for tea and pastries or a snack at 5 to 6 p.m.; evening tapas at 8 p.m. or later, and a three-course supper at 10 p.m. The two main meals of the day -- la comida, or lunch, and la cena, dinner -- are no less opulent because of in-between snacks.


THE SPANISH GASTRONOMY
One of Spain’s greatest attractions is, without any doubt, its cuisine, which is one of the best in the world for both quality and variety. Accurately speaking, one cannot talk of a national cuisine but rather of a multiplicity of regional cuisines influenced in each case by the climate and local way of life.
Spanish cuisine is distinguished by the traditional use of olive oil as the vegetable- and lard as the animal fat in the preparation of dishes, as well as the inclusion of a wide variety of fruit and vegetables introduced by Moorish culture, plus other ingredients, such as the potato and tomato imported from the New World.
Spanish cuisine consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep Mediterranean roots. Spain's extensive history with many cultural influences has led to a unique cuisine with literally thousands of recipes and flavors.
Then again, the considerable development in Spanish cooking in recent years has also been due to the emergence of a clutch of first-class chefs who have successfully managed to reinterpret traditional dishes and recipes in tune with present times, endowing Spanish cuisine with a new dimension in presentation and flavour.
Main Components of Spanish Cuisine
A significant portion of Spanish cuisine derives from the Jewish and Moorish traditions. The Moors were a strong influence in Spain for many centuries and some of their food is still eaten in Spain today. However, pork is popular and for centuries eating pork was also a statement of Christian ethnicity or limpieza de sangre, because it was not eaten by Jews or Muslims. Several native foods of the Americas were introduced to Europe through Spain, and a modern Spanish cook couldn't do without potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or beans. These are some of the primary influences that have differentiated Spanish cuisine from Mediterranean cuisine, of which Spanish cuisine shares many techniques and food items.
The essential ingredient for real Spanish cooking is olive oil; Spain produces 44% of the world's olives.
Daily meals eaten by the Spanish in many areas of the country are still very often made traditionally by hand, from fresh ingredients bought daily from the local market. This practice is more common in the rural areas and less common in the large urban areas like Madrid, where supermarkets are beginning to displace the open air markets. However, even in Madrid food can be bought from the local shops, bread from the panadería, meat from the carnicería, etc.
Traditional Spanish cooking also often revolves around outdoor cooking over a fire, perhaps in a special clay or brick oven.
One popular custom when going out is to be served tapas with a drink (sherry, wine, beer, etc.). In some places, like Granada, tapas are given for free with a drink and have become very famous for that reason. It should be noted that almost every tapas bar serves something edible when a drink is ordered, without charge.
Another traditional favorite is the churro with a mug of thick hot chocolate to dip the churro in. Churrerías, or stores that serve churros, are quite common. The Chocolatería de San Ginés in Madrid is especially famous as a place to stop and have some chocolate with churros, often late into the night (even dawn) after being out on the town. Often traditional Spanish singers will entertain the guests. [1]
As is true in many countries, the cuisines of Spain differ widely from one region to another, even though they all share certain common characteristics, among which are:
• The use of olive oil as a cooking fat, as well as raw, in items such as fritters.
• The use of sofrito to start the preparation of many dishes.
• The use of garlic and onions as major seasonings.
• The custom of drinking wine during meals.
• Serving bread with the vast majority of meals.
• Consumption of salads, especially in the summer.
• The consumption of a piece of fruit or a dairy product as dessert. Desserts such as tarts and cakes are typically reserved for special occasions.
Spanish food is not spicy, and in fact, many Spaniards find even common black pepper too hot for their palate.
Foods of the Spaniards
Spanish may be their common language, but don't expect the foods of Spain to be like Mexican or South American. You won't find tortillas, salsa or chilies. According to Mendel, the following foods are the hallmarks of Spanish cooking.
Ham -- Spain has a special ham, jamon serrano, which means "mountain" ham because it is frequently made in mountain regions where cold winters and hot summers contribute to the curing process. These hams are salt-cured, not smoked. Serrano ham, if made from the native Iberian pig, which is fed on acorns, is called jamon iberico or papa negra, "black hoof." Iberico ham, in my opinion, is one of seven wonders of the food world, far surpassing prosciutto.
Olives -- Seville Manzanilla green olives, whole or stuffed, are the best known because they are widely exported in tins and jars. They are big and meaty, with a fine texture. Most prevalent in Spain are home-cured olives. These are usually cracked, but not stoned, slightly bitter, flavored with garlic and lemon thyme, and kept in brine. They can be served as an aperitif or with a meal or used in cooking.
Olive oil -- Spain produces more olive oil than any other country. The oils vary considerably in color and flavor. Some are green, others golden. They have as many nuances of flavor as do fine wines. Olive oil is essential to Spanish cooking, and it is used in many desserts. Americans are finally learning to bypass butter at the table and enjoy bread dipped into olive oil, a healthful and delicious custom.
Garlic -- Ajo is used everywhere. Pickled, it is a robust appetizer. Find it minced raw in salads, lightly fried, sauteed or roasted in savory dishes.
Peppers -- Pimientos are widely used in Spanish cooking. You'll find both red and green bell peppers, the prized red piquillo peppers of the Basque country that are often stuffed, and hot chilies both fresh and dried.
Saffron -- It takes the stigmas of 75,000 autumn-blooming crocuses to make a pound of this expensive spice, which is grown in La Mancha and Murcia. The orange-colored threads are steeped in a little water before being added to dishes such as paella.
Tomatoes -- Sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes are one of the glories of the Spanish summer. They go into salads, fresh tomato sauce and, of course, gazpacho, Spain's famous cold summer soup.
Sausages and pork -- A wide range of sausages is produced in Spain. Chorizo is probably the best known. Salchichon is a hard sausage similar to salami, lightly garlicky and studded with peppercorns. Salchicha is fresh pork sausage links; and sobrasada is a soft, spreadable sausage from Mallorca. Lomo embuchado is cured pork loin in sausage casing.
Fish and seafood -- Spain is a country with about 3,000 miles of coastline. Most of the coast is dotted with villages whose populations earn their living from the sea -- fishing, boat-building, canning and preserving. Fish and seafood is fried in olive oil, grilled over coals, or made into earthy soups and stews.
Nuts -- Almonds, walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts are often used in savory dishes to thicken and enrich sauces. Toasted almonds are a classic nibble with a glass of sherry.
Wine -- Rioja may be the most famous Spanish red wine. Red wine is tinto; white wine is blanco; rose is rosado. Sherry, produced in the area around Jerez, is one of the world's great wines. It is the perfect foil for shellfish, ham, nuts and tapa foods.
Tapas -- No, this isn't a solo food; it is a unique way of eating. Tapas are small portions of foods, both hot and cold, served in wine bars and taverns. With them, you drink dry Spanish sherry, wine, cider or beer. Tapas are always accompanied by olives, almonds and rustic bread, the better to mop up the sauces. Trust me, they are so varied and delicious, a tourist can spend a week in Spain tapa hopping, eating nothing but tapas for lunch and dinner.
Spain's culinary traditions rely on an abundance of locally grown vegetables and fruits as well as meats and poultry. Jamón serrano, a cured ham, and chorizo, a seasoned sausage, are popular. Seafood and fish are popular in coastal areas. Other popular foods are cheeses, eggs, beans, rice, nuts (especially almonds), and bread (a crusty white bread, baked fresh daily, is common). Olive oil and garlic are common ingredients. Spain is also known for its wines, including the rioja, made in the northern province; sherry, a fortified wine that may be dry or sweet; and sangria, wine mixed with fruit and soda water.
The best-known Spanish dish, a stew called paella (pie-AY-ah), originated in Valencia, an eastern province on the Mediterranean Sea. Rice, a main ingredient, is grown in Valencia's tidal flatlands. Though there are numerous variations, paella is usually made of a variety of shellfish (such as shrimp, clams, crab, and lobster), chorizo (sausage), vegetables (tomatoes, peas, and asparagus), chicken and/or rabbit, and long-grained rice. Broth, onion, garlic, wine, pimiento (sweet red pepper), and saffron add flavor to the stew.
Every region has its own distinct cuisine and specialties. Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, comes from Andalucía in southern Spain. Traditionally, a special bowl called a dornillo, was used to pound the ingredients by hand, but modern Spanish cooks use a blender. Andalusians also enjoy freidurías (fish, such as sole or anchovies, fried in batter). Cataluña (Catalonia), in northeastern Spain, is known for its inventive dishes combining seafood, meat, poultry, and local fruits. In the northern Basque country (país Vasco), fish is important to the diet, with cod, eel, and squid featured prominently. The signature dish of Asturias, in northwestern Spain, is fabada, a bean stew. In the interior regions, such as Castilla, meats play a starring role. Tortilla española, a potato omelet, is served throughout the country. It can be prepared quickly and makes a hearty but simple dinner. Spain's best-known dessert is flan, a rich custard.
Typical Spanish Dishes
Among the multitude of recipes that make up the varied cuisines of Spain, a few can be considered common to all or almost all of Spain's regions, even though some of them have an origin known and associated with specific places. Examples include the potato omelette ("tortilla de patata"), gazpacho, paella, stews, migas, sausages (such as embutidos, chorizo, and morcilla), jamón serrano, and cheeses. There are also many dishes based on beans (chickpeas, lentils, green beans); soups, with many regional variations; and bread, that has numerous forms, with distinct varieties in each region. The regional variations are less pronounced in Spanish desserts and cakes: flan, custard, rice pudding (arroz con leche), torrijas, churros, and madeleines are some of the most representative examples. Others include:
• Arroz a la Cubana
• Cocido (a chickpea and meat stew of sorts) Chorizo (spicy sausage)
• Chuletillas (grilled chops of milk-fed lamb)
• Gazpacho (cold bread and tomato soup)
• Fabada Asturiana (bean stew)
• Jamón serrano (cured ham)
• Lechazo asado (roasted milk-fed lamb)
• Mariscos (shellfish)
• Paella (saffron rice)
• Pescaito Frito, marinated battered fried fish, typical from Seville and Western Andalusia
• Tortilla de patatas or tortilla española (egg omelette with potatoes)
• Turrón, a dessert with almonds and honey, typical of Christmas
• Tortas de Aceite from Seville, a sweet Olive Oil pastry
A Glossary of Cooking Terms and Ingredients
The tapa tradition is as important for the conversation and company as for the delicious food. Every Spaniard has his favorite tasca, as the tapa bars are called, where he goes regularly to meet his friends or business acquaintances. Tapas will be found in even the smallest bar in a tiny village. The word tapa, meaning cover or lid, is thought to have originally referred to the complimentary plate of appetizers that many tascas, would place like a cover on one's wine glass. Tapas can vary from simple to complex and include cheese, fish, eggs, vegetable dishes, dips, canapes, and savory pastries. A quantity of tapas can make an excellent meal.
Olive oil is indispensable in preparing many of the recipes. Chorizo is the best-loved Spanish sausage and blood sausage is also popular throughout Spain. Vegetables are not overly favored, except for potatoes, which often come fried with an entree. Salads are served as first courses and are invariably offered undressed, accompanied by cruets of oil and vinegar.
Fish and bean soups can make a meal. Paellas provide colorful and festive dishes for a crowd. A beachside cafe is the place to find fine shellfish and tackle a tray of unshelled ultra-fresh crustaceans. Game birds have wide appeal in Spain. Baby lamb and pig have reached cult status and are often prepared in a woodburning oven with thyme, rosemary or oak for fragrance.
The Arabs and Moors left their influence in dessert making, introducing almonds, egg yolks, and honey. Orange and lemon zest also play a role in flavoring sweets. Ground almonds often replace flour in cake baking and beaten egg whites are invariably the leavening agent in cakes.
A panaderia sells bread, while a pasteleria provides sweet breads, pastries, cookies, and candies. A helageria dispenses ice cream and a bomboneria is a candy shop

REGIONAL CUISINES
While eating habits and hours are more or less uniform throughout Spain, the cooking can be quite different. Spain is sharply divided by regions, each with its own culinary traditions and dialects.
The northwestern area, Galicia, prominently displays its ancient Celtic heritage. Meat and fish pies are found here along with famed scallops and fine veal. Farther east along the coast, Asturias is known for its legendary bean dish, fabada, and a strong blue cheese, queso Cabrales. Hard cider is preferred as a drink.
The Basque country features fish dishes principally, such as fish soup, garlicky baby eels, squid, and a variety of dried cod dishes.
Cataluna is considered the most gastronomically distinctive and exciting region of Spain. Catalan cuisine is inventive with fish, such as mixed seafood zarzuela, meats or poultry, which are typically combined with local fruits. Valencia is a region of tidal flatlands and rice is prepared here in endless styles on a daily basis. Paella is the region's most famous dish. Andalucia to the south is a parched and arid region, best suited to grape vines and olive trees. Gazpacho is native to this area.

Cuisine in the Iberian peninsula echoes the cooking of the Middle East (honey and cumin) and that of the Americas (dishes combining meat with chocolate). Yet, essentially, it is family cooking, comparatively simple to prepare and characterized by fresh ingredients. Besides meat, poultry, game, and fish entrees, there are a wealth of dishes featuring beans, rice, eggs, vegetables, and savory pies that make a meal. Tapas -- small morsels or appetizers in great variety -- play a role in meals throughout the day.
Northern Cuisine
The north is a wet and rainy region which makes for a cuisine that is not only very tasty but varied as to both meat and fish.
The Basque Country leans towards seasonally-biased home-type cooking, with local specialities like marmitako (potatoes with bonito) and txangurro (clams and spider crab).
Asturias has a similar cuisine, though with local touches worthy of mention, such as the fabada (stew of haricot beans and pork), the regional cheeses and famed apple cider.
Cantabria offers diversity in a cuisine that blends sea and mountain, with top-quality ingredients, including beef, anchovies and dairy products.
Among the choice dishes of Galicia are the pote (potage made with ham bones, haricot beans and, depending on the chef, turnip tops), the caldeiradas (akin to bouillabaisse, but served in two parts: first the broth and only then, the fish), pulpo (octopus), dairy products and pastries.
Varied and delicious are the terms that define a cuisine that is simple, hearty and natural, that relies on the excellence of the local produce, and that is to be found in Aragon, La Rioja and Navarre. The fertile valleys across this belt of Spain are a paradise for fruit and vegetables, and the locally-grown asparagus, peppers, borage, cardos (cardoon - a celery-like vegetable), peaches and pears enjoy well-deserved fame for their superb quality. La Rioja, above all its international Rioja wines, as well as its vegetable soups, its pepper and its potato dishes (that dumbfounded even Paul Bocuse, so the story goes), are popular. Vegetable stews of Navarra, Tudela's lettuce hearts with anchovies, salmon, or a simple vinaigrette (oil, salt and vinegar); piquillo peppers, which are often stuffed with meat; trout a la Navarra (cooked stuffed with bacon and cheese), Roncal and Idiazabal cheeses and curd from Ultzama are popular.
Potatoes, cabbage hearts and platters of mixed vegetables or tender legumes, such as pochas (haricot beans allowed to ripen and swell in the pod) are starters or form the garnishing for dishes featuring trout from the nearby mountain streams and speciality meat marinades (chilindrones) and conserves (confits), a taste acquired from the French. Desserts, in which the stars are cheese, milk puddings (cuajada - curd) or fruit, either fresh, chocolate-coated or preserved in syrup, and a long tradition of fine breads, put the finishing touches to a highly-regarded cuisine.
Mediterranean Cuisine
The Mediterranean cuisine, associated with the famous Mediterranean diet that has been shown to be so beneficial for the health, is based on the "Holy Trinity" of wheat, the olive and the vine, with other important ingredients being: rice and legumes; garlic, greens and vegetables; cheese and yoghurt; fish, meat and eggs; and fruit. This is a school of cuisine which is as varied as it is complete, and which, in the Mediterranean areas of Spain, is interpreted with local differences and twists.
Ever since the Middle Ages, Catalonia has enjoyed a delicious and refined cuisine embracing plain, sea and mountain, a cuisine which on the coast has recourse to a wide array of fish, and inland, to typical dishes such as escudella (a meaty broth with pasta, usually followed by carne d'olla, a hearty stew) and roasts.
Great individuality and contrast likewise mark the Valencian cuisine, which combines typically Mediterranean dishes –fish, green vegetables and fruit– with those of the upland plateau, such as potages and game stews, and which assigns rice, served dry, moist or in paella, the leading role in an endless list of specialities. Sweetmeats, nougats (turrón) and ice creams keep the Arabic influence very much alive. Murcia too displays this same character, namely, a cuisine of the sea and of the land, shaped by the merging of cultures. Products of Murcia’s rich gardens, such as zarangollo; fish and lamb stews; and the wines of Jumilla are appreciable
Besides the fluffy pastries known as ensaimadas and the original and now world-famous mayonnaise (salsa mayonesa), Balearic Isle specialities rely on greens, fish (caldereta - sea-food stew) and pork (sobrasada - a spicy red sausage spread).
Meseta Cuisine
The cuisine on the Central Plateau is the product of a harsh climate that is unforgiving and demands hard and continuous toil.
In Castile & Leon the cooking is based on legumes: haricot beans (La Bañeza, El Barco), chickpeas (Fuentesaúco) and lentils (La Armuña). Pork which, in the case of the Iberian pig reared on acorns and chestnuts, attains a peak of quality and flavour, and game are also basic to the typical regional specialities (botillo, the mountain sausage from Leon, savoury bloodsausage or morcilla from Burgos, and the red Segovian sausage known as cantimpalo). Baby lamb, kid and sucking pig –deliciously roasted– are the star dishes, fish comes in the form of trout and cod, and there is a great variety of local cheeses made from goat’s, ewe’s or cow’s milk. Sweets and pastries, such as yemas (meltingly soft sweetmeats made from egg-yolk) and hojaldres (puff pastry), are in the most refined traditions of Arabic cuisine.
These same characteristics are also to be found in Extremadura, in a range of dishes and foodstuffs in which Iberian ham and pork reigns supreme. There are calderetas (stews) and cochifritos (lamb seasoned, garnished and casseroled in an earthenware dish), cold escabeches (marinades), wild vegetables (mushrooms, cardoons, leeks) and a wide choice of handmade cheeses to be had at the hearthsides of famous monasteries and convents (Guadalupe, Yuste, Alcántara) or in typical local eating houses. Extremadura patronises olla podrida (a rich stew of bacon, fowl, ham, meats, and vegetables), excellent embutidos of Iberian pork, cheeses (including the indispensable torta del casar, a close relative of the Portuguese queso da serra, one of the best of the world), pitarra wine.
The cuisine recreated in the story of Don Quixote of stockpot, salpicón (salmagundi) and duelos y quebrantos (a cattle-drover’s and shepherds’ dish, traditionally associated with St. Peter’s Day rivalry, consisting of a fry of eggs, bacon and brains, thought to be good by Sancho Panza and eaten by Don Quixote on Saturdays) serves to bring us to Castile-La Mancha, with its saffron, La Alcarria honey and Manchego (ewe’s milk) cheese. A country cuisine which in its gazpachos (not the better-known Andalusian gazpacho but a shepherd’s torta, a rough-and-ready dough made from flour, salt and water, eaten with game meat) and morteruelos (chopped pig’s liver braised with seasoning and breadcrumbs) retains the flavour of the old sheep-herding ways, and in its roasts (lamb, kid), the mouthwatering aroma of the hill country, rewarding the sweet-toothed with the ultimate delight of the exquisite Moorish-inspired marzipan of Toledo.
Like an island, Madrid contributes with the singularity of some of its typical dishes, such as cocido madrileño (a hearty stew for those with big appetites, where the broth is served first, followed by the soup-meat, chick-peas, potatoes and greens), cod and callos (tripe). The sticky torrijas (sweet fritters), desserts and sweetmeats are yet further local specialities.

Southern Cuisine
Southern or Andalusian cooking takes its inspiration from the crucible of cultures that together forged its culinary heritage.
In tune with the local surroundings, one finds a cuisine of market-garden and field, a cuisine of country-style winter stews, and a Mediterranean cuisine along the coast. In addition, there is the region’s fine line in confectionery and pastry, again an Arabic legacy, and a variety of dishes based on pork and ham, epitomised in the ritual, colourful climax of the matanza (an annual event, often in late autumn, when families gather to help in the slaughter and butchering of a pig or two). The various gazpachos (cold Andalusian soup of diced tomatoes, cucumber and green peppers in olive oil, vinegar and garlic, usually served with a sprinkling of croutons) and soups, frituras (servings of small fried fish) and stews are just some of the individual items in a school of cooking that boasts a long and well-established cultural tradition.
The Canary Islands enjoy a very personal cuisine, with gofio (a local ball-shaped bread with flour made from toasted cereals), legumes, tropical fruits and the famous mojos (hot sauces spiced with paprika and coriander) being just a few of the local attractions.

RECIPES
Sangria
Makes 8 servings
2 bottles (4/5 quart each) dry red wine
2 bottles (10 ounces each) bitter lemon soda
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Sugar to taste
Ice cubes
Mint sprigs
Combine the wine, bitter lemon, and sliced orange and lemon in a large pitcher. Add sugar. Chill. To serve, pour over ice cubes in glasses and garnish with mint.
Tapas
Serve a selection of little morsels: shrimp, white albacore tuna, roasted red peppers, green olives, chunks of sweet French bread, anchovies; green onion, spinach, or potato fritatta.
Potato Omelet (Tortilla Espanola)
makes 4 servings
1/3 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
Coarse salt
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 eggs
Heat three tablespoons of the oil in a 9-inch non-stick skillet and add the potato slices and onions, salting lightly. Cook slowly, lifting and turning occasionally, until tender but not brown. Beat the eggs, add the potatoes and let sit a few minutes. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, heat until very hot, and add the potato and egg mixture, spreading it with a pancake turner. Lower heat to medium, shake pan to keep potatoes from sticking, and when brown underneath, place a plate on top and invert, then slide back into the skillet and brown the other side.
GazpachoAndalusian
Makes 8 servings
1 large cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 sweet white onion, coarsely chopped
6 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed beef broth
3 tablespoons each white wine vinegar and olive oil
2 slices sourdough French bread
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Condiments: chopped green onions, croutons, diced avocado
Place the cucumber, onion, tomatoes, garlic, broth, vinegar, oil, bread, and carrot in a blender and blend until almost smooth. (Prepare in two batches if necessary.) Thin to desired consistency with water and season with salt and pepper. Chill. Serve in bowls, passing condiments to be spooned into the soup.

Rice with Shellfish (Paella con Molluscs)
makes 8 servings
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1 bottle (8 oz.) clam juice
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup dry white wine
16 large prawns, unshelled
16 small butter, rock or steamer clams, unshucked
1 crab, cooked and cracked or 8 very small lobster tails, cooked
1 package (10 ounces) frozen tiny peas, blanched for two minutes in boiling water
1/2 pound baby asparagus, parboiled (optional)
1 jar (2 ounces) sliced pimiento
Lemon wedges
In a large frying pan or four-quart casserole, sautŽ onion, garlic, and tomato in oil until vegetables are glazed. Add the rice, saffron, clam juice, water, and wine. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Arrange prawns and clams on top, cover and steam until the clam shells open. Transfer to a large paella pan or serving casserole. Add the crab, peas, asparagus, and pimiento. Heat through or keep warm in a low oven until serving time. Garnish with lemon wedges.
Rice with Chicken (Arroz Con Pollo)
makes 4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pound broiler-fryer, cut in pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 green or red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup rice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoon salt
Pinch saffron
Garnish:
3/4 cup cooked tiny peas
1 pimiento, cut into strips
In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon oil and brown the chicken well on all sides. Remove from pan and add the garlic, onion, and pepper and sautŽ until the onion is golden. Return the chicken to the skillet, add remaining oil, and sautŽ for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil. Add rice and seasonings. Cover and simmer over low heat until the chicken and rice are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Garnish with peas and pimiento.
Flan
makes about 8 servings
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups milk
6 eggs
2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
In a saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the sugar over moderate heat, shaking the pan frequently, until the sugar melts and turns amber. Pour at once into a 1-1/2 quart ring mold and quickly tilt the mold in all directions to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Heat the milk, but do not boil. Beat together the eggs and egg yolks just until blended, then beat in the remaining sugar and vanilla. Gradually stir in the hot milk. Pour the mixture into the caramel-lined mold and place in a pan of hot water. Bake in a preheated 325¡F oven for one hour or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let the custard cool, then chill it. To serve, run a knife around the sides of the mold to loosen the custard. Place a large round platter over the mold and quickly invert; lift off the mold.
Spanish Omelette ( Tortilla De Patata ).
Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes, 8 eggs, olive oil, 1 onion
Peel the potatoes, wash them thoroughly and cut them into thin slices. Chop the onion. Heat oil in a frying pan and add the salted potatoes. Stir them until they are slightly cooked; Then add the onion and let it fry during 3 or 4 minutes. Beat the eggs and add the fried potatoes. Mix well. Cook them on a high flame. Brown on one side and then turn the omelette over to brown it on the other, being careful not to dry it.
A Galacian Recipe for Hake ( Merluza A La Gallega )
Ingredients: 1 kg hake, olive oil, a big onion, 2 kg potatoes, 1 tablespoon full of flour. Seasoning: Salt, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, paprika.
Cut the central part of the fish into thick slices. Heat the oil in a saucepan, chop the onion and fry it; stir continuously until it turns golden brown. Add two cloves of mashed garlic, a tablespoon full of chopped parsley, a levelled one of paprika, cut the potatoes into not very thick slices (about 6 mm), mix well and sprinkle the spoonful of flour over everything. When the potatoes are slightly cooked add water to cover them, salt as well as six peppercorns, a powdered clove, bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Let it simmer for a quarter of an hour and when the potatoes are boiled, put them into a clay casserole. Arrange the slightly salted hake slices over the potatoes. Put it into the oven for another ten or twelve minutes. Serve it in the clay casserole.
Pil – Pil Codfish (Bacalao Al Pil – Pil )
Ingredients: 600 grs. cod, 1/2 l olive oil, 1 bulb of garlic, 1/2 guindilla (chilli pepper)
Soak the cod in cold water for 24 to 36 hours and change the water several times. Before preparing the dish remove carefully all the bones from each piece; wash it again. Place the fish in a saucepan with fresh water and put it on a low flame until it warms up, not boils. Remove the froth when it begins to form on the surface . Take the pieces of fish out of the pan and spread them out on a cloth to drain. Meanwhile heat the oil, if possible in a clay caserole, together with the garlic in lengthwise slices and the hot chilli pepper (do not use pepper if you don't like spicy foods).
When turned into deep golden brown, take them out and set them aside on a plate. Arrange now the fish with the skinside towards the bottom of the casserole and begin to shake it ceaselessly in a rhythmic manner. As the hot oil passes over the fish, the gelatine is brought out of the skin and it serves to thicken the emerging sauce. This will take between 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the quality of the cod. It is important to bear in mind that while shaking, the casserole must be removed from the heat because the oil remains hot for quite some time. When the sauce looks like light mayonnaise, the dish is ready. Put the the garlic and red pepper previously set aside on the top and heat the dish briefly to warm it up again. At the same time, keep moving the casserole gently so that the sauce does not lose consistency. Serve immediately.
Chicken With Tomatoes And Peppers ( Pollo Al Chilindron )
Ingredients: 1 chicken of about 2 kgs, 4 big tomatoes, 4 small green peppers, 1 big onion, olive oil 200, grs. semi-cured ham, 1 glass of white wine. Seasoning: Garlic, chilli pepper, salt.
Cut the the chicken into pieces and fry them until they turn golden brown; set them aside. Prepare a fried mixture of tomato, green pepper, onion, chilli pepper and plenty of chopped garlic. Add the chicken to the fried mixture and cook it for around 15 minutes. Then add the thin sliced semi-cured ham and the glass of white wine; let it simmer roughly for another 10 minutes.
Catalan Recipe For Broad Beans ( Habas A La Catalana ).
Ingredients: 1 kg broad beans, 1/4 kilo bacon, 3 chorizos (hard pork sausage), olive oil, 1 onion, 1 glass liquor, 2 glasses white wine. Seasoning: Garlic, salt, pepper, mint.
Cook the shelled beans in salted water. When being half done, empty out some water leaving enough for the beans to be covered. Fry slightly a couple of garlic cloves, chopped onion, pepper and mint . Add the cup of liquor and the two glasses of white wine. Mix it with the beans. Finally, add the thin sliced bacon and chorizo and let it cook on a high flame for 10 minutes.
Mixed Paella
Ingredients (for six people): 600 grs rice, 1 kg chicken, ½ rabbit, 2 squids, ¼ small clams, ¼ prawns, peas, olive oil, 1 tomato 1 big onion, 2 cloves, garlic, 1 red pepper, a small speck of saffron, salt. *Add two cups and a half of broth for each of rice/
Place the saucepan over the fire with olive oil; add the chicken and rabbit cut into slices when it gets hot and fry them on a low flame until they get gold brown. Set them aside. Fry the chopped onion, red pepper, a pair of clove garlic and the tomato; add te squids and small clams. When being browned, add water, salt and the fried chicken and rabbit. Let it simmer for half an hour. Pour the broth and the rest of the ingredients into the paellera (special pan for cooking paellas) and when it bols again, add the rice and prawns. Stirr it and let it cook for 20 minutes on a normal flame till the broth dries up and the rice is ready.
Andalusian Gazpacho ( Gazpacho Andaluz )
Ingredients: 1 kg tomatoes, 1 kg cucumbers, 1 big onion, a speck of cumin seeds, ½ green pepper, 3 cloves garlic, salt, olive oil, vinegar, water.
Place all the ingredients cut into pieces in a saucepan or deep vessel. Crush the garlic and cumins in a mortar and mix it in the recipient. Add a little of water, salt, olive oil and vinegar to taste and grind it well with the electric mixer. Serve cool.
Castilian Garlic Soup ( Sopa De Ajo Castellana)
Ingredients: 100 grs. olive oil, 100 grs bread from the day before in slices, 100 grs. cured ham, 3 cloves garlic, 6 eggs, 1 tablespoon full sweet paprika, 1 litre water.
Heat the oil and add the not-too-thin sliced garlic. Before the garlic has turned brown, add the cubes of ham and the slices of bread. Let it cook for a few minutes and then add the paprika, followed by water and salt. Bring to boil and then poach the eggs.
Extremaduran Stew (Caldereta Extremena) .
Ingredients: 1 kg kid goat or lamb, 1 liver from either, 1 glass pitarra (Extremaduran home-made wine) or white wine, olive oil, 1 red pepper. Seasoning: Garlic, bay leaf, black pepper, paprika and salt.
Put the oil in a casserole, fry a couple of garlic cloves and set them aside. Cut the meat into small pieces and add them to the casserole together with a little paprika and some bay leaves, after which it is left to cook for a while. Then a glass of pitarra or something similar is added, and everything is left to simmer until all the wine is absorbed. Then water is added in small amounts, making sure that the sauce remains thick. When the meat is tender, roast three more garlic cloves and crush them with the other two fried ones in a mortar. Add the roasted liver to this, together with some peppercorns, a few drops of olive oil and the red pepper. Crush all the ingredients, mix well and add them to the casserole, let them boil until the sauce is thick enough. Serve at once.
Pisto From From La Mancha ( Pisto Manchego ).
Ingredients: 1 kg ripe tomatoes, 1 kg green peppers, olive oil, salt,
Chop the peppers and fry them with plenty of olive oil on a normal flame. When being slightly browned, add salt and the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Let it cook and stir the mixture from time to time until the broth dries up completely.

MISCELLANEOUS ASPECTS
Eating Out In Spain
Eating out in Spain is one of life’s most enjoyable daily rites.
The sheer variety and range of the cuisine and Spaniards’ weakness for good food, make it a simple task, whether in the big city or in some small country village, to find a place where one can have a good meal. Ranging from traditional home cooking all the way up to famous five-star restaurants (maximum rating on a scale of one to five), travellers will have no difficulty in finding best value for money in terms of personal tastes and preferences.
Meal times tend to be approximately one and a half hours behind the European average, though the range of restaurant opening times is so generous that individuals will find it possible to more or less keep to their customary eating habits.
A menu listing the prices is usually displayed at the entrance to restaurants, which also usually offer a daily set menu at a somewhat reduced and/or fixed price. Service is included in the price shown, yet it is usual (though not obligatory) to leave 5%-10% of the bill by way of a tip.
Many restaurants tend to close one day in the week (Sunday or Monday), but there is any number of establishments open 7 days a week where one can have a bite at any time.
FoodGloriousfood
One thing is certain in Spain, there's no reason to go hungry. Restaurants of every variety, food venders and food markets are almost everywhere in the inner cities. At regular intervals along the regional highways of Spain, one can find roadside restaurants
In my mind, what makes Spanish cuisine special is its freshness, regional dishes, and the plentiful availability of quality seafood. Go in to any major food market in Spain and you will see a huge variety of produce.
In my experience, you are more likely to find the better eats in establishments frequented by the natives than the ones strictly targeting English-speaking tourist. Interestingly some of my best meals, for the price, have been from those roadside restaurants. One of my best meals was from a restaurant attached to a hostal (Hostal del Senglar near Poblet) and though the pleasant staff spoke almost no English, they surprised us with menus translated in to English.
If experiencing the absolute best in Spanish Cuisine is important to you, take the advice of guidebooks for Spain but be forewarned, reservations are usually a prerequisite for the finer restaurants. Example; Madrid's smallish and much recommended "Casa Poco" has some of the best steak and Iberica Ham in town (oddly it doesn't serve coffee) but don't drop by during lunch and expect to be seated.
Ordering the food
Outside of Barcelona and the tourist areas, selecting restaurants of local character can often mean little or no communication with the waiter in English, so it is best to be able to recognize a few food related Spanish words. It is also good to be the adventurous type of person, when the unexpected meal shows up you will at least have the nerve to give it a taste (see my unexpected tapas in Cuenca
Start by learning the Spanish words for the food categories, for example: salad (ensaladas), soups (sopas), fish (pescados), seafood (mariscos), meat (carne), etc. If you can recognize the food category, you will at least know you are geting some type of fish dish when pointing to one of the offerings listed under PESCADOS. A technique used by some people is to look around at what others are eating, if something looks good they will point to it when the waiter comes to take their order.
The Restaurant Norms in Spain are very similar to the ones in the USA.
On entering a restaurant you generally will wait for the server to seat you. When menus are brought to the table you will likely be asked what you would like to drink or if you would like white (blanco) or red (tinto) wine (vino). The waiter is also likely to bring you Spanish bread, sometimes placed right on the tabletop. A dish of olive oil, possibly containing slivers of butter, will also come with the bread in some regions of Spain. Usually, the waiter will ask for your order when bringing your drinks or if an attendant brings you drinks, the waiter will take your order when he is available. At the end of the meal, you will need to ask for your bill (la cuenta, por favor).
In Cafes the norms are slightly different, one generally will seat one self and when it comes time to pay it is better to ask for the meals cost (cuanto cuesta?).
One of the typically Spanish dishes you encounter in Spain is Paella. Paella is a rice dish, usual cooked with either seafood, pork, rabbit or chicken and seasoned with Saffron. Traditionally a dish of eastern Spain, with variable quality you can find it in almost all tourist areas. This dish is best when fresh; do not order as the ‘menu de dia”. Often restaurants will want two people ordering the dish in order to cook up a serving. Cooked sometimes over an open fire, the finished Paella is brought to the table (most of the time) in the very hot metal pan it was cooked in.
People like seafood so when in Spain and they take advantage of the abundant availability of squid, fish and shellfish dishes. Calamari, particularly the offerings in southern Spain should be tried. The Calamari there is served as large rings, nothing like the little Calamari rings which are served at seafood chains in the USA, where you need to chew forever before you can swallow.
In Eastern Spain, one might consider ordering 'Suquet', a tomato stew of fish, shellfish, potatoes and wine, spiced with saffron.
Around Madrid and Central Spain, variations on regional Spanish dishes abound. It is also a region known for its meals based on wild game, pheasant, partridge and wild boar.
Southern Spain cooking was strongly influenced by its time under the Moorish Kingdoms. The Arabs introduced a number of food types to the Iberian Peninsula, among them, Olives, Lemons and Oranges. Along the 'Costa del Sol' you might want to try “fritura de pescado” a squid and fish dish with lemon wedges.
Foods and Cooking Equipment
Azafr‡n
saffron, an Arab word for yellow. Stigmas of a purple crocus flower.
Bacalao
dried salted codfish.
Butifarra
a white sausage popular in Cataluna.
Cazuelas
glazed earthenware dishes.
Chorizo
the most typical Spanish sausage, heavily scented with paprika and garlic.
Piment—n
paprika, or ground sweet red pepper, from Spain.
Turr—n
an almond and honey candy of Arab origin that comes in a hard bar and in a soft marzipan-like form.

Cookbooks
The Foods and Wines of Spain
by Penelope Casa
This comprehensive book covers the traditional cooking of Spain, from the mountain villages and seaside ports to the fashionable restaurants. A survey of Spain's wines and sherries is included.

WINES AND DRINKS
As an element, wine is a fundamental to each and every one of Spain’s regional cuisines. Ideally, the wines of Spain are the best accompaniments to the regional dishes. Rioja wines from north-central Spain are considered premium in quality. Another area that makes top-notch wines is Penedes, near Barcelona. All regions, however, have vines under cultivation.
The making of wine in Spain dates back over 2000 years, but the production of quality wines is a more recent development, dating back to the last century. Enterprising Frenchman came to Spain to renew their wine production when Phylloxera hit the French vineyards. They found these areas met their requirements and as the French prospered, the Spanish learned new wine-making techniques.
The Romans introduced the art of viticulture, thereby making Spain into one of the world’s leading producers of wine. Spanish wine has earned itself a well-deserved reputation for quality, an aspect that, nowadays, is subject to stringent controls and official demarcations (up to sixty different wine-making districts).
Among these, mention must be made of the Rioja wines, which, on the merit of their bouquet, taste and body, have won international acclaim. Climate and grape variety are two of the components that make Rioja wines unique. The third is the laborious process of barrel aging, and the wines spend many years in bottles in the bodegas before being released for sale.
A third region is Valladolid, where Vega Scilia produces the most expensive Spanish wine on the market today.
Sherry takes its name from its place of origin, Jerez, in southwest Spain. Its history goes back thousands of years, when Phoenician settlers introduced grape vines to the area. Only Jerez has all the optimum conditions for sherry production with the complex interplay of air, sun, soil, aging and tradition. Sherry (vino de Jerez) is a fortified Andalusian wine which enjoys great international prestige, particularly in Anglo-Saxon countries, and comes in a range of varieties to suit different tastes, e.g., fino (dry and light, usually drunk chilled), manzanilla (a pale, dry fina from Sanlúcar de Barrameda), amontillado (amber-coloured full dry or semi-dry), dulce (sweet) and oloroso (dark, full-bodied).
Sherries are blended and fortified wines and fall into several styles: Fino -- very dry or dry; Manzanilla -- very dry; Amontillado -- medium dry; Oloroso -- medium sweet; and Cream -- sweet.
Spanish brandies made by the French Cognac process are of exceptionally fine quality. Most come from Jerez, although the Torres company in Cataluna is producing excellent ones for export.
Sparkling Spanish wines are also made by French methods, developed in Champagne. Codorniu is the top name in the field; another firm, Freixenet, is widely distributed.
Other highly-prized seals of origin are Ribera del Duero, Penedes and La Mancha, all of which have recently witnessed great advances in the quality of their wines.
Nowadays beer is an increasingly popular drink in Spain, especially as an aperitif to accompany the popular tapa-style snacks in bars. Spanish beer is of the light-coloured lager type, pleasant on the palate and usually served ice-cold.
In Spain spirits and liqueurs also have their local counterparts worthy of mention. Brandy is fundamentally produced in Andalusia, whilst aguardientes (natural alcohols, 80%-strength maximum) and orujos (fiery spirit distilled from grape skins and pips) hail from all parts of the country, inspiring the celebrated Galician queimadas (speciality made by setting aguardiente alight in a china- or earthenware bowl, in some cases with the prior addition of roasted coffee beans) as well as other different varieties of all kinds (dry, herb-, cherry- and honey-laced). Anisette (anís), pacharán de endrinas (bilberry liqueur) from Navarre and schnappes-like fruit liqueurs are the most popular drinks with the public.

Andalusia
The region of Andalucia has the following Denominaciones de Origen - guarantees of origen - : Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda, Malaga, Montilla-Moriles and Condado de Huelva. Its wines are the most characteristic of the country and internationally the most famous. They are produced by a unique method, which has something of a miracle about it, since it is not a wine from one particular harvest, as is the rule, but the result of different mixtures made over the years. They are aged in oak vats and have subtle differences which are classified into ten groups:
• Fino: straw coloured and transparent, dry, light and very fragrant; 15 to 17% alcohol.
• Amontillado: amber coloured; 16 to 18% alcohol.
• Oloroso: dark gold, powerful to the taste, yet light; 18 to 20% alcohol.
• Palo cortado: half-way between amontillado and oloroso.
• Raya: of the oloroso family, but less fragrant and less strong to the taste.
• Pedro Ximenez: sweet and very fragrant.
• Moscatel: sweet raisin wine.
• Cream: wine produced by adding alcohol to grape juice which has not really begun to ferment.
• Color: a wine produced by mixing fresh and concentrated grape juice.
• Manzanilla: a wine produced in the township of Sanlúcar de Barrameda; very pale, very dry, with an alcohol content of 15-17%.
The Montilla-Moriles wines come from the Province of Córdoba and, like their neighbours of Jerez, are unmistakable, dry, very fragrant and have a high alcohol content. Finally, there are the Moscatels from Málaga which are warm to the taste and very dark coloured. They are sold under different names: Málaga, Málaga Virgen, Lácrima Christi, Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel.
Aragon
Guarantee of origen exist for Campo de Borja, Cariñena and Somontano. In this area, the wines are very red with a high alcohol content. Their aroma is very concentrated and their taste is powerful, ideal for very spicy meat and heavy dishes.
(Castilla) La Mancha
Denominaciones de Origen include Mancha, Mentrida, Vaidepeñas and Almansa. This is the great Spanish wine reservoir which includes the Provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Albacete. In general the wines are very widely drunk and are of good quality: mild, dry, with almost no acidity. The most commonly known are the ones from Valdepeñas, ie, light reds and whites. All of them tend to be drunk young, not more than one or a maximum of two years old, while the alcohol content lies between 11 and 13%.
Castile (& Leon)
Denominaciones de Origen are Rueda, Ribera del Duero and Toro. They produce reds and light reds with between 13 and 17% alcohol. Some of them are universally famous: those produced between Valbuena, Quintanilia de Arriba and Quintanilia de 0nésimo. They mature exceptionally well for which Bordeaux barrels and underground winecellars are used. These wines have a limited production and sell at very high prices. Around Rueda very pale and transparent whites of excellent quality and 11.5-14% are produced. Dry, sherry-type wines are also made there.
Catalonia
Here the regions with a Denominación de Origen are Ampurdan-Costa Brava, Alella, Costers del Segre, Penedes, Priorato, Tarragona and Terra Alta. There are magnificent reds, whites and light reds in the area, all of which have a long tradition.
The most sought after are the Penedés and Priorato wines. The former are famous because of their whites and have an alcohol content of between 10 and 13%. Cava, Spain’s sparkling wine made by the champagne method, is mainly bottled in the Penedes region, though in recent years production has spread to other areas, such as Castile.The Priorato wines are probably the ones receiving most skilled attention in the entire country, especially the dark reds which have a velvety flavour and complex aroma. They are fairly heavy and have a high alcohol content.
In Tarragona, the most typical ones are white wines which are appropriate for fish and as aperitifs.


Extremadura
Estremadura has some good wines, but they are not yet commercialized. They are extremely strong and have a high alcohol content, as well as an unmistakable flavour. The wine from Cañamero is only now finding its way on to the market. There are also whites from Montánchez, Cillero, Añigal; and light reds from Hervás.

Galicia
Its Denominación de Origen includes Rias Baixas, Ribeiro and Valdeorras. They are light, agreeably acid white and red wines with a low alcohol content, excellent companions of the typical Galician cuisine.
Murcia
The Jumilia wines from this Murcia area are easy to distinguish because they are aged in oak barrels, although there are also young wines. In both cases the alcohol content is very high, and they are dark red and thick. Yecla has reds, rosés and light reds with between 13 and 15% alcohol and a very pleasant mild taste.
Navarra
Denominación de Origen: Navarra. The area basically produces red wines which at times reach 14.5% alcohol and are perfectly in tune with the heavy cuisine of the region.
Rioja
Denominación de Origen: Rioja, after the area with the small River Oja, is the richest wine growing region of Spain for table wines. According to its wines the area is divided into three parts:
Rioja Baja (the Lower Rioja) which produces heavy fruity wines with a high alcohol content;
Rioja Alta (the Upper Rioja) which is the area of the great aged and mature quality wines, with a moderate alcohol content. They are very fragrant, of different shades of red and have a balanced, unmistakable flavour. These wines lend themselves to being aged in oak vats. Young white wines are also produced.
Rioja Alavesa produces red wines which are usually drunk young and have a pleasant trace of acidity.
The wines of this Dominación are famous and develop their best as mature quality wines. The following varieties can be distinguished according to their age:
Vino de crianza is a wine aged for at least one year in vats and another year in bottles. It is usually a three-, four- and five-year old wine.
Vino de reserva is the one aged for at least two years in vats and another year in bottles.
Vino de gran reserva is aged in oak barrels for at least three years and another in bottles in the famous Rioja underground calaos (cellars). These wines are of the best years.
All these wines are a real treasure of the Spanish cuisine and occupy a place of honour among the most famous table wines in the world because of the environment from which they come and because of the skill and technique that goes into their production.
Valencia
This region includes the following Denominaciones de Origen: Alicante, Valencia and Utiel-Requena, which cover quite different wines. Those from Alicante are reds and rosés with a high alcohol content of between 12 and 16%. The wines from Valencia are usually white, dry and very fresh. The wine from Utiel-Requena is red and with less alcohol.

Mexican food is a style of food that originated in Mexico.
Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and the variety of spices that it has. Mexican gastronomy, in terms of diversity of appealing tastes and textures, is one of the richest in the world in proteins, vitamins, and minerals, though some people characterize it as greasy and excessively spicy.
When Spanish conquistadores arrived in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (on the ruins of which Mexico City was built), they found that the common people's diet consisted largely of corn-based dishes with chilis and herbs, usually complemented with beans and squash. Later on, the conquistadores added to their original diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic, and onions that they brought with them from Spain to the indigenous foods of pre-Columbian Mexico (including chocolate, maize, tomato, vanilla, avocado, papaya, pineapple, chile pepper, beans, squash, sweet potato, peanut and turkey). The totopo (a deep-fried chip of corn tortilla) may have been created as part of this cuisine.
Most of today's Mexican cuisine is based on pre-hispanic traditions, including the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists. Quesadillas, for example, are a flour or corn tortilla with cheese (often a Mexican-style soft farmer's cheese such as Queso Fresco), beef, chicken, pork, and so on. The indigenous part of this and many other traditional foods is the chile pepper. Foods like these tend to be very colorful because of the rich variety of vegetables (among them red peppers, green peppers, chiles, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes) and meats in Mexican food. There is also a sprinkling of Caribbean influence in Mexican cuisine, particularly in some regional dishes from the states of Veracruz and Yucatan. The French occupation of Mexico also yielded some influences as well: the bolillo (pronounced bo-lee-yo, with the "o" as in "bore"), a Mexican take on the French roll, certainly seems to reflect this.
Mexican food varies by region, because of local climate and geography and ethnic differences among the indigenous inhabitants and because these different populations were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its beef production and meat dishes; southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. Veracruz-style is a common method of preparing seafood.
There are also more exotic dishes, cooked in the Aztec or Maya style, with ingredients ranging from iguana to rattlesnake, deer, spider monkey, and even some kinds of insects. This is usually known as comida prehispanica (or prehispanic food), and although not very common, is relatively well known.
Mexican cuisine has combined with the cuisine of the southwest United States to form Tex-Mex cuisine.
One type of food that is commonly mistaken for Mexican food is New Mexican cuisine, which can be found in, of course, New Mexico, USA.
[edit]
Mexican Food Glossary

Ever wonder what Borracho means? Or Comal? Or would you just like to know what are the ingredients in the Mexican Food Recipes you love to cook so well? We do everything we can to help promote Mexican cuisine, and this glossary is one way we can do that. Although it's not a Spanish lesson, hopefully this will explain what salsa and many other Mexican food staples and ingredients really mean.
Ajo
Garlic
Achiote
Red paste made from annatto seeds.
Albóndigas
Meatballs
Al Horno
Oven-baked
Annatto
Small, dark red seed used by the Maya Indians to color and flavor food.
Ancho
A Poblano chile that has been dried and turned a black-red color; means wide. The most popular dried chile in Mexico and the US. It’s dried poblamo chile and the smoky-sweet flavor accents numerous dishes. Approx. 3”-4” long, dark, reddish brown, sweetest of all the dried chiles and slightly fruity flavor.
Antojito
An hors d'oeuvre or small snack food (appetizer)
Arroz
Rice
Asadero cheese
A white cow's milk cheese of Mexican origin: comes in braids, balls or round. Also known as Chihuahua and Oaxaca cheese.
Asar
To roast or broil
Ate
Thick fruit jelly, typically made of quince or guave and often served with cheese.
Azucar
Sugar
Barbacoa
Barbecued meat
Bizcochos
Sweet cakes and cookies often eaten for breakfast such as chilindrinas or campechanas.
Borracho
Cooked with wine; means drunk.
Buñuelo
Puffy, sweet, deep-fried pastry
Burrito/Burro
Large flour tortilla wrapped around a filling .
Cacahuatas
Peanuts
Cafe
Coffee.
Cajeta de Celaya
Fudge sauce made with goat's milk.
Calabaza
Squash, pumpkin
Caldo
Soup, broth .
Caliente
Hot to the touch (temperature)
Camarón
Shrimp
Canela
Cinnamon.
Capirotada
Spicy bread pudding, made with raisins, fruit and cheese, served during Lent; means a little bit of everything .
Carne
Meat, specifically beef
Carnero
Lamb.
Carne a la Tampiqueña
Thin strips of beef, grilled.
Carnitas
Shredded Pork
Cebolla
Onion .
Cerveza
Beer
Ceviche
Salad made of raw fish "cooked" in limejuice combined with tomatoes, onions, spices, chiles, served with chips as an appetizer.
Chalupa
Boat shaped, fried corn tortillas, garnished with sauce, lettuce and onions.
Chicharrones
Deep fried pork rinds, a favorite snack in Mexico.
Chicos
A dish of parched corn cooked with pork.
Chilaquiles
Corn tortilla pieces marinated in chile, layered with a filling, sauce and cheese, and baked in a casserole .
Chile con queso
A melted cheese dip seasoned with mild green chilies. Served with tortilla chips.
Chiles en nogada
Called the "independence dish" as its colors are those of the Mexican flag. Made with green chilies stuffed with ground meat and almonds and covered with walnut sauce, and then garnished with pomegranate kernels.
Chiles rellenos
Translates to "stuffed peppers", cheese-stuffed mild green chilies, dipped in an egg batter and fried until crisp.
Chili con carne
Translates to "chili with meat", diced or ground beef, chilies and chili powder.
Chili Powder
Commercially, the product made from ground red chiles, including a variety of other spices .
Chimichanga
Deep-fried meat-filled burritos.
Chipotle
Ripened and smoked jalapeno. Fiery hot with lasting smoky flavor .
Chongos
Milky desert of curds in syrup and cinnamon.
Chorizo
Spicy pork and beef sausage.
Churro
Mexican specialty made of a sweet-dough spiral, deep-fried, coated with cinnamon and sugar usually served with hot chocolate.
Chuleta
Chop or cutlet
Cilantro
A pungent green herb used in Mexican food cooking, Indian and Central Asian recipes. The seed produced at full maturity is coriander .
Coco
Coconut
Comal
Heavy, round griddle for baking tortillas.
Cumin (Comino)
A pungent spice commonly used in Mexican dishes. Available in seed and ground form. Has a nutty flavor and aroma. Used in dishes such as chili and tamales.
Crema
Cream.
Ejote
String bean
Elote
Corn. Sometimes called helote .
Empanada
A Mexican pie made by baking meat or fruit that has been wrapped in dough.
Enchilada
A corn tortilla dipped in red chile sauce, rolled around just about anything, then topped with sauce and cheese.
Enfrijoladas
Lightly fried tortillas which are folded and then smothered in a smooth sauce made with beans. A variety of toppings are added.
Enrollado
Rolled
Ensalada
Salad
Escabeche
Pickled
Fajita
Skirt steak. Most people associate "fajita" with a taco or the strips of meat that go into the taco. Beef skirt steak comes from the outer covering of the breast near where the brisket comes from. There are only 2 skirts per cow, a highly flavorful cut of meat as a result of the fat membrane that ‘burns’ off when cooked
Farina
Wheat Flour
Fideos
Vermicelli. Thin pasta
Flan
Baked custard with caramel coating .
Flauta
Means "flute". Corn tortilla tightly rolled around a filling, then deep-fried.
Frijoles
A traditional Mexican dish made from pinto beans and served with any meal as a side dish. Fried beans are mashed and then refried in lard. Refried beans can be purchased in supermarkets in a can.
Galletas
Cookies.
Gallina
Hen
Garbanzo
Chickpea
Gazpacho
Cold, spicy tomato and vegetable soup.
Granada
Pomegranate
Guacamole
Avocado mixture that is made from ripened avocados and lemon or limejuice, diced onions and tomato, cilantro. Used as a condiment in numerous Tex - Mex dishes.
Guajolote
In Mexico, turkey; pavo is turkey in other Spanish-speaking countries.
Habanero
Mexico’s hottest. Delicate looking green, yellow and orange "lanterns" are prized by the Yucatecos for their hotter-than-heck fire. Green and crispest, orange are softest. The special fruity flavor compliments fresh salsas made with tropical fruits.
Harina
Wheat flour
Helado
Ice cream.
Huevo
Egg. Also blanquillo.
Huavos a la Mexicana
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, chilies and onions.
Huevos motuleños
Tortilla topped with ham, fried eggs and a sauce made with cheese, peas and tomatoes.
Huevos revueltos
Scrambled eggs.
Jalapeño
The most widely used fresh green (ripens to red) chile in the US. Also, referred to as the Texas sweet pickle. Averages 2" in length. The "hot" comes from the seed and the membrane. It is the most used pepper in Tex Mex cooking with Serrano pepper coming in 2nd. A great source of vitamin C. When ripened and smoked, it becomes a chipotle chile.
Jamón
Ham
Jícama
A white-fleshed root vegetable also called a Mexican potato. It is crunchy and sweet and can be eaten either raw or cooked. Makes a great addition to salads or can be boiled and baked like a potato, available from May to November.
Jocoque
A Mexican style of sour cream with equal or less fat content than American sour cream. Flavors range from mildly tangy to refreshingly sharp.
Jugo de Naranja
Orange juice
Kahlúa
Coffee-flavored liqueur made in Mexico.
Leche
Milk.
Lechuga
Lettuce
Maíz
Corn
Mano
Means "hand". A piece of volcanic rock used with both hands to grind food against another rock.
Manteca
Lard
Mantequilla
Butter
Manzana
(Peron and rocolo chile) Fresh chile, looks like a cross between a yellow bell pepper and a golden habanero. Medium to hot at its peak. It has black seeds and the flower is purple. Fruity flavor with a thin flesh.
Margaritas
The national drink of Mexico, made with Tequila, Controy and fresh lime juice served either blended with ice or on the rocks in a salt-rimmed glass.
Mariscos
Shellfish; fish is pescado.
Masa
Dough called nixtamal. Masa is the corn based tamale dough surrounding the tamale filling. Masa is made from stone-ground corn, lard, and spices. Masa is spread onto softened corn husks, topped with a filling and then folded to create a tamale.
Masa Harina
Masa Harina is a flour that is made from cooking dried corn kernels with lime and then grinding. It can be used to make corn tortillas and masa for tamales. It can also be used for breads and other foods.
Menudo
Tripe soup; New Year's Day tradition to ease hangovers. A spicy soup made from tripe, chile, hominy and spices. Served with lemon slices, onion, oregano, avocado, and chile which you add to taste. Also served with warm tortillas.
Mexican Chocolate
Chocolate that has been flavored with cinnamon, almonds and vanilla. It is available in Mexican markets and is used for hot chocolate or mole sauces.
Miel
Honey
Molcajete
A volcanic rock- stone mortar and pestle used in traditional Mexican cooking. Used to grind spices, corn, and vegetables.
Mole
Term used for a thick sauce or paste. A spicy rich traditional Mexican sauce that is usually served with poultry. The most common ingredients include nuts, seeds, spices, Mexican chocolate, and chiles. The most famous moles are Mole Poblano and Oaxaca's black mole.
Mora
A cordovan-colored chipotle with a fruit-leather texture. This midsize Jalapeno is lightly smoked and often used for canned chipotles in adobo. Mostly used in salsas and sauces.
Moros con cristianos
A nutritious rice dish made with black beans and garnished with fried plantain.
Naranja
Orange
Nixtamal
Hominy; Raw corn grains, soaked in lime, then ground to make a dough (masa) for tortillas, tamales and chalupas.
Nopales
Known as the "prickly pear" cactus in America, this cactus is cleaned of spines, diced and used in many Mexican dishes. The cactus leaf looks like a large green paddle with spines. The fruit of the cactus called tuna can also be eaten. The cactus is usually boiled or grilled. Cooked cactus can be added to soups, stews, scrambled with eggs or used as taco filling.
Oja
Cornhusk, used to wrap tamales; sometimes called hoja.
Olla
Clay pot. A utensil in which beans are simmered.
Pan
Bread
Pan Dulce
Translated as "sweet bread". A sweet round dessert bread topped with fine red, yellow or brown colored sugar. A Mexican Christmas tradition.
Panucho
A Yucatecan dish of layered tortillas stuffed with beans.
Pastel
Cake.
Pay
Pie
Pepino
Cucumber
Picadillo
Meat hash
Picante
Hot to the taste buds .
Pico de gallo
Translates to rooster's beak in Spanish. This is a relish of fruit topped with a sprinkle of chile.
Piloncillo
Brown sugar formed into a cone for marketing.
Pimienta
Black pepper
Piña
Pineapple
Pipián
A sauce made of pumpkin seed, chile and spices.
Poblano
A variety of chile
Pollo
Chicken
Postre
Dessert
Posole
A soup made from roasted corn. A spicy soup made from beef or pork, chile, hominy and spices. Served with lemon slices, onion, oregano, avocado, and chile which you add to taste. Also served with warm tortillas.
Puerco
Pork.
Quesadilla
Fried or grilled corn or wheat tortillas filled with cheese and a variety of fillings.
Queso
Cheese
Rábano
Radish
Rajas
Chili strips and onion slices in tomato sauce.
Refrescos
Soft drinks.
Relleno
Stuffed
Repollo
Cabbage
Ristra
String of dried red chiles.
Sal
Salt "Sin sal" means without salt, useful to know when ordering a tequila cocktail called a margarita, which usually is served with its rim coated with salt.
Salchicha
Sausage
Salsa
Sauce. Usually refers to a tomato-based condiment used to dip or to accent dishes. If the salsa is uncooked, as in Pico De Gallo, it is referred to as "salsa cruda." If it is processed, in Tex Mex lingo, this is called "chile." If cooked and then bottled, this is called "picante".
Sangría
A drink made of red or white wine, sugar, oranges, lemons and lime.
Seco
Dry
Serrano Pepper
The serrano pepper is a very hot pepper, slightly hotter than a jalapeno pepper. Used often in salsa's and table sauces, the serrano chile pepper is thin skinned making it easy to work with (no need to remove the skin).
Sopa
Soup. Varieties include de aguacate (avocado), de fideo (chicken broth with noodles), de lima (chicken stock flavored with lemon).
Sopes
Miniature fried corn-dough bowls filled with beans and sauce and topped with cheese. Many varieties can be found.
Taco
A corn tortilla folded over a filling.
Tacos al carbon
Soft corn tortillas wrapped in around cooked meats.
Tamale (plural is tamales)
A corn husk stuffed with masa, meat or beans. Masa (dough) that surrounds your choice of filling, traditionally pork. The 5"-6" long and 1" thick tamale is wrapped in a soaked cornhusk and steamed to cook dough. A traditional Mexican Christmas dish.
Tatemar
Verb meaning to roast, peel and seed green chiles.
Té Caliente
Hot Tea.
Té Helado
Iced Tea.
Tejano
Spanish word meaning "Texan".
Tequila
Distilled liquor made from the agave, or century plant. Typically served in a shot glass or blended in margaritas or other cocktails.
Tomatillo
Looks like a tiny green tomato, actually a relative of the gooseberry family. Enclosed in a paper-like husk that is removed before cooking. Used in a variety of Mexican dishes and sauces to add an acidic flavor. Native to Mexico but can be found fresh or canned in many grocery stores.
Topopo
A salad shaped like a volcano or pyramid.
Torta
A Mexican sandwich made from bolillo (hard Mexican roll) cut in half and stuffed with tomatoes, avocados or guacamole and carne asada, shredded beef or chicken, cheese and salsa.
Tortilla
A thin, flat bread made from wheat flour or corn masa.
Tortilla Press
A device used to flatten balls of masa (corn meal dough) into thin patties for tortillas.
Tostada
A fried flat corn tortilla topped with a layer of beans, shredded beef or chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado and salsa.
Tripe
The stomach lining of a cow, pig or sheep. Must be cleaned for cooking. The primary ingredient used in menudo soup.
Uvas
Grapes.
Vainilla
Vanilla
Veracruzana
Fish cooked with tomatoes and onions.
Zanahoria
Carrot.



Introduction
Recipees
Drink
Food products
More Recipees


Introduction
Undoubtedly an important part of Mexican culture is its varied cuisine. When Christopher Columbus started his search for valuable species in 1492, instead of arriving in India, he found America, sparking off the conquest of countries which like México opened the world to new culinary horizons with its universal donation of vanilla, avocado, corn, tomato and chocolate, among others.
In México there are great regions which have their own gastronomic art. Due to their variety and deliciousness the cuisine of Puebla, Oaxaca and Yucatán stand out, however one must not forget the recipes from Bajío (central part of the country) or the cuisine of the border states. However, it is not the objective of this homepage to give a paper on the very varied and rich Mexican cuisine, but to present the basic recipes with the understanding that the elements needed for their preparation are easily available in Denmark, which is not the case of the ingredients needed for more sophisticated dishes.
Mexican food is popular throughout the world. But the kind you're probably used to -tacos with guacamole, quesadillas, enchiladas and carnitas- is only a small part of this country's culinary repertoire. With it's variety of indigenous civilisations, each region in México is marked by a distinct aroma, taste and texture.

In central México you'll find a blend of Aztec and Spanish. Typical is the centuries old "mole poblano", a thick, dark sauce made with dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, cocoa and other ingredients.

Southern México, with its variety of dried peppers, is famous for its savoury herbed stews and sauces.

Seafood, garnished with tomatoes and herbs followed by rich coffee is the basic meal along the Pacific Coast. And in the Yucatán Península, dinner is likely to be a Mayan delicacy like "pork pibil" cooked in banana leaves with the famed "achiote" sauce.

In food, as in everything else, the Mexican people have found a way to raise the everyday basics to an art form.

It is also pertinent to point out that the fundamental Mexican food is based on corn, black beans and Chile. With these considerations in mind, some easy recipes for Mexican food are presented.

Tacos with Chicken or Pork
• 20 corn tortillas
• 1 lb. (500gr) boneless cubed pork or chicken
• 1 onion roughly sliced
• 4 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 3 black peppercorns
• 4 cups of water
• oil for frying
• salt
1. In a saucepan place the pork, garlic, peppercorn and 1 teaspoon salt, add the water and boil the mixture under a lid for 30 minutes until the meat is tender.
2. Place a large spoonful of shredded meat to one side of the tortilla, mix onion and coriander and roll up the tortilla. You can add red or green hot sauce or avocado dip.
3. If you prefer you can fry the tacos. Heat half a cup of oil in a frying pan, put in the tacos with a toothpick to ensure that they do not unroll and fry them until they are golden. Remove the toothpicks and serve the tacos with sauce or guacamole.

Guacamole
• 2 large avocados
• 1 or 2 green chillies (chiles), sliced
• 1 large tomato, peeled and chopped in cubes
• 2 tablespoons of onion roughly sliced
• 3 spoons of coriander sliced
• salt
• 5 drops of lime juice
1. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and mash the avocado with a fork.
2. Place the avocado flesh in a bowl and mix chillies, onion, tomato, coriander, add 5 drops of lime juice, and enjoy it.

Quesadillas with cheese
• Place manchego cheese or another cheese that melts in the middle of the tortilla, fold it in half.
• In a frying pan, heat half a cup of oil and fry the Quesadilla 2 or 3 minutes on each side, until it is brown and serve it with guacamole, green or red sauce. It can be done also without oil.
• You can fill quesadillas with beans or combine them with cheese.

Quesadillas with potato and Chorizo
• 3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
• 1 chorizo
1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water with salt, once they are tender, drain and place in a bowl and mash with a fork.
2. Place the mixture in the middle of the tortilla and fold it in half, serve it with guacamole or sauce.

Enchiladas
Green Enchiladas
Red Enchiladas
Enchiladas of Mole Poblano

You have three different types of enchiladas but the method is the same. First of all chose your preference, in Denmark you can buy a cup of Mexican Green Sauce (salsa verde), red sauce or mole Poblano for making enchiladas.
• 1 whole chicken breast, boiled and finely shredded
• 12 corn tortillas
• oil for frying
• ½ cup of sour cream
• ½ cup of crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup of sesame seeds (for enchiladas with mole Poblano)
• salad onion cut in onion rings
1. Heat in separate saucepans your sauce of choice and the shredded chicken.
2. Heat oil to boiling point in a frying pan and dip one tortilla at a time for two seconds each side.
3. Dip the tortilla in the sauce and fill with chicken, roll it up and place on a serving dish.
4. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas once they are filled and rolled up.
5. Sprinkle onion rings and the feta cheese over the tortillas, cover with sour cream and heat in an oven until it melts and becomes golden.
6. For the Mole Poblano recipe decorate with sesame seeds.

"Chicharrón" (flæskesvær) in green sauce
"Chicharrón" is the skin of the pork deep fried in oil. It becomes crunchy and it is also eaten as snack. In Denmark the chicharrón is called "flæskesvær".
• 2 spoons oil
• 1 large chopped onion
• ½ l chicken broth (chicken bullion)
• 2 cans of green sauce
• 250 g Chicharrón (flæskesvær)
1. In a pan, fry oil and add chopped onion, sauté and cover for 5 minutes.
2. Add the "flæskesvær" and and green sauce with chicken broth. Be careful that it does not become too watery.
3. Cover and cook at low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Accompany this dish with rice.
Mexican Style Rice
• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup pureed tomato
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 small chopped carrots
• ½ cup peas
• 2 small chopped chillies
• oil
1. In a pot heat oil and fry chopped garlic and onions.
2. Fry rice until gold and sauté.
3. Pour excess of oil. Add tomato puree and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour the chicken stock and when it boils add chopped vegetables, stir once.
5. Turn heat to a low point and cover 15 minutes.
6. Check that the rice is floppy and dry.
7. Enjoy it!
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine (Chinese: 中國菜) is widely seen as representing one of the richest and most diverse culinary cuisines and heritages in the world. It originated from different regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world — from East Asia to North America, Australasia and Western Europe.
Regional cultural differences vary greatly amongst the different regions of China, giving rise to the different styles of food. There are eight main regional cuisines, and they are: Anhui (Hui 徽), Cantonese (Yue 粵), Fujian (Min 閩), Hunan (Xiang 湘), Jiangsu (Su 蘇 or Yang 揚), Shandong (Lu 魯), Szechuan (Chuan 川), Zhejiang (Zhe 浙).
Contents
• 1 Overview
• 2 Typical dishes
• 3 Overseas Chinese cuisine
• 4 Contemporary health trends
• 5 References
• 6 Note
• 7 See also
• 8 External links

Overview
A meal in Chinese culture is typically seen as consisting of two or more general components: (1) a carbohydrate source or starch, known as 主食 in the Chinese language, (zhǔshí Pinyin , lit. "main food", staple) — typically rice, noodles, or mantou (steamed buns), and (2) accompanying dishes of vegetables, meat, fish, or other items, known as 菜 (càiPinyin , lit. vegetable") in the Chinese language. This cultural conceptualization is in some ways in contrast to cuisines of Northern Europe and the USA, where meat or animal protein is often considered the main dish, and analogous to the one of most Mediterranean cuisines, based typically on wheat-derived components like pasta or cous cous.
Rice is a critical part of much of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly northern China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns (such as mantou 饅頭) predominate, in contrast to southern China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, sometimes no rice at all will be served; in such a case, rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish in the form of fried rice at the end of the meal. Soup is usually served at the start of a meal and at the end of a meal in Southern China.
Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are enjoyed[1] with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally made of ceramic). It is reported that wooden chopsticks are losing their dominance due to recent logging shortfalls in China and East Asia; many Chinese eating establishments are considering a switch to a more environmentally sustainable eating utensil, such as plastic or bamboo chopsticks. More expensive materials used in the past included ivory and silver. On the other hand, disposable chopsticks made of wood/bamboo have all but replaced reusable ones in small restaurants.

In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, doufu), ready for direct picking up and eating. Traditionally, Chinese culture considered using knives and forks at the table barbaric due to fact that these implements are regarded as weapons. It was also considered ungracious to have guests work at cutting their own food. Fish are usually cooked and served whole, with diners directly pulling pieces from the fish with chopsticks to eat, unlike in some other cuisines where they are first filleted. This is because it is desired for fish to be served as fresh as possible. It is common in many restaurant settings for the server to use a pair of spoons to divide the fish into servings at the table. Chicken is another meat popular in Chinese meals. While the chicken is cut into pieces, every single piece of the chicken is served including gizzards and head. The emphasis in Chinese culture on wholeness is reflected here. It is considered bad luck if fish or chicken is served without its head and tail, as that is synonymous with something that does not have a proper beginning or end.
In a Chinese meal, each individual diner is given his or her own bowl of rice while the accompanying dishes are served in communal plates (or bowls) that are shared by everyone sitting at the table. In the Chinese meal, each diner picks food out of the communal plates on a bite-by-bite basis with their chopsticks. This is in contrast to western meals where it is customary to dole out individual servings of the dishes at the beginning of the meal. Many non-Chinese are uncomfortable with allowing a person's individual utensils (which might have traces of saliva) to touch the communal plates; for this hygienic reason, additional serving spoons or chopsticks （公筷, lit. common/public/shared chopsticks) may be made available. In areas with increased Western influence, such as Hong Kong, diners are provided individually with a heavy metal spoon for this purpose. The food selected is often eaten together with some rice either in one bite or in alternation.
Vegetarianism is not uncommon or unusual in China, though, as is the case in the West, it is only practiced by a relatively small proportion of the population. The Chinese vegetarians do not eat a lot of tofu, unlike the stereotypical impression in the West. Most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists. Non-Chinese people eating Chinese cuisine will note that a large number of popular vegetable dishes may actually contain meat (usually pork), as meat chunks or bits have been traditionally used to flavor dishes. Chinese Buddhist cuisine has many true vegetarian dishes that contain no meat at all.
In contrast to most western meals, a Chinese meal does not typically end with a dessert. However, a sweet dish is usually served at the end of a formal dinner or banquet, such as sliced fruits or a sweet soup (糖水, lit. sugar water) which is served warm.
In traditional Chinese culture, cold beverages are believed to be harmful to digestion of hot food, so items like ice-cold water or soft drinks are traditionally not served at meal-time. Besides soup, if any other beverages are served, they would most likely be hot tea or hot water. Tea is believed to help in the digestion of greasy foods. Despite this tradition, nowadays beer and soft drinks are popular accompaniment with meals. A popular combo in many small restaurants in parts of China is hot pot served with cold beer, a combination known as 冷淡杯 (Pinyin: leng3 dan4 bei1, literally: cold and bland cup, despite being strongly flavored), which is the very opposite of what traditional wisdom would admonish. Ideas from Chinese herbology, such as as the four natures, influence the food combinations favored in traditional Chinese meals.
Anhui cuisine (Chinese: 徽菜 or 安徽菜) is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Huangshan Mountains region in China and similar to Jiangsu cuisine.
Combining elements of cooking from northern Anhui, south-central Anhui, and the Hui-speaking areas of southern Anhui, Anhui cuisine is known for its use of wild game and herbs, both land and sea, and comparatively unelaborate methods of preparation. Chefs pay more attention to temperature in their cooking and are good at braising and stewing. In contrast, fry and stir-fry methods are much less frequently used in Anhui cuisine, while the method of cooking utilizes oil. Anhui cuisine is consisted of three styles: Yangtze River region, Huai River region, and southern Anhui region.
Some famous dishes include:
• Stewed soft shell turtle with ham
• Steamed stone frog
• Bamboo shoots cooked with sausage and dried mushroom
• Li Hongzhang Hodge-Podge
Cantonese cuisine is characterised by the immensity and diversity of the ingredients used. This is because Guangzhou (Canton) was a well established trading port since the days of the Thirteen Factories with access to many different foods and ingredients. Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef, chicken, snakes, snails, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. Despite the countless Cantonese cooking methods, steaming, stir-frying and deep-frying are the most popular cooking methods in Cantonese restaurants due to the short cooking time, and philosophy of bringing out the flavor of the freshest ingredients.
Elements of cooking
Sauces
Cantonese cuisine can be characterized by the use of very mild and simple spices in combination. Ginger, spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch and oil are sufficient for most Cantonese cooking. Garlic is used heavily in dishes, especially those with internal organs that have unpleasant odors, such as entrails. Five-spice powder, white pepper powder and many other spices are used in Cantonese dishes, but usually very lightly. Cantonese cuisine is sometimes considered bland compared to the thicker, richer and darker sauces found in other Chinese cuisines.
Includes:
• Hoisin sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Five-spice powder
• Red vinegar
Preserved ingredients
Some items gain very intense flavors during the drying/preservation/oxidation process. Some chefs combine both dried and fresh varieties of the same items in a dish to create a contrast in the taste and texture. Dried items are usually soaked in water to rehydrate before cooking. Not only do preserved foods have a longer shelf life, sometimes the dried foods are preferred over the fresh ones because of their uniquely intense flavor or texture. These ingredients are generally not served individually, and need to go with vegetables or other Cantonese dishes.

Includes:
• Dried shrimp
• Dried scallop
• Fermented tofu
• Chinese sausage Salted duck egg Dried cabbage
• Chinese sauerkraut Pickled
• Chinese cabbage Pickled diced daikon
• Cantonese dishes

Preserved dishes
Though Cantonese cooks pay much attention to the freshness of their cooking ingredients, Cantonese cooking also uses a long list of preserved food items. This may be an influence from Hakka cuisine, since the Hakkas was once a dominate group to occupy Imperial Hong Kong and other southern territories[1]. Many of these are home-made Cantonese dishes often served with plain white rice.
Includes:
• Preserve-salted fish
• Preserve-salted duck
• Preserve-salted pork


Traditional dishes
A number of dishes have been a part of the Cantonese cuisine collection since the earliest territorial establishments of Guangdong province. Many of these are commonly found among Chinese homes due to their simplicity.
• Chinese steamed eggs
• Congee with century egg
• Steamed bok choy
• Stir-fried Vegetables
• Stir-fried Watermelon Skin
Fried dishes
A small number of fried dishes have become synonymous with Cantonese breakfast and lunch. Because a few of these have been extensively documented through out Colonial Hong Kong records in the 19th to 20th century, most are considered essential part of the Canton diet.[2] Though these are also expected to be part of other cuisines.
Includes:
• Zhaliang
• Youtiao
• Dace fishballs
Slow cooked soup
Other unique Cantonese specialties are slow-cooked soups. The soup is usually a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients for several hours. Sometimes, Chinese herbal medicines are added to the pot. Ingredients vary greater depending on the type of soup. The main attraction is the liquid in the pot, although the solids are eaten too. A whole chicken may simmer in a broth for six hours or longer. Traditional Cantonese families have this type of soup at least once a week. In this day and age many families with both parents working cannot afford this tradition due to the long preparation time required. However, wealthy families with servants and a cook still enjoy the luxury every day. Because of the long preparation time, most restaurants do not serve home made soup.
Includes:
• Winter melon soup
• Snow fungus soup
• Northeast watercress sparerib soup
• Old fire-cooked soups
Seafood
Due to Guangdong's location on the southern coast of China, fresh live seafood is a specialty in Cantonese cuisine. Many authentic restaurants maintain live seafood tanks. From the Cantonese perspective, strong spices are added only to stale seafood to cover the rotting odor. The freshest seafood is odorless, and is best cooked by steaming. For instance, only a small amount of soy sauce, ginger, and spring onion is added to steamed fish. The light seasoning is used only to bring out the natural sweetness of the seafood. However, most restaurants gladly get rid of their stale seafood inventory by offering dishes loaded with garlic and spices. As a rule of thumb in Cantonese dining, the spiciness of a dish is usually inversely proportional to the freshness of the ingredients.
Includes:
• Steamed fish
• White boiled shrimp
• Ginger lobster
Wonton noodles
Noodle dishes
A number of noodle dishes are part of the Cantonese cuisine. These are commonly available at dai pai dong or dim sum side menus.
Includes:
• Wonton noodle Chinese noodles with fish ball, beef ball, fish slice
• Beef chow fun
• Shahe fen
• Hong Kong pan-fried noodles
• Pan-fried crispy noodles
• Different flavours of Japanese Ramen noodles


Siu mei
Main article: Siu mei
Siu mei is essentially the Chinese rotisserie style of cooking. The style cooks meat and no vegetables. It creates a unique, deep barbecue flavor that is usually enhanced by a flavorful sauce, a different sauce is used for each meat.
Includes:
• Char siu
• Roasted goose
• White cut chicken
• Roasted pig
• Orange cuttlefish
• Brine-soaked duck
• Soy Sauce Chicken
Lou mei
Main article: Lou mei
Lou mei is the name given to dishes made out of internal organs, entrails and left-over parts of animals. It is grouped under Siu laap as part of Cantonese cuisine. It is widely available in Southern China regions. It should be noted that many people who consume Cantonese dishes regularly are not interested in eating lou mei due to the grotesque nature.
Includes:
• Beef Entrails
• Beef Stew
• Duck gizzard
• Pig tongue
Siu laap
Just about all the Cantonese-style cooked meat including siu mei, lou mei and preserved meat can be mixed together under the generic name (Siu laap). A typical dish may consist of some organs and half an order of multiple varieties of roasted meat. A large majority of siu laap consists strictly of white and red meat.
Includes:
• White rice with Chinese sausage and char siu
• White rice with beef entrails and roasted goose
• White rice with White cut chicken, duck gizzard and beef stew
• Siu laap platter
• Siu mei platter


Little pan rice
Little pan rice (煲仔飯, bou1 zai2 faan6) are dishes cooked then served in a flat-bottomed pan (as opposed to a round-bottom wok). Usually it is a saucepan or braising pan. It is steamed cooked under covers making the rice and ingredients very hot and soft. Usually the ingredients are layered on top of the rice with little to no mixing in between. Quite a number of ingredients are used with a lot of combinations being standard.
Includes:
• Layered egg and beef over rice
• Layered steak over rice
• Tofu pot over rice
• Pork Spareribs over rice
• Steamed chicken over rice
• Pork "pastry" over rice
• Preserved chinese sausage over rice
Night dishes
There are a number of dishes that are often served in Cantonese restaurants exclusively at night. Traditionally dim sum restaurants stop serving bamboo basket-dishes after yum cha hour and begin offering an entirely different menu in the evening. Some dishes are more standard while others are quite regional. Some are customized for special purposes like Chinese marriages or banquets. Salt and pepper dishes are one of the few spicy dishes.
Includes:
• Crispy fried chicken
• Seafood birdsnest
• Suckling pig
• Soy sauce chicken
• Taro duck
• Roast young pigeon/squabs
• Sour sparerib
• Salt and pepper rib
• Salt and pepper cuttlefish
• Salt and pepper shrimp
• Coca-cola chicken

Dessert
After a night meal or dish, Cantonese restaurants usually offer tong sui, sweet soups. Many of the varieties are shared between Cantonese and other Chinese cuisines. Some desserts are more traditional, while others are more recent with local chef creativity. Higher end restaurants usually offer their own blend and customization of desserts.
Includes:
• Red bean soup
• Gou dim
• Shaved Ice
• Deng egg
• Wild Rice Coconut Milk Soup (sometimes served with corn)
Delicacies
There are some dishes that are prized within the culture. These dishes range from being medium price to very expensive. Most of these have been around in the Far East for a long time, while some are just barely becoming available around the world. Many of these prized animals have serious animal rights controversial issues such as finning of Shark cartilages due to increasing price demands.
Includes:
• Braised abalone (燜鮑魚, Bao yu)
• Shark fin soup (魚翅羹, Yu qi tong)
• Hoi sam
• Bird's nest soup known as "Yeen Waw"

Fujian cuisine
Fujian cuisine is derived from the native cooking style of the province of Fujian, China. Well-known dishes include: oyster omelette, Popiah , yu wan (Fujian fish balls), and ban mien bian ruo (noodles with dumplings). Fujian cuisine is famed for using seafoods, and for the visual presentation of its dishes.
Fujian cuisine consists of four styles:
• Fuzhou cuisine: taste is light compared to other styles, often with a mixed sweet and sour taste. Emphasis is also on utilizing soup, and there is a saying in Fuzhou style: One soup can be changed in ten forms.
• Western Fujian cuisine: often there is a spicy taste and the cooking methods are often steam, fry and stir-fry.
• Southern Fujian cuisine: often there is a mix of spicy and sweet taste, and the selection of sauces is elaborate.
• Quanzhou cuisine: least oily among all Fujian cuisine, but with strongest taste/flavor, also put emphasis on the shape of the material for each dish.
One of the most popular dishes is "Buddha jumps over the wall" a complex dish making use of many ingredients, including shark fin, sea cucumber, abalone, and Shaoxing wine.
There are many eating places around the province that sell these specialities for two yuan, and which are thus known as "two-yuan eateries".
Hunan cuisine, sometimes called Xiang cuisine consists of the cuisines of the Xiang River region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province, in China. Hunan cuisine is consisted of three styles: Xiang River style which is represented by dishes of Changsha, Dongting Lake style which is represented by dishes of Hengyang, and western Hunan style which is represented by dishes of Xiangtan.
Hunan cuisine is one of the eight regional cuisines of China and is well known for its hot spicy flavor, fresh aroma and deep color. Common cooking techniques include stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region, ingredients for Hunan dishes are many and varied. Hunan is known for its liberal use of chilli peppers, shallots and garlic.
Xiang cuisine is known for being dry hot , or purely hot, as opposed to Szechuan cuisine, the neighbor to which it is often compared. Hunan Cuisine is often spicier and contains a larger variety of ingredients. Other characters distinguish Hunan cuisine from Szechuan cuisine is that in general, Hunan cuisine utilizes smoked and curing food in its dishes much more frequently than Szechuan cuisine. Hunan cuisine dishes are often more oily and look darker than Szechuan cuisine dishes.
Another feature of Hunan cuisine is the menu will change following the season’s alternation. In a hot and humid summer, a meal will usually start with cold dishes or a platter holding a selection of cold meats with chillies for opening the pores and keeping cool in the summer. In winter, a popular choice is the hot pot, for heating the blood in the cold months. A special hot pot called lover's hot pot is famous for splitting the pot into a spicy and a lighter side.
History
The history of the cooking skills employed in the Hunan cuisine date back many centuries. During the course of its history, Hunan cuisine assimilated a variety of cuisine styles, and then developed its own style. Now it contains more than 4000 dishes and among which over 300 dishes are very famous like fried chicken with Sichuan spicy sauce and smoked pork with dried long green beans.
Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine (Chinese: 四川菜 or 川菜) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating in Sichuan Province of southwestern China which has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (麻辣), because of the common ingredient Sichuan peppercorn (花椒). Although the region Sichuan is now romanized as Sichuan, the cuisine is still sometimes spelled Szechuan in the West. Translated, Sichuan means "Four Rivers". The four styles are separated by location: Chengdu, Chongqing, the Greater River (Yangtze), and the Lesser River (Jialing).
The common ingredient in Szechuan cuisine is Sichuan peppercorn, or Fagara. This is an indigenous plant whose peppercorns produce a fragrant, numbing, almost citrusy spice. Also common are chilli, ginger and spicy herbs. This emphasis on spice may derive from the region's warm, humid climate, and utilizes sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include pickling, salting, drying and smoking. Broad bean chili paste is also a staple seasoning in Sichuan cuisine.
Common preparation techniques in Szechuan cuisine include stir frying, steaming and braising, but a complete list would include more than 20 distinct techniques. Beef is somewhat more common in Szechuan cuisine than it is in other Chinese cuisines, perhaps due to the widespread use of oxen in the region. Stir-fried beef is often cooked until chewy, while steamed beef is sometimes coated with rice flour to produce a very rich gravy.
Representative dishes
Some well-known Szechuan dishes include Kung Pao chicken and Twice Cooked Pork. Although many dishes live up to their spicy reputation, often ignored are the large percentage of recipes that use little or no hot spices at all, including dishes such as Tea Smoked Duck.
Jiangsu cuisine is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Jiangsu region in China. In general, Jiangsu cuisine's texture is characterized as soft, but not to the point of mushy or falling apart. For example, the meat tastes so soft but would not separate from the bone when being picked up. Other characters includes the strict selection of ingredients according to the seasons, emphasis on the matching color and shape of each dish and emphasis on using soup to improve the flavor. Although sometimes simply called Yang cuisine, named after its major style, the Huaiyang cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine actually consists of several styles, including:
• Nanjing cuisine: its dishes emphasize an even taste and matching color, with excellent dishes incorporating river fish/shrimps and duck.
• Suzhou cuisine: emphasis on the selection of material, stronger taste than Nanjing cuisine, and with a tendency to be sweeter than the other varieties of the cuisine.
• Wuxi cuisine: famed for the numerous types of congee.
Shandong cuisine is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Shandong region in China. Shandong cuisine consists of two major styles:
• Jiaodong style: This style encompasses dishes from Fushan, Qingdao, Yantai and surrounding regions. It is characterized by seafood cooking, with light tastes.
• Jinan style: This style encompasses dishes from Jinan, dezhou, Tai'an and surrounding regions. It is famed for its soup and utilizing soups in its dishes.
Influence
Shandong cuisine is sometimes considered the most influential in Chinese cuisine, with majority of the culinary styles in China is developed from it.
Ingredients
Though modern transportation methods have greatly increased the availability of ingredients throughout China, Shandong cuisine remains rooted in its ancient traditions. Most notable is the staggering array of seafood, including scallops, prawns, clams, sea cucumbers, and squid, all of which are well-known in Shandong as local ingredients of exemplary quality.
Beyond the use of seafood, Shandong is somewhat unique for its wide use of corn, a local cash crop that is not widely cultivated elsewhere. Unlike the sweet corn of North America, Shandong corn is chewy and starchy, often with a grassy aroma. It is often served simply as steamed or boiled cobs, or removed from the cob and lightly fried.
Shandong is also well known for its peanut crops, which are fragrant and naturally sweet. It is common at meals in Shandong, both formal and casual, to see large platters of peanuts, either roasted in the shell, or shelled and stir-fried with salt. Peanuts are also served raw in a number of cold dishes that hail from the region.
Shandong is also distinct from most of China's other culinary traditions in its wide use of a variety of small grains. Millet, wheat, oat and barley can be found in the local diet, often eaten as porridge (Zhōu), or milled and cooked into one of the many varieties of steamed and fried breads eaten in Shandong. More so than anywhere else in China, Shandong people are known for their tendency to eat steamed breads, rather than rice, as the staple food in a meal.
Despite its rich agricultural output, Shandong has not traditionally used the wide variety of vegetables seen in many southern styles of Chinese cooking. Potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, mushrooms, onions, garlic and eggplants make up the staple vegetables in the Shandong diet. Grassy greens, sea grasses, and bell peppers are also not uncommon. The large, sweet cabbages grown in central Shandong are renowned for their delicate flavor and hardiness. As has been the case for generations, these cabbages are a staple of the winter diet throughout much of the province, and are featured in a great many dishes.
Possibly Shandong's greatest contribution to Chinese cuisine has been in the area of brewing vinegars. Hundreds of years of experience combined with unique local methods have led to Shandong's prominence as one of the premier regions for vinegar production in China. Unlike the lighter flavored, sharper vinegars popular in the southern regions, Shandong vinegar has a rich, complex flavor which, among some connisseurs, is considered fine enough to be enjoyed on its own merits.
Zhejiang cuisine is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Zhejiang region in China. The cuisine is consisted of three styles, each originating from a city in the province: the Shaoxing style specializing in poultry and freshwater fish, and the Ningbo style specializing in seafood, with emphasis on freshness and salty taste. Hangzhou style is characterized in rich in variation and the utilization of bamboo shoots.
Beijing cuisine (Chinese:; Pinyin: jīngcài; literally "capital cuisine") is a cooking style in Beijing, China. It is also formally known as Mandarin cuisine.
Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence on Beijing cuisine is the cuisine of the eastern coastal province of Shandong. Beijing cuisine has itself, in turn, also greatly influenced other Chinese cuisines, particularly the cuisine of Liaoning, the Chinese imperial cuisine, and the Chinese aristocrat cuisine. "The Emperor's Kitchen" ; pinyin: was a term referring to the cooking places inside of the Forbidden City, Beijing where thousands of cooks from the different parts of China showed their best cooking skills to please royal families and officials. Therefore, it is at times rather difficult to determine the actual origin of a dish as the term "Mandarin" is generalized and refers not only to Beijing, but other provinces as well. However, some generalization of Bejing cuisine can be characterized as follows: Foods that originated in Beijing are often snacks rather than full courses, and they are typically sold by little shops or street vendors. There is emphasis on dark soy paste, sesame paste, sesame oil, and scallions, and fermented tofu is often served as a condiment. In terms of cooking method, methods relating to the different way of frying is often used.
Well known Mandarin dishes
Meat:
• Peking Duck
• Hot and Sour Soup
• Peking Barbecue
• Mutton Hot pot
• Sweetened Vinegar Spareribs
• Stir Fried Tomatoes with Scrambled Eggs
• Sweet Stir Fried Mutton/Lamb (Ta Si Mi)
Beijing cuisine (Chinese: 京菜 or 北京菜; Pinyin: jīngcài; literally "capital cuisine") is a cooking style in Beijing, China. It is also formally known as Mandarin cuisine.
Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence on Beijing cuisine is the cuisine of the eastern coastal province of Shandong. Beijing cuisine has itself, in turn, also greatly influenced other Chinese cuisines, particularly the cuisine of Liaoning, the Chinese imperial cuisine, and the Chinese aristocrat cuisine. "The Emperor's Kitchen" (御膳房; pinyin: yùshànfáng) was a term referring to the cooking places inside of the Forbidden City, Beijing where thousands of cooks from the different parts of China showed their best cooking skills to please royal families and officials. Therefore, it is at times rather difficult to determine the actual origin of a dish as the term "Mandarin" is generalized and refers not only to Beijing, but other provinces as well. However, some generalization of Bejing cuisine can be characterized as follows: Foods that originated in Beijing are often snacks rather than full courses, and they are typically sold by little shops or street vendors. There is emphasis on dark soy paste, sesame paste, sesame oil, and scallions, and fermented tofu is often served as a condiment. In terms of cooking method, methods relating to the different way of frying is often used
Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka, and originally came from southeastern China (Guangdong and Fujian).
Hakka people are migratory tribes of ethnic Han Chinese originated from central China. Their ancestors exiled themselves from foreign rulers such as the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty. Due to their late migration to the southern areas of China, they found that all of the best land had been settled long before. The Hakkas then were forced to settle in the sparsely settled hill country.
As a result, fresh produce was at a premium, forcing the Hakkas to heavily utilize dried and preserved ingredients, such as various kinds of fermented tofu and much use of onion. Due to the hill country being far inland seafood is a rarity. Pork is by far the most favored meat of the Hakkas, with belly bacon being the preferred cut as it has alternating layers of fat and lean meat, providing an excellent texture.
Famous dishes
Salt baked chicken
Famous dishes in Hakka restaurants in Hong Kong include:
• Salt baked chicken - originally baked inside a heap of hot salt, but today many restaurants simply cook in brine, or cover it with a salty mixture before steaming it or baking it in an oven.
• Duck stuffed with rice - a whole duck is de-boned while maintaining the shape of the bird, the cavities being filled with seasoned sticky rice.
• Beef ball soup - very simple clear broth with lettuce and beef balls.
• Fried pork with fermented tofu: this is a popular Chinese New Year offering which involves two stages of cooking. As previously mentioned, fresh food was at a premium in Hakka areas, so the marinated pork was deep fried to remove the moisture in order to preserve it. When a meal of pork was desired, the fried pork was then stewed with water and wood's ear fungus. It is a Hakka equivalent to canned soup.
Ngiong Tew Foo , stuffed tofu cube)
• Ngiong Tew Foo , stuffed tofu cube : one of the more popular foods that originated from deep Hakka roots, it consists of tofu cubes heaped with minced meat (usually pork) and herbs, then fried till golden brown, or sometimes braised. Variations include usage of various oddments including eggplants, shiitake mushrooms, and bitter melon stuffed with the same meat paste. Traditionally, Yong tao foo is served in a clear yellow bean stew along with the bitter melon and shiitake variants. Modern variations that are more commonly seen sold in foodstalls are made by stuffing the tofu with solely fish paste. Usage of oddments to replace the tofu are more noticeable in this version, ranging from fried fish maw slices and okra to chili peppers.
• Kiu nyuk , sliced pork with preserved mustard greens): thick slices of pork belly, with a layer of preserved mustard greens between each slice, are cooked and served in a dark sauce made up of soy sauce and sugar. A variation of the recipe on Wikibooks Cookbook is available here.


Kiu nyuk;, sliced pork with preserved mustard greens)
• Lei cha or Pounded Tea : A consortment of tea leaves (usually green tea), peanuts, mint leaves, sesame seeds, mung beans and other herbs, which are pounded or ground into a fine powder which is mixed as a drink, or as a dietary brew to be taken with rice and other vegetarian side dishes such as greens, tofu, and pickled radish.
• Poon Choi : A variety of ingredients served in a basin.
Lebanese cuisine

Lebanese Cuisine,(Arabic , المأكولات اللبنانية ) or foods from Lebanon, are considered a Mediterranean delicacy consisting of a variety of fresh vegetarian recipes, salads and stews all seasoned with a flavorsome combination of herbs and spices. One of the most world known Lebanese specialties is called the Maza, also written "Mezze", which is a selection of appetisers: olives, cheeses, Labanee, or small portions also known as muqabbilat (starters).
As with most Mediterranean cuisines, Lebanese cuisine is considered to be a very balanced, healthy diet.
The cuisine of Lebanon is the epitome of the Mediterranean diet. It includes an abundance of starches, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood; animal fats are consumed sparingly. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten it is usually lamb. It also includes copious amounts of garlic and olive oil-nary a meal goes by in Lebanon that does not include these two ingredients. Most often foods are either grilled, baked or sauted in olive oil; butter or cream is rarely used other than in a few desserts. Vegetables are often eaten raw or pickled as well as cooked. While the cuisine of Lebanon doesn't boast an entire repertoire of sauces, it focuses on herbs, spices and the freshness of ingredients; the assortment of dishes and combinations are almost limitless. The meals are full of robust, earthy flavors and, like most Mediterranean countries, much of what the Lebanese eat is dictated by the seasons.
Common foods & recipes
This is a selection of appetizers that can be eatin alone as in breakfast
• Ackawi white cheese
• Baba ghanoush made from eggplant
• Baklava Dessert
• Balila
• Batata harra
• Falafel
• Fattoush Middle Eastern mixed salad with toasted pits bread
• Fried cauliflower
• Fried eggplant
• Fuul beans can be made with olive oil or as salad
• Grape Leaves
• Hummus
• Kebab
• Kibbeh Mainly stuffed, can be made in different form like (fried,un cooked,cooked with yogurt)
• Kofta or Kafta
• Kubideh
• Labneh
• Ma'amoul Dessert made in religious holiday as after Ramadan
• Manaeesha collection of oriental pastries
• Mujaddara (Imjaddarra)
• Mutabbel made from eggplant
• Pastirma or Bastirma
• Shanklish
• Shawarma
• Tabbouleh diced Middle Eastern salad
• Tahini
• Za'atar (Thyme)
Beverages
• Almaza
• Arak
• Cola
• Tahn
• White coffee
Baklava or Baklawa is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the Middle East and the Balkans (i.e., former Byzantine[1][2] and later Ottoman[3][4] countries). It is a pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts, usually walnuts or pistachios, and sweetened with sugar syrup or honey.
Baklava is a popular dessert throughout the former Ottoman world. [3][4] After the meal, an assortment of small pastries is typically brought to the table on a brass tray, accompanied by tiny cups of Turkish coffee.
Gaziantep, a city in Turkey, is famous for its baklava and, in Turkey, is widely regarded as the native city of the sweet.[
Balila, also known as Cumin Chickpeas, consists of boiled chickpeas mixed with garlic, salt, cumin and olive oil.
It is usually served as a hot Mezze dish.
Batata harra (literally "hot potatoes") is a Lebanese vegetable dish. It consists of potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chilli, and garlic which are all fried together in olive oil.
Batata harra is also an Indian vegetable dish. In fact, potatoes in Western India are known as Batata, and Harra means green in Hindi. To prepare, boil the potatoes, then saute them in oil with cumin seeds and curry leaves. Garnish with coriander.
Falafel ( Arabic: فَلافِِل falaafil (help•info), also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya (طعمية), is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It has become a popular form of fast food in the Levant and in the Mashriq (Arab East), where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas). The word "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic word فِِلِِفِِل (filfil), meaning pepper.[1]
Falafel is usually served as a sandwich wrapped in pita bread, and outside the Middle East, the term "falafel" commonly refers to this sandwich—falafel in a pita is typical street food or fast food. Along with the falafel balls, which may be crushed onto the bread or added whole, topping variations are usually included. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset.
Falafel has been part of the diet of Mizrahi Jews for centuries and is a staple of the Israeli diet. It has become the national dish of Israel. [2]
Fattoush (Arabic , فتوش ) is a Levantine salad made from several garden vegetables and toasted or fried pieces of pita bread. Fattoush salad allows cooks to use seasonal produce by mixing different vegetables and herbs according to taste, and also to make use of pitas that have gone stale. The vegetables are cut into relatively larges pieces compared to Tabbouleh which requires ingredients to be finely chopped. Sumac is usually used to give Fattoush its sour taste.
Primary Ingredients
• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Sumac
• Mint
• Pita - toasted or fried
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
Optional Ingredients
• Feta Cheese
• Cucumber
• Parsley
• Carrot
• Red Pepper
• Green pepper
• Red Cabbage
• Black olive
• Pepper
Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in Turkish cuisine and the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, including, Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Greece, and Central Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma, which is more precisely called yaprak dolma or sarma. Common vegetables to stuff include tomatoes and peppers. The stuffing may include meat or not. Meat dolma are generally served warm, often with sauce; meatless ones are generally served cold. Both can be eaten along with yoghurt.
The filling may be minced meat, rice or grain. In either case, the filling includes lemon juice, onion, parsley, herbs and spices. Meatless fillings are cooked with olive oil and include dried grapes, nuts or pulses.
Dolma, strictly speaking, is a stuffed vegetable, that is, a vegetable that is hollowed out and filled with stuffing. This applies to courgette, tomato, pepper, eggplant and the like; stuffed mackerel, squid and mussel are also called "dolma". Dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called 'sarma' though in many languages, the distinction is usually not made. Sarma is derived from the Turkish verb sarmak which means to wrap. Other variants derive from the Turkish word for 'leaf', yaprak.
Dolma cooked with olive oil without minced meat is sometimes called "yalancı" which literally means "liar", "false" or "fake" in Turkish. The reason for which it is described "false" is that it does not contain meat.
Hummus or hummus bi tahini (Arabic: حُمُّص; Hebrew: חוּמוּס‎; Armenian համոս) also spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus) is a dip or spread made of ground chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
In Arabic the word hummus is used to describe the dish or just chickpeas by themselves. The full name of the dish is hummus bi tahina (Arabic: حُمُّص بطحينة) 'chickpeas with tahini'. Hummus is popular in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world. Its origins are unknown and are hotly debated throughout the Middle East.
Hummus is traditionally scooped with flatbread (such as pita or a piadini), but is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips outside the Middle East. Hummus is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses, as part of a meze, and as a dressing (for such things as falafel, Israeli salad, grilled chicken, or eggplant). In Israel, a hummus sandwich is a popular children's snack.
Hummus can be garnished in numerous ways, including sprinkling parsley, paprika, cumin (popular in Egypt), pine nuts (traditional in Palestinian hummus [1]), tomatoes, cucumber, pickled turnips (traditional in Lebanon), cilantro, thinly-sliced tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, or with whole chickpeas over top before drizzling with olive oil
Kibbeh or kibbe (Arabic كبة ['kibbeh] or ['kubbah]) is a dish of minced meat with bulgur and spices with many variants, both raw and cooked. It is a popular dish in the Levant, sometimes considered the national dish of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq.[citation needed] It is also a common food in North Africa, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of the Caucasus such as Armenia.
In its most common form, it consists of minced lamb mixed with bulgur and spices, stuffed inside a bulgur pastry crust and grilled, boiled or fried. The shape, size and ingredients vary between different types of kibbeh and between the recipes traditional in different areas. The mix of spices changes as does the composition of the crust. Kubbat Halab is an Iraqi version made with a rice crust, though apparently not originating in the Syrian city of Halab (Aleppo) as its name suggests. Kubbat Mosul is another Iraqi version originally from Mosul where a bulgur crust is used, but the shape is flat and round, like a disc. Finally, Kubbat Shorwa is an Assyrian-Iraqi version where kibbeh is mixed in a stew, usually cooked with tomato sauce and spices.
The meat and bulgur mix, without the crust, is often served raw (called Kibbe nayye), similar to steak tartare. It is a popular delicacy in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq and is often accompanied by arak. In Lebanon, it is common to serve fresh kibbeh meat raw, and then cook the remainder the next day.
It is traditionally served with a tahina dip, which is a sesame seed paste. Sometimes Lebanese and northern Palestinians will serve the dish without the pastry bread and only eat the meat.
Kebab (also transliterated as kabab, kebap, kabob, kibob) refers to a variety of grilled/broiled meat dishes in Middle Eastern cuisine and South Asian cuisine. Kebabs usually consist of lamb and beef, though particular styles of kebab have chicken or fish. Pork is never used for kebabs by Muslims or Jews because of the religious prohibition on the meat, but is sometimes used by non-Halal or non-Kosher sellers.
Kofta, köfte, kafta, kufta or kafteh (Arabic,كوفته ,کفتة in Persian) are a family of Middle Eastern and South Asian meatballs or dumplings.
In their simplest form, they consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions. The meat is often mixed with other ingredients such as rice, burghul, vegetables, or eggs to form a smooth paste. Koftas are sometimes made with fish or vegetables rather than meat, especially in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce. Variations occur in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Asia and India. According to a 2005 research done by a private food company, there were 291 different kinds of köfte in Turkey, where it is very popular.[1] In Arab countries, kufta is usually shaped into cigar-shaped cylinders.
The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta: In Persian , "Kuftan کوفتن" means "to beat" or "to grind" or meatball[2].Early recipes (included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks) generally concern seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls, and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the west and is referred to as gilding, or endoring. Many regional variations exist, notable among them the unusually large Iranian Kufteh Tabrizi, having an average diameter of 20cm (8").[3].
Koftas in South Asian cuisine are normally cooked in a spicy curry and sometimes with whole pre-boiled eggs. Sometimes the eggs are encased in a layer of the spicy kofta meat so that the final product resembles an Indian Scotch egg. These kofta dishes are very popular with South Asian families and are widely available from many Indian restaurants. In Bengal, a region of East India, koftas are made with prawns, fish, green bananas, cabbage, as well as minced goat meat.
Kubideh is a Lebanese dish made from chopped beef or lamb meat with onion, egg and other ingredients. It is also popular in Iran. The meat is then grilled and served with rice and salad
Strained yoghurt, yoghurt cheese, labneh (also labaneh, lebnah; Arabic لبنة), or Greek yoghurt (in northern Europe and the U.S.) is a type of yoghurt which is strained in a cloth or paper bag or filter, traditionally made of muslin, to remove the whey, giving a consistency between that of yoghurt and cheese, while preserving yoghurt's distinctive sour taste. It is a traditional food in the Middle East and South Asia, where it is often used in cooking, as it is high enough in fat not to curdle at higher temperatures. Like many yoghurts, strained yoghurt is often made from milk which has been enriched by boiling off some of the water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk.
Strained yoghurt is used in both savoury and sweet dishes, both cooked and raw. In the Middle East and South Asia, it is often used to enrich savoury sauces, as it does not curdle when cooked like unstrained yoghurt. It is used raw in savoury sauces and dips and in sweet desserts.
Recently, it has become popular in northern European cookery, partly because low-fat versions are now made, and so it can function as an alternative to cream in many preparations.[1]
In the United States, strained yoghurt has mostly been available in ethnic stores catering to a Middle Eastern clientele, but FAGE brand moved into the health and natural food stores market starting in 2000.[2]
Japanese cuisine
There are many views as to what defines Japanese cuisine, as the everyday food of the Japanese people has diversified immensely over the past century or so. In Japan, the term "Japanese cuisine" (nihon ryōri, or washoku,) means traditional-style Japanese food, similar to what already existed before the end of national seclusion in 1868. In a broader sense of the word, it could also include foods whose ingredients or cooking methods were subsequently introduced from abroad, but which have been developed by Japanese who made them their own.
Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food (旬, shun),[1] quality of ingredients and presentation. Local, regional and seasonal dishes are invariably a key tourist attraction for the domestic traveler.

Food unique to Japan
Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods (shushoku), typically rice or noodles, with a soup, and okazu - dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, tofu and the like, designed to add flavour to the staple food. These are typically flavoured with dashi, miso, and soy sauce and are usually low in fat and high in salt.
A standard Japanese meal generally consists of several different okazu accompanying a bowl of cooked white Japanese rice (gohan), a bowl of soup and some tsukemono (pickles). The most standard meal comprises three okazu and is termed ichijū-sansai ( "one soup, three sides"). Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three okazu; they may be raw (sashimi), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed. This Japanese view of a meal is reflected in the organization of Japanese cookbooks, organized into chapters according to cooking techniques as opposed to particular ingredients (e.g. meat, seafood). There may also be chapters devoted to soups, sushi, rice, noodles, and sweets.
As Japan is an island nation its people eat much seafood. Meat-eating has been rare until fairly recently due to restrictions placed upon it by Buddhism. However, strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavoured with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes). An exception is shōjin ryōri, vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin ryōri usually available at public eating places includes some non-vegetarian elements.
Noodles, originating in China, have become an essential part of Japanese cuisine usually as an alternative to a rice-based meal. Soba (thin, grayish-brown noodles containing buckwheat flour) and udon (thick wheat noodles) are the main traditional noodles and are served hot or cold with soy-dashi flavourings. Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat stock broth known as ramen have become extremely popular over the last century.
Traditional Japanese table settings
The traditional Japanese table setting has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables or flat floor trays were set before each diner. Larger low tables (chabudai,) that accommodated entire families were becoming popular by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way to western style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century.
Traditionally, the rice bowl is placed on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind these, each okazu is served on its own individual plate. Based on the standard three okazu formula, behind the rice and soup are three flat plates to hold the three okazu; one to far back left, one at far back right, and one in the center. Pickled vegetables are often served on the side but are not counted as part of the three okazu.
Chopsticks are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the dinner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a chopstick rest, or hashioki .
Eating etiquette
• It is customary to say itadakimasu (lit. "I shall receive") before starting to eat a meal, and gochisoosama deshita, (lit. "That was a feast") to the host after the meal and the restaurant staff when leaving.
• Before eating, most dining places will provide either a hot towel or a plastic wrapped wet napkin. This is for cleaning of the hands prior to eating and not after. It is rude to use them to wash the face or any part of the body other than the hands.
• The rice or the soup is eaten by picking the relevant bowl up with the left hand and using chopsticks with the right. Bowls of soup, noodle soup, donburi or ochazuke may be lifted to the mouth but not white rice. Soy sauce is not usually poured over most foods at the table; a dipping dish is usually provided. Soy sauce is, however, meant to be poured directly onto tofu and grated daikon dishes. In particular, soy sauce should never be poured onto rice or soup. Blowing one's nose at the table is considered extremely offensive. Noodles are slurped.
• Chopsticks are never left sticking vertically into rice, as this is how they are ritually offered to the dead. Using chopsticks to spear food, to point, or to pass food into someone else's chopsticks is also frowned upon. It is also very bad manners to bite on your chopsticks.
• When taking food from a communal dish, unless they are family or very close friends, turn the chopsticks around to grab the food; it is considered cleaner. If sharing with someone else, move it directly from one plate to another; passing food from one pair to another is a funeral rite.
• It is customary to eat rice to the last grain. Being a fussy eater is frowned upon, and it is not customary to ask for special requests or substitutions at restaurants. It is considered ungrateful to make these requests especially in circumstances where you are being hosted, as in a business dinner environment. Good manners dictate that you respect the selections of the host. This is a common mistake that visiting business people make.
• Even in informal situations, drinking alcohol starts with a toast (kanpai, 乾杯) when everyone is ready. It is not customary to pour oneself a drink; but rather, people are expected to keep each other's drinks topped up. When someone moves to pour your drink you should hold your glass with both hands and thank them.
Japanese ingredients
Rice
• Short or medium grain white rice
• Mochi rice (glutinous rice)
Beans
• azuki
• soy
Eggs
• chicken
• quail
Flour
• katakuri flour
• kudzu flour
• rice powder
• soba flour
• wheat flour
Fruits
• citrus fruits:
• amanatsu
• daidai
• iyokan
• kabosu
• kumquat
• mikan
• natsumikan
• sudachi
• yuzu
• chestnut
• loquat
• nashi pear
• persimmon
Fu (wheat gluten)
Meats
• beef
• chicken
• horse
• pork
• sometimes as minchi ( minced meat)
Mushrooms
• enokitake
• eringi
• matsutake
• maitake
• nameko
• hiratake
• shiitake
• shimeji
Noodles
• soba
• somen
• ramen
• udon
Seafood
Every type of seafood imaginable features in Japanese cuisine. Only the most common are in the list below. Includes freshwater varieties.
• Finned fish:
• skipjack tuna (katsuo)
• pacific saury (sanma)
• flounder (karei / hirame)
• Japanese amberjack (buri / hamachi)
• mackerel (saba)
• Japanese jack mackerel (aji)
• salmon (sake)
• tuna (maguro)
• red sea bream (madai)
• pufferfish (fugu)
• sardine (iwashi)
• Japanese eel (unagi)
• ayu
• Sea Mammals:
• baleen whale (kujira)
• dolphin (iruka)
• Shellfish:
• prawn, shrimp (ebi)
• squid, cuttlefish (ika)
• octopus (tako)
• sea urchin (uni)
• scallop (hotate-gai)
• littleneck clam (asari)
• freshwater clam (shijimi)
• oyster (kaki)
• spiny lobster (ise-ebi)
• horned turban (sazae)
• Crab (kani)
• snow crab (zuwaigani)
• horsehair crab (kegani)
• king crab (tarabagani)
• horse crab (gazami)
• Roe
• salmon roe (ikura)
• herring roe (kazunoko)
• pollock roe (tarako)
• flying fish roe (tobiko)
• Processed seafood:
• chikuwa
• kamaboko
• niboshi
• surimi
• Satsuma age
• Seaweed
• hijiki
• konbu
• nori
• wakame, etc.
Soy products
• Edamame
• Miso
• Soy sauce (light, dark, tamari)
• Tofu
• soft: kinugoshi-dōfu (silken), oboro-dōfu, kumidashi-dōfu
• firm: momen-dōfu (cotton)
• freeze-dried: kōyadōfu
• fried: aburaage, agedōfu, atsuage, ganmodoki
• residue: Okara
• Soy milk, Yuba
Vegetables
• cucumber
• daikon
• eggplant
• fuki (a type of butterbur)
• gobo (greater burdock)
• hakusai (Chinese cabbage)
• kaiware (radish sprouts)
• Konnyaku (shirataki)
• moyashi (mung or soybean sprouts)
• negi (Welsh onion)
• nira (Chinese chives)
• renkon (lotus root)
• Sansai (wild vegetables)
• spinach
• sweet potato
• takenoko (bamboo shoots)
• Tsukemono (pickled vegetables)
Japanese flavourings
It is not generally thought possible to make authentic Japanese food without shōyu (soy sauce), miso and dashi.
• Kombu (kelp), katsuobushi (flakes of cured skipjack tuna, sometimes referred to as bonito) and niboshi (dried baby sardines) are often used to make dashi stock.
• Negi (welsh onion), onions, garlic, nira (Chinese chives), rakkyō (a type of scallion).
• Sesame seeds, sesame oil, sesame salt (gomashio), furikake, walnuts or peanuts to dress.
• Shōyu (soy sauce), dashi, mirin, sugar, rice vinegar, miso, sake.
• Wasabi (and imitation wasabi from horseradish), karashi (hot mustard), red pepper, ginger, shiso (perilla or beefsteak plant) leaves, sansho, citrus peel, and honeywort (called mitsuba).
Less traditional, but widely used ingredients include:
• Monosodium glutamate, which is often used by chefs and food companies as a cheap flavor enhancer. It may be used as a substitute for kombu, which is a traditional source of free glutamate
• Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce, often known as simply "sauce", thicker and fruitier than the original, is commonly used as a table condiment for okonomiyaki tonkatsu croquette and the like.
• Japanese mayonnaise is used with salads, okonomiyaki , yaki soba and sometimes mixed with wasabi or soy sauce.
Common Japanese staple foods (Shushoku)
Rice (gohanmono)
Rice served in Japan is of the short-grain Japonica variety. In a traditional Japanese setting (e.g. served in a conic bowl) it is known as gohan or meshi ( generally only males say meshi). In western-influenced dishes, where rice is often served on the plate (such as curries) it is called raisu (, after the English word "rice".)
• Gohan or Meshi: plainly cooked white rice. It is such a staple that the terms gohan and meshi are also used to refer meals in general, such as Asa gohan/meshi ( (breakfast), Hiru gohan/meshi ( lunch), and Ban gohan/meshi ( dinner). Some alternatives are:
• Genmai gohan : white rice cooked with brown rice
• Okowa : cooked glutinous rice
• Mugi gohan/meshi : white rice cooked with barley
• Soy-flavored raw egg (Tamago kake gohan), nori, and furikake are popular condiments in Japanese breakfast
• Ochazuke: hot green tea or dashi poured over cooked white rice, often with various savoury ingredients
• Onigiri: balls of rice with a filling in the middle. Japanese equivalent of sandwiches.
• Takikomi gohan: Japanese-style pilaf cooked with various ingredients and flavored with soy, dashi, etc.
• Kamameshi: rice topped with vegetables and chicken or seafood, then baked in an individual-sized pot
• Sekihan: red rice. white rice cooked with azuki beans to Glutinous rice
• Japanese curry: Introduced from UK in the late 19th century, "curry rice" (karē raisu is now one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is not as spicy as its Indian counterpart.
• Hayashi rice: thick beef stew on rice; origin of the name is unknown
• Omurice (Omu-raisu, ): omelet filled with fried rice, apparently originating from Tōkyō
• Mochi: glutinous rice cake
• Chāhan: fried rice, adapted to Japanese tastes, tends to be lighter in flavour and style than the Chinese version from which it is derived
Congee
• Kayu or Okayu: rice congee (porridge), sometimes egg dropped and usually served to infants and sick people as easily digestible meals
• Zosui (Zōsui) or Ojiya: a soup containing rice stewed in stock, often with egg, meat, seafood, vegetables or mushroom, and flavoured with miso or soy. Known as juushii in Okinawa. Some similarity to risotto and Kayu though Zosui uses cooked rice
Donburi
A one-bowl lunchtime dish, consisting of a donburi (どんぶり, big bowl) full of hot steamed rice with various savory toppings:
• Katsudon: donburi topped with deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork (tonkatsudon), chicken (chickendon)
• Tekkadon: donburi topped with tuna sashimi
• Oyakodon (Parent and Child): donburi topped with chicken and egg (or sometimes salmon and salmon roe)
• Gyūdon: donburi topped with seasoned beef
• Tendon: donburi topped with tempura (battered shrimp and vegetables).
• Unadon: donburi topped with broiled eel with vegetables.
Sushi
Sushi comes from Japan and is a vinegared rice topped or mixed with various fresh ingredients, usually fish or seafood.
• Nigiri-sushi: This is sushi with the ingredients on top of a block of rice.
• Maki-zushi: Translated as "roll sushi", this is where rice and seafood or other ingredients are placed on a sheet of seaweed (nori) and rolled into a cylindrical shape on a bamboo mat and then cut into smaller pieces.
• Temaki: Basically the same as makizushi, except that the nori is rolled into a cone-shape with the ingredients placed inside. Sometimes referred to as a "hand-roll".
• Chirashi: Translated as "scattered", chirashi involves fresh sea food, vegetables or other ingredients being placed on top of sushi rice in a bowl or dish.
Sake
Sake is a rice wine that typically contains 12~20% alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice. At traditional meals, it is considered an equivalent to rice and is not simultaneously taken with other rice-based dishes. Side dishes for sake is particularly called sakana or otsumami.
Noodles (men-rui)
Noodles often take the place of rice in a meal. However, the Japanese appetite for rice is so strong that many restaurants even serve noodles-rice combination sets.
Soba with sliced duck breast, negi (scallions) and mitsuba
• Traditional Japanese noodles are usually served chilled with a dipping sauce, or in a hot soy-dashi broth.
o Soba: thin brown buckwheat noodles. Also known as Nihon-soba ("Japanese soba"). In Okinawa, soba likely refers to Okinawa soba (see below).
o Udon: thick wheat noodles served with various toppings, usually in a hot soy-dashi broth, or sometimes in a Japanese curry soup.
o Somen: thin wheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce. Hot Somen is called Nyumen.
• Chinese-influenced noodles are served in a meat or chicken broth and have only appeared in the last 100 years or so.
o Ramen: thin light yellow noodles served in hot chicken or pork broth with various toppings; of Chinese origin, it is a popular and common item in Japan. Also known as Shina-soba or Chuka-soba (both mean "Chinese-style soba")
o Champon: yellow noodles of medium thickness served with a great variety of seafood and vegetable toppings in a hot chicken broth which originated in Nagasaki as a cheap food for students
• Okinawa soba: thick wheat-flour noodles served in Okinawa, often served in a hot broth with sōki, steamed pork. Akin to a cross between udon and ramen.
• Yaki soba: Fried Chinese noodles
• Yaki udon: Fried udon noodles
Bread (pan)
Bread (the word "pan" is derived from the Portuguese pão) is not native to Japan and is not considered traditional Japanese food, but since its introduction in the 19th century it has become common.
• Curry bread (karē pan): deep fried bread filled with Japanese curry sauce.
• Anpan: sweet bun filled with red bean(anko) paste.
• Yakisoba-pan: bread roll sandwich with yakisoba (fried noodles and red pickled ginger) filling.
• Katsu-sando: sandwich with tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) filling.
Common Japanese main and side dishes (okazu)
Deep-fried dishes (agemono)


Ebi tempura.
• Karaage: bite-sized pieces of chicken, fish, octopus, or other meat, floured and deep fried. Common izakaya food, also often available in convenience stores.
• Korokke (croquette): breaded and deep-fried patties, containing either mashed potato or white sauce mixed with minced meat, vegetables or seafood. Popular everyday food.
• Kushikatsu: skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep fried.
• Tempura: deep-fried vegetables or seafood in a light, distinctive batter.
• Tonkatsu: deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork (chicken versions are called chicken katsu).
Grilled and pan-fried dishes (yakimono)


Yakitori being cooked
• Gyoza: Chinese ravioli-dumplings (potstickers), usually filled with pork and vegetables and pan-fried.
• Kushiyaki: skewers of meat and vegetables.
• Okonomiyaki: savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients, flavoured with the likes of Worcestershire sauce or mayonnaise.
• Takoyaki: a spherical, fried dumpling of batter with a piece of octopus inside. Popular street snack.
• Teriyaki: grilled, broiled, or pan-fried meat, fish, chicken or vegetables glazed with a sweetened soy sauce.
• Unagi, including Kabayaki: grilled and flavored eel.
• Yakiniku ("grilled meat"): may refer to several things
o "Korean BBQ" - Bite-sized pieces of meat (usually beef) grilled, usually at the table, originating from Korean galbi and bulgogi.
o Horumonyaki ("offal-grill"): similar homegrown dish, but using offal
o Genghis Khan barbecue: barbecued lamb or mutton, with various seafoods and vegetables. A speciality of Hokkaidō.
• Yakitori: barbecued chicken skewers, usually served with beer. In Japan, yakitori usually consists of a wide variety of parts of the chicken. It is not usual to see straight chicken meat as the only type of yakitori in a meal.
• Yakizakana: flame-grilled fish, often served with grated daikon. One of the most common dishes served at home.
Nabemono (one pot "steamboat" cooking)
Nabemono includes:
• Oden: surimi, boiled pork and beans, mutton, etc. simmered in broth. Common wintertime food and often available in convenience stores.
• Motsunabe: beef offal, Chinese cabbage and various vegetables cooked in a light soup base.
• Shabu-shabu: hot pot with thinly sliced beef, vegetables, and tofu, cooked in a thin stock at the table and dipped in a soy or sesame-based dip before eating.
• Sukiyaki: thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, dashi, sugar, and sake. Participants cook at the table then dip food into their individual bowls of raw egg before eating it.
• Tecchiri: hot pot with blowfish and vegetables, a specialty of Osaka.
Nimono (stewed dishes)
• Kakuni: chunks of pork belly stewed in soy, mirin and sake with large pieces of daikon and whole boiled eggs. The Okinawan variation, using awamori, soy sauce and miso, is known as rafuti.
• Nikujaga: beef and potato stew, flavoured with sweet soy
• Nizakana: fish poached in sweet soy (often on the menu as "nitsuke")
• sōki: Okinawan dish of pork stewed with bone
Itamemono (stir-fried dishes)
Stir-frying is not a native method of cooking in Japan, however mock-Chinese stir fries such as yasai itame (stir fried vegetables) have been a staple in homes and canteens across Japan since the 1950s. Home grown stir fries include:
• Chanpurū: A stir-fry from Okinawa, of vegetables, tofu, meat or seafood and sometimes egg. Many varieties, the most famous being gōyā chanpurū.
• Kinpira gobo: Thin sticks of greater burdock (gobo, ゴボウ) and other root vegetables stir-fried and braised in sweetened soy.
Sashimi
Sashimi is raw, thinly sliced foods served with a dipping sauce and simple garnishes; usually fish or shellfish served with soy sauce and wasabi. Less common variations include:
• Fugu: sliced poisonous pufferfish (sometimes lethal), a uniquely Japanese specialty. The chef responsible for preparing it must be licensed.
• Ikizukuri: live sashimi
• Tataki (ja:たたき): raw/very rare skipjack tuna or beef steak seared on the outside and sliced, or a finely chopped fish, spiced with the likes of chopped spring onions, ginger or garlic paste.
• Basashi (ja:馬刺し): horse meat sashimi, sometimes called sakura (桜), is a regional speciality in certain areas such as Shinshu (Nagano, Gifu and Toyama prefectures) and Kumamoto.[1] Basashi features on the menu of many izakayas, even on the menus of big national chains.
• Torisashi: chicken breast sashimi, regional specialty of Kagoshima, Miyazaki prefectures.
• Rebasashi: usually liver of calf, completely raw (rare version is called "aburi" (あぶり)), usually dipped in salted sesame oil rather than soy source.
• Shikasashi: deer meat sashimi, a rare delicacy in certain parts of Japan, frequently causes acute hepatitis E by eating hunted wild deer.[2]
Soups (suimono (吸い物) and shirumono (汁物))
Soups include:
• Miso soup: soup made with miso dissolved in dashi, usually containing two or three types of solid ingredients, such as seaweed, vegetables or tofu.
• Tonjiru: similar to Miso soup, except that pork is added to the ingredients
• Dangojiru: soup made with dumplings along with seaweed, tofu, lotus root, or any number of other vegetables and roots
• Imoni: a thick taro potato stew popular in Northern Japan during the autumn season
• Sumashijiru: a clear soup made with dashi and seafood
• Zoni: soup containing mochi rice cakes along with various vegetables and often chicken. It is usually eaten at New Years Day.
• Kiritanpo: freshly cooked rice is pounded, formed into cylinders around cryptomeria skewers, and toasted at an open hearth. The kiritanpo are used as dump-lings in soups.
Pickled or salted foods


A stall selling a variety of pickled and cured foods including squid, cabbage and daikon at a Tokyo supermarket.
These foods are usually served in tiny portions, as a side dish to be eaten with white rice, to accompany sake or as a topping for rice porridges.
• Ikura: salt cured salmon caviar.
• Mentaiko: salt-cured pollock roe.
• Shiokara: salty fermented viscera.
• Tsukemono: pickled vegetables, hundreds of varieties and served with most rice-based meals.
o Umeboshi: small, pickled ume fruit. Usually red and very sour, often served with bento lunch boxes or as a filling for onigiri.
• Tsukudani: Very small fish, shellfish or seaweed stewed in sweetened soy for preservation.
Miscellaneous
• Agedashi dofu: cubes of deep-fried silken tofu served in hot broth.
• Bento or Obento: combination meal served in a wooden box, usually as a cold lunchbox.
• Chawan mushi: meat (seafood and/or chicken) and vegetables steamed in egg custard.
• Edamame: boiled and salted pods of soybeans, eaten as a snack, often to accompany beer.
• Himono: dried fish, often aji (鯵, Japanese jack mackerel). Traditionally served for breakfast with rice, miso soup and pickles.
• Hiyayakko: chilled tofu with garnish.
• Natto: fermented soybeans, stringy like melted cheese, infamous for its strong smell and slippery texture. Often eaten for breakfast. Typically popular in Kantō and Tōhoku but slowly gaining popularity in other regions which Natto was not as popular
• Ohitashi: boiled greens such as spinach, chilled and flavoured with soy sauce, often with garnish.
• Osechi: traditional foods eaten at New Year.
• Sunomono: vegetables such as cucumber or wakame, or sometimes crab, marinated in rice vinegar.
Chinmi
Chinmi are regional delicacies, and include:
• Ankimo
• Karasumi
• Konowata
• Uni: Specifically salt-pickled sea urchin
Although most Japanese eschew eating insects, in some regions, locust (inago, ja:イナゴ)[2] and bee larvae (hachinoko, ja:蜂の子)[3] are not uncommon dishes. The larvae of species of caddisflies and stoneflies (zaza-mushi, ja:ざざむし), harvested from the Tenryū river as it flows through Ina, Nagano, is also boiled and canned, or boiled and then sautéed in soy sauce and sugar.[4] Japanese clawed salamander (Hakone Sanshōuo, ja:ハコネサンショウウオ, Onychodactylus japonicus) is eaten as well in Hinoemata, Fukushima in early summer.
Regional specialities
Dishes for special occasions
In Japanese tradition some dishes are strongly tied to a festival or event. Major such combinations include:
• Botamochi (sticky rice dumpling with sweet azuki paste): Spring equinox.
• Chimaki (steamed sweet rice cake): Tango no Sekku and Gion Festival.
• Hamo (a kind of fish) and somen: Gion Festival.
• Osechi: New Year.
• Sekihan, literally "red rice", rice cooked with adzuki: celebration in general.
• Soba: New Year's Eve. This is called toshi koshi soba (ja:年越しそば) (literally "year crossing soba").
• Chirashizushi, Ushiojiru (clear soup of clams) and amazake: Hinamatsuri.
In some regions every 1st and 15th day of the month people eat a mixture of rice and adzuki (azuki meshi (小豆飯), see Sekihan).
Sweets and snacks (okashi), oyatsu
Japanese-style sweets (wagashi, 和菓子)
Wagashi in a storefront in Sapporo, Japan
Wagashi include
• Amanatto
• Anpan: bread with sweet bean paste in the center
• Dango: rice dumpling
• Hanabiramochi
• Higashi
• Hoshigaki: Dried persimmon fruit
• Imagawayaki: also known as 'Taikoyaki' is a round Taiyaki and fillings are same
• Kakigori: shaved ice with syrup topping.
• Kompeito: crystal sugar candy
• Manju: sticky rice surrounding a sweet bean center
• Matsunoyuki
• Melonpan: a large, round bun which is a combination of regular dough beneath cookie dough, with a sweet filling in between. It often (but not always) contains a melon-flavored cream, and its general shape is said to resemble that of a melon.
• Mochi: steamed sweet rice pounded into a solid, sticky, and somewhat translucent mass
• Oshiruko: a warm, sweet red bean (an) soup with mochi: rice cake
• Uiro: a steamed cake made of rice flour
• Taiyaki: a fried, fish-shaped cake, usually with a sweet filling such as an: red bean paste
Old-fashioned Japanese-style sweets (dagashi)
• Karumetou: Brown sugar cake. Also called Karumeyaki
• Sosu Senbei: Thin wafers eaten with soy sauce
• Mizuame: sticky liquid sugar candy
Western-style sweets (yōgashi)
Yōgashi are Western-style sweets, but in Japan are typically very light or spongy.
• Kasutera: "Castella" Iberian-style sponge cake
• Mirukurepu: "mille crepe": layered crepe (in French, "one thousand leaves")
Snacks include:
• Azuki Ice: vanilla flavored ice cream with sweet azuki beans
• Koara no māchi
• Umai Bō　Puffed corn food with various flavors
• Pocky
• Hello Panda
• Hi-chew
• Ice cream - usual flavours such as vanilla and chocolate are the most common. Distinctly Japanese ones include Matcha Ice (green tea ice cream), less common ones include Goma (black sesame seed) and sweet potato flavours.
Tea and other drinks
Barrels of sake, a traditional Japanese alcoholic drink
Tea and non-alcoholic beverages
Sea also Japanese green teas and Japanese drinks
• Amazake
• Genmaicha: green tea combined with roasted brown rice.
• Hojicha: green tea roasted over charcoal.
• Kombucha (tea): a tea poured with Kombu giving rich flavor in monosodium glutamate.
• Kukicha: a blend of green tea made of stems, stalks, and twigs.
• Matcha: powdered green tea. (Green tea ice cream is flavoured with matcha, not ocha.)
• Mugicha: barley tea, served chilled during summer.
• Sencha: steam treated green tea leaves then dried.
• Umecha: a tea drink with Umeboshi giving refreshing sourness.
Soft drinks
• Calpis
• Pocari Sweat
• Ramune
• Oronamin C Drink
• Yakult
• Qoo
Alcoholic beverages
• Awamori semirefined sweet sake
• Sake
• Shōchū Japanese rice spirit
• Umeshu
• Japanese beer - leading brands are Sapporo, Asahi and Kirin Imported and adapted foods
Japan has incorporated imported food from across the world (mostly from Asia, Europe and to a lesser extent the Americas), and have historically adapted many to make them their own.
Foods imported from Portugal in the 16th Century
• Tempura - so thoroughly adopted that its foreign roots are unknown to most people, including many Japanese. As such, it is considered washoku.
• castella - sponge cake, originating in Nagasaki
• Pan is bread, introduced by Portugal. (Bread is Pão in Portuguese.)
Yōshoku
Japan today abounds with home-grown, loosely western-style food. Many of these were invented in the wake of the 1868 Meiji restoration and the end of national seclusion, when the sudden influx of foreign (in particular, western) culture led to many restaurants serving western food, known as yōshoku (洋食), a shortened form of seiyōshoku (西洋食) lit. Western cuisine, opening up in cities. Restaurants that serve these foods are called yōshokuya (洋食屋), lit. Western cuisine restaurants.
Many yōshoku items from that time have been adapted to a degree that they are now considered Japanese and are an integral part of any Japanese family menu. Many are served alongside rice and miso soup, and eaten with chopsticks. Yet, due to their origins these are still categorized as yōshoku as opposed to the more traditional washoku (和食), lit. Japanese cuisine.
• Katsuretsu (カツレツ, "cutlet") - deep fried, breaded meat, usually served with shredded cabbage, Japanese Worcestershire sauce or tonkatsu sauce, and lemon.
o Tonkatsu - breaded pork
o Menchi katsu - breaded minced meat patties
• Furai (フライ, "fry") - deep fried, breaded seafood, usually served with shredded cabbage, Japanese Worcestershire sauce and lemon.
o Kaki furai (カキフライ) - breaded oyster
o Ebi furai (エビフライ) - breaded shrimp


Korokke for sale at a Mitsukoshi food hall in Tokyo, Japan
• Korokke ("croquette") - breaded mashed potato and minced meat patties.
• Japanese curry-rice - imported in the 19th century by way of the United Kingdom and adapted by Japanese Navy chefs. One of the most popular food items in Japan today. Eaten with a spoon. Curry is often eaten with pickled vegetables called fukujinzuke or rakkyo
o Curry Pan - deep fried bread with Japanese curry sauce inside. The pirozhki of Russia was remodeled, and Curry bread was made.
o Curry udon
• Hayashi rice - beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice
• Nikujaga - meat and potato stew. Has been Japanised to the extent that it is now considered washoku (和食), but again originates from 19th Century Japanese Navy chefs adapting beef stews of the Royal Navy.
• Omu raisu - ketchup-flavored rice wrapped in omelet.
Other yōshoku (洋食) items were popularized after the war:
• Hamburg steak - a ground beef patty, usually mixed with breadcrumbs and fried chopped onions, served with a side of white rice and vegetables. Popular post-war food item served at homes. Eaten with a fork.
• Spaghetti - Japanese versions include:
o with tomato ketchup, wieners, sliced onion and green pepper (called 'neapolitan')
o with mentaiko sauce topped with nori seaweed
o with Japanese Curry
Other homegrown cuisine of foreign origin
• Japanese American cuisine
o Burgers have various variations in Japan. MOS Burger developed Teriyaki Burgers and kinpira rice burger
• Korean cuisine
o Kimchi - from Korea is often served with Japanese dishes, though the local variant may use thinner cabbage.
• Japanese Chinese cuisine
o Ramen and related dishes such as champon and yaki soba
o Mabo Doufu tends to be thinner than Chinese Mapo doufu.
o Japanese-only "Chinese dishes" like Ebi Chili (shrimp in a tangy and slightly spicy sauce)
o Nikuman, anman, butaman and the obscure negi-man are all varieties of mantou with fillings.
o Gyoza are a very popular dish in Japan. Gyoza are the Japanese take on the Chinese dumplings with rich garlic flavor. Most often, they are seen in their pan-fried form, but they can be served boiled as potstickers or even deep fried, as well.
• Japanese English cuisine
o Purin has improved the custard pudding.
Foreign food in Japan
Many imported foods are made suitable for the Japanese palate by reducing the amount of spice used or changing a part of a recipe. For example, Japanese pizza may have toppings such as sliced boiled eggs, pineapple, sweetcorn, nori, and mayonnaise instead of tomato sauce. Shrimp, squid and other seafood excluded in the US is often retained in Japan, just as in other parts of the world.
Foods from other countries vary in their authenticity. Many Italian dishes are changed, however Japanese chefs have preserved many Italian seafood oriented dishes that are forgotten in other countries. These include pasta with prawns, lobster (an Italian specialty known in Italy as pasta arragosta), crab (another Italian specialty, in Japan is served with a different species of crab) and pasta with sea urchin sauce (the sea urchin pasta being a specialty of the Puglia region of Italy).
Japanese rice is usually used instead of indigenous rice (in dishes from Thailand, India, Italy, etc.) or including it in dishes when originally it would not be eaten with (in dishes like hamburger, steak, omelets, etc.).


A McDonald's in Narita, Japan
The Japanese often eat at hamburger chains such as McDonald's, First Kitchen, Lotteria or MOS Burger. Many chains developed uniquely Japanese versions of American fast food such as teriyaki burger, kinpira rice burger, green-tea milkshakes and fried shrimp burgers.
In Tokyo, it is quite easy to find restaurants serving authentic foreign cuisine. However, in most of the country, in many ways, the variety of imported food is limited; for example, it is rare to find pasta that is not of the spaghetti or macaroni varieties in supermarkets or restaurants; bread is very rarely of any variety but white; and varieties of imported cereal are also very limited, usually either frosted or chocolate flavored. "Italian restaurants" also tend to only have pizza and pasta in their menus. Interestingly for Italian visitors, the cheaper Italian places in Japan tend to serve the American version of Italian foods, which often vary wildly from the version you might find in Italy or in other countries.
Fusion foods
• California roll (not to mention the New Mexico and Philadelphia rolls)
• Teppanyaki - a style of cooking beef, seafood and vegetables on a large griddle in front of customers, invented in Tokyo in 1945. Made famous in the United States by the Benihana chain which incorporated stunt-like performances to impress American customers.
• Spam musubi - a snack from Hawaii resembling onigiri made with Spam.
Influence of Japanese food outside Japan
• Japanese cuisine is an integral part of food culture in Hawaii. Popular items are sushi, sashimi and teriyaki. Kamaboko, known locally as fish cake, is a staple of saimin, a noodle soup invented in and extremely popular in the state.
• Sushi, long regarded as quite exotic in the west until the 1970s, has become a popular health food in parts of North America, Western Europe and Asia.
• South Korea:
o Kamaboko is popular in South Korea, where it is known as eomuk (어묵), usually boiled on a skewer in broth and often sold in street restaurant carts where they can be eaten with soju.
o Oden is popular in South Korea, where it is known as kkochi anju (꼬치按酒) or odeng.
• Taiwan has adapted many Japanese food items.
o Taiwanese versions of tempura, only barely resembling the original, is known as 天婦羅 or 甜不辣 (tianbula) and is a famous staple in night markets in northern Taiwan.
o Taiwanese versions of oden is known locally as Oren (黑輪) or 關東煮 Kwantung stew, after the Kansai name for the dish.
• Skewered versions of oden is also a common convenience store item in Shanghai where it is known as aódiǎn (熬点).
• Ramen, of Chinese origin, has been exported back to China in recent years where it is known as ri shi la mian (日式拉面, "Japanese lamian"). Popular Japanese ramen chains serve ramen alongside distinctly Japanese dishes such as tempura and yakitori, something which would be seen as odd in Japan.
• Ramen has also gained popularity in some western cities in part due to the success of the Wagamama chain, although they are quite different from Japanese ramen.
• Instant ramen, invented in 1958, has now spread throughout the world, most of them barely resembling Japanese ramen.
"Sushi Police" controversy
Despite its popularity, Japanese food available outside Japan tends to vary strongly from what is considered normal within Japan. Key areas of difference are the organisation of menus, the ingredients used, the nature of the dishes served and the structure of the meal. Whilst all cuisines tend to vary when provided in foreign countries, there appears to be a consensus that Japanese foods vary much more than others.
Japanese kitchen knives
• Deba bocho: Kitchen carver
• Nakiri bocho and usuba bocho: Japanese vegetable knives
• Oroshi hocho and hancho hocho: Extremely long knives to fillet tuna
• Tako hiki, yanagi ba, and fugu hiki: Sashimi slicers
• Unagisaki hocho: Japanese eel knife
• Udon kiri and soba kiri: Knife to make udon and soba
Pots, pans, and bowls
• Abura kiri: Drainer tray for oil
• Agemono nabe: Deep frying pot
• Donabe: Ceramic pot for use on an open flame
• Hangiri: Rice barrel
• Makiyakinabe: Rectangular pan for omelets
• Mushiki and seiro: Steamers
• Otoshi buta: Drop lid
• Rice cooker: Electric appliance for cooking rice
• Suribachi and surikogi: Grinding mortar and pestle
• Takoyaki pan: Frying pan for takoyaki
• Tetsubin: Cast iron teapot.
• Tetsunabe:Cast iron pot (common for sukiyaki)
• Usu and Kine: Large mortar and pestle for pounding rice
See also: Cooking pan
Other kitchen tools


A katsuobushi kezuriki, with its blade cover removed a and drawer slightly open.
• Ami shakushi: Scoop with a net bottom
• Katsuobushi kezuriki: Mandoline-like device traditionally used to shave katsuobushi.
• Kushi: Skewers
• Makisu: Bamboo mat for sushi rolls
• Oroshigane: Graters
• Oshizushihako: Box for pressed sushi
• Saibashi: Japanese kitchen chopsticks
• Shamoji: Rice paddle
• Tsukemonoki and tsukemonoishi: Japanese-style pickle press
• Urokotori: Fish scaler
• Zaru: Bamboo draining basket
• Iki jime: Awl or spike, used on fish's brain.
Serving tools
• Shokado bento: Bento box
Hangiri


A hangiri. This example is 41 cm (16 inches) in diameter.
In Japanese cuisine, a hangiri (半切) is a round, flat-bottom wooden tub or barrel used in the final steps of preparing rice for sushi. Traditional hangiri are made from cypress wood bound with two copper bands. They may range in diameter from about 30 cm (1 ft) for use at home, to 1 meter (3 feet) for use in a restaurant.
The chef uses the hangiri and a wooden paddle (shamoji) to dress and cool the rice. After it is boiled, the rice is transferred to the hangiri where it is tossed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. When the mixing is complete, it is covered with a cloth (fukin) and allowed to cool..
Many types of sushi ready to be eaten.
In Japanese cuisine, sushi (寿司, 鮨, 鮓?) is a food made of vinegared rice, usually combined with other ingredients (uncooked and in some cases cooked) such as fish.
Sushi as an English word has come to refer to a complete dish with rice and toppings; this is the sense used in this article. The original term Japanese: 寿司 sushi (-zushi in some compounds such as makizushi), written in kanji, refers to the rice, but not fish or other toppings.[1]
Outside of Japan, sushi is sometimes misunderstood to mean the raw fish by itself, or even any fresh raw-seafood dishes. In Japan, however, sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi and is distinct from sushi.
There are various types of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori (dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga) called makizushi (巻き) or rolls; sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi (にぎり); toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi (ちらし).
Contents
History
Main article: History of sushi
This article needs additional references or sources for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The basic idea behind the preparation of sushi is the preservation and fermentation of fish with salt and rice, a process that has been traced back to Southeast Asia where fish and rice fermentation dishes still exist today. The science behind the fermentation of fish in rice is that the vinegar produced from the fermenting rice breaks the fish down into amino acids. This results into one of the five basic tastes, called umami in Japanese.[2] The oldest form of sushi in Japan, Narezushi still very closely resembles this process. In Japan, Narezushi evolved into Oshizushi and ultimately Edomae nigirizushi, which is what the world today knows as "sushi".
Modern Japanese sushi has little resemblance to the traditional lacto-fermented rice dish. Originally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the fermented rice was discarded. The strong-tasting and -smelling funazushi, a kind of narezushi made near Lake Biwa in Japan, resembles the traditional fermented dish.
Beginning during the Muromachi period (1336–1573) in Japan, rice vinegar was added to the mixture for better taste. The vinegar accentuated the rice's sourness, and was known to increase its life span, allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned.
In the following centuries, sushi in Osaka evolved into oshi-zushi, the seafood and the rice were pressed into wooden moulds, by the mid 18th century, this form of sushi had reached Edo (contemporary Tokyo).
Today's dish, internationally known as "sushi," was invented by Hanaya Yohei (華屋与兵衛; 1799–1858) at the end of Edo period. The sushi invented by Hanaya was an early form of fast food that was not fermented, (therefore prepared quickly) and could be eaten with one's hands roadside or in a theatre. Originally, this sushi was known as Edomae zushi, because it used freshly-caught fish in the Edo-mae (Edo Bay). Though the fish used in modern sushi no longer usually come from Edo bay, it is still formally known as Edomae nigirizushi.
Types of sushi
The common ingredient across all the different kinds of sushi is sushi rice (known as shari in Japanese). The variety in sushi arises from the different fillings and toppings, condiments, and the way these ingredients are put together. The same ingredients may be assembled in a traditional or a contemporary way, creating a very different final result.[3]
Nigiri-zushi
• Nigiri-zushi (握り寿司, lit. hand-formed sushi). The most typical form of sushi in restaurants. It consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that is pressed between the palms of the hands, with a speck of wasabi and a slice of topping called neta draped over it. This is possibly bound with a thin band of nori, and is often served in pairs.
• Gunkan-maki (軍艦巻, lit. warship roll). A special type of nigiri-zushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of "nori" wrapped around its perimeter to form a vessel that is filled in with topping(s). The topping is typically some soft, loose or fine-chopped ingredient that requires the confinement of nori such as roe, natto, oysters, quail eggs, cucumber bits or, more recently, macaroni salad or guacamole. Gunkan-maki was invented at the Ginza Kyubey (Kubei) restaurant in 1931;[4][5] its invention significantly expanded the repertoire of soft toppings used in sushi.
Maki-zushi (roll)

• Makizushi (巻き寿司, lit. rolled sushi). A cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat, called a makisu (巻き簾). Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, but can occasionally be found wrapped in a thin omelette, sesame seeds, cucumber, or parsley.[1] Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes an order. Below are some common types of makizushi, but many other kinds exist.
o Futomaki (太巻き, lit. large or fat rolls). A large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is three or four centimeters (1.5 in) in diameter. They are often made with two or three fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. During the Setsubun festival, it is traditional in Kansai to eat uncut futomaki in its cylindrical form. Futomaki is generally vegetarian, but may include toppings such as tiny fish eggs.
o Hosomaki (細巻き, lit. thin rolls). A small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. A typical hosomaki has a diameter of about two centimeters (0.75 in). They generally contain only one filling, often tuna, cucumber, kampyō, thinly sliced carrots, or, more recently, avocado.
 Kappamaki, (河童巻き) a kind of Hosomaki filled with cucumber, is named after the Japanese legendary water imp fond of cucumbers called the kappa. Traditionally, Kappamaki is consumed to clear the palate between eating raw fish and other kinds of food, so that the flavors of the fish are distinct from the tastes of other foods.
 Tekkamaki (鉄火巻き) is a kind of Hosomaki filled with raw tuna. Although some believe that the name "Tekka", meaning 'red hot iron', alludes to the color of the tuna flesh, it actually originated as a quick snack to eat in gambling dens called "Tekkaba (鉄火場)", much like the sandwich.[6][7]
o Uramaki (裏巻き, lit. inside-out rolls). A medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki differs from other maki because the rice is on the outside and the nori inside. The filling is in the center surrounded by nori, then a layered of rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredients such as roe or toasted sesame seeds. It can be made with different fillings such as tuna, crab meat, avocado, mayonnaise, cucumber, carrots. This is typically thought of as an invention to suit the American palate [2], and is not commonly seen in Japan. The increasing popularity of sushi in North America, as well as around the world, has resulted in numerous kinds of uramaki and regional off-shoots being created, such as the California roll, the B.C. roll (grilled salmon skin), and the Philadelphia roll (cream cheese).
 The caterpillar roll includes avocado, unagi, and carrot antennae.
 The dynamite roll includes prawn tempura along with vegetables like radish sprouts, avocado or cucumber, as well as Japanese mayonnaise.
 The rainbow roll features like a sashimi, layered outside with rice.
 The spider roll includes fried soft shell crab and other fillings such as cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, and spicy mayonnaise.
 A Philadelphia roll contains smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, and/or onion.
 A BC roll has grilled salmon with sweet sauce and cucumber. It is named after British Columbia for its famous wild Pacific salmon.
 A crunchy roll is typically a California roll with shrimp tempura wrapped inside with the other ingredients, with the outside of the roll coated with fried tempura batter crumbs. It is often served with chili sauce on the side.
 A Craig Roll contains spicy tuna, crab, asparagus, and egg and is rolled in roe.
 The Godzilla Roll includes yellowtail, deep-fried in tempura, topped with teriyaki and a stripe of hot sauce, and then sprinkled with green onions.
 Other rolls may include scallops, spicy tuna, beef or chicken or teriyaki roll, okra, vegetables, and cheese. Sushi rolls can also be made with Brown rice and black rice. These have also appeared in Japanese cuisine.
• Temaki (手巻き, lit. hand rolls). A large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, Temaki must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness and becomes somewhat difficult to bite.

Makizushi selection (Futomaki and Inarizushi at right) from a Kansai Super store.
• Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司, stuffed sushi). A pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice. It is named after the Shinto god Inari, who is believed to have a fondness for fried tofu. The pouch is normally fashioned as deep-fried tofu (油揚げ, abura age). Regional variations include pouches are made of a thin omelet (帛紗寿司, fukusa-zushi or 茶巾寿司, chakin-zushi) or dried gourd shavings (干瓢, kanpyo).
Oshizushi
• Oshizushi (押し寿司, lit. pressed sushi). A block-shaped piece formed using a wooden mold, called an oshibako. The chef lines the bottom of the oshibako with the toppings, covers them with sushi rice, and then presses the lid of the mold down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mold and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
Chirashi


Chirashizushi
• Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, lit. scattered sushi). A bowl of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed in (also refers to barazushi). It is commonly eaten in Japan because it is filling, fast and easy to make. Chirashizushi most often varies regionally because it is eaten annually as a part of the Doll Festival, celebrated only during March in Japan.
o Edomae chirashizushi (Edo-style scattered sushi) is an uncooked ingredient that is arranged artfully on top of the sushi rice in a bowl.
o Gomokuzushi (Kansai-style sushi). Cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of rice in a bowl.
A Korean variation, found in Japanese Korean sushi restaurants, is hwe dup bap. It is similar in concept with bibimbap. Like chirashi, it is served in a bowl of rice topped with raw fish, but also includes raw salad vegetables such as lettuce and avocado, and a spicy chili paste on the side.[8]
Narezushi (old style fermented sushi)
• Narezushi (熟れ寿司, lit. matured sushi) is an older form of sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt, placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, and then weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi (pickling stone). They are supposedly salted for ten days to a month, then placed in water for 15 minutes to an hour. They are then placed in another barrel, sandwiched, and layered with cooled steamed rice and fish. Then the mixture is again partially sealed with otoshibuta and a pickling stone. As days pass, water seeps out, which must be removed. Six months later, this funazushi can be eaten, and remains edible for another six months or more.
• Funazushi (鮒寿司) is a dish in Japanese cooking, which involves with anaerobic lacto-fermentation of fresh water fish, funa (鮒, crucian carp). The dish is famous as a regional dish from the "Shiga Prefecture", It is considered to be a chinmi, a delicacy in Japanese cooking.[9]
Ingredients
All sushi has a base of specially prepared rice, and complemented with other ingredients.
Sushi rice
Sushi is made with white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, kombu, and occasionally sake. It is usually cooled to room temperature before being used for a filling in a sushi. In some fusion cuisine restaurants, short grain brown rice and wild rice are also used.
Sushi rice (sushi-meshi) is prepared with short-grain Japanese rice, which has a consistency that differs from long-grain strains such as India. The essential quality is its stickiness. Rice that is too sticky has a mushy texture; if not sticky enough, it feels dry. Freshly harvested rice (shinmai) typically has too much water, and requires extra time to drain the rice cooker after washing.
There are regional variations in sushi rice and, of course, individual chefs have their individual methods. Most of the variations are in the rice vinegar dressing: "the Tokyo version of the dressing commonly uses more salt; in Osaka, the dressing has more sugar".
Sushi rice generally must be used shortly after it is made. The Wiki Cookbook has a simple recipe for sushi.
Nori
The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are called nori. Nori is an algae, traditionally cultivated into the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making paper. Nori is toasted before being used in food.
Today, the commercial product is farmed, produced, toasted, packaged, and sold in standard-size sheets in about 18 cm by 21 cm (7 in by 8 in). Higher quality nori is thick, smooth, shiny, black, and has no holes.
Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.
Omelette

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on
Inarizushi
When making fukusazushi, a paper-thin omelet may replace a sheet of nori as the wrapping. The omelet is traditionally made on a rectangular omelet pan (makiyakinabe), and used to form the pouch for the rice and fillings.
Toppings and fillings

Yaki Anago-Ippon-Nigiri A roasted and sweet sauced whole conger.
Main article: List of sushi and sashimi ingredients and styles
• Fish
For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, fish eaten raw must be fresher and of higher quality than fish which is cooked.
Professional sushi chefs are trained to recognize good fish. Important attributes include smells, color, and being free of obvious parasites that normal commercial inspection do not detect (many go undetected).
Only ocean fish are used raw in sushi; freshwater fish are more likely to harbor parasites that are harmful to humans if uncooked.
Commonly-used fish are tuna (akami, chutoro, shiro-maguro, toro), Japanese amberjack, also known as yellowtail (hamachi), snapper (kurodai), conger (hamo), mackerel (saba), salmon (sake), and eel (anago and unagi). The most valued sushi ingredient is toro, the fatty cut of tuna. This comes in a variety of ōtoro (often from the bluefin species of tuna) and chutoro, meaning middle toro, implying that it is halfway into the fattiness between toro and regular red tuna (akami).
Aburi style refers to nigiri sushi where the fish is partially grilled (topside) and partially raw.
• Seafood
Other seafoods such as squid (ika), octopus (tako), shrimp (ebi and amaebi), clam (mirugai, aoyagi and akagi), fish roe (ikura, masago, kazunoko and tobiko), sea urchin (uni), crab (kani), and various kinds of shellfish (abalone, prawn, scallop, uni sea urchin) are the most popular seafoods in sushi. Oysters, however, are not typically put in sushi because the taste is not thought to go well with the rice. However, some sushi restaurants in New Orleans are known to have Fried Oyster Rolls and Crawfish rolls.


Ebifurai-Maki - . Fried-Shrimp Roll.
• Vegetables
Pickled daikon radish (takuan) in shinko maki, pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (nattō) in nattō maki, avocado in California rolls, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, tofu, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd (kampyō), burdock (gobo), and sweet corn may be mixed with mayonnaise.
• Red meat
Beef, ham, spam, sausage, and horse meat are often lightly cooked.
Note: It is a common misconception that in Hawaii, fried Spam is a popular local variation for sushi. In reality, Spam musubi differs from sushi in that its rice lacks the vinegar required to classify it. Spam musubi is correctly classified as onigiri.
• Other fillings
Eggs (in the form of slightly sweet, layered omelet called tamagoyaki), and raw quail eggs ride as a gunkan-maki topping.


Date-Maki Futomaki wrapped with sweet-tamagoyaki.
Condiments
• Shōyu
The common name for soy sauce. In sushi restaurants, it may also be referred to as murasaki (lit. "purple").
• Wasabi
A piquant paste made from the grated root of the wasabi plant. Real wasabi (hon-wasabi) is Wasabi japonica. Hon-wasabi has anti-microbial properties and may reduce the risk of food poisoning.[10] The traditional grating tool for wasabi is a sharkskin grater or samegawa oroshi.
An imitation wasabi (seiyo-wasabi), made from horseradish, mustard powder and dyed green are common. It is found at lower-end kaiten zushi restaurants, in bento box sushi and at most restaurants outside of Japan. If it is manufactured in Japan, it may be labelled "Japanese Horseradish".[11]
In sushi restaurants, wasabi may be referred to as namida ("tears").
• Gari
Sweet, pickled ginger. Eaten to both cleanse the palate as well as to aid in the digestive process.
• Ocha
In Japan, green tea (ocha) is invariably served together with sushi. Better sushi restaurants often use a distinctive premium tea known as mecha. In sushi vocabulary, green tea is known as agari.
Nutritional information
The main ingredients of sushi, raw fish and rice are naturally low in fat (with the exception of some rolls and western style rolls), high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.[12] Specifically:
• Fats: Most seafood are naturally low in fat; and what fat is found in them is generally rich in unsaturated fat Omega-3. Since sushi is often served raw, no fat is introduced in its preparation.
• Proteins: Fish, tofu, seafood, egg, and many other sushi fillings contain high levels of protein.
• Vitamins and Minerals: These are found in many of the vegetables used for sushi. For example, the gari and nori used to make sushi are both rich in nutrients. Other vegetables wrapped within the sushi also offer various degrees of nutritional value.
• Carbohydrates: These are found in the rice and the vegetables.
On the other hand, some fish such as tuna can carry high levels of mercury and can be hazardous when consumed in large quantities.
Presentation
Sushi chef preparing Nigirizushi, Kyoto, Japan.
In Japan, and increasingly abroad, conveyor belt sushi/sushi train (kaiten zushi) restaurants are a popular, cost effective way of eating sushi. At these restaurants, the sushi is served on color-coded plates, with each color denoting the cost of the sushi serving. The plates are placed on a conveyor belt or boats floating in a moat. As the belt or boat passes, the customers choose their desired plates. After finishing, the bill is tallied by counting how many plates of each color have been taken. Some kaiten sushi restaurants in Japan operate on a fixed price system, with each plate, consisting usually of two pieces of sushi, generally costing ¥100.
More traditionally, sushi is served on minimalist Japanese-style, geometric, wood or lacquer plates which are mono- or duo-tone in color, in keeping with the aesthetic qualities of this cuisine. Many small sushi restaurants actually use no plates — the sushi is eaten directly off of the wooden counter, usually with one's hands.
Modern fusion presentation, particularly in the United States, has given sushi a European sensibility, taking Japanese minimalism and garnishing it with Western gestures such as the colorful arrangement of edible ingredients, the use of differently flavored sauces, and the mixing of foreign flavors, highly suggestive of French cuisine, deviating somewhat from the more traditional, austere style of Japanese sushi.
Etiquette
Sushi can be eaten either by hands or by chopsticks, although traditionally nigiri is eaten with the fingers because the rice is meant to be packed so loosely that it falls apart in ones mouth (and would disintegrate on chopsticks)[13]. Traditionally, one should start with white-fleshed or milder-tasting items and proceed into darker, stronger-flavored varieties later. For example, putting condiments such as the famous wasabi or soy sauce onto a piece of sushi would make it taste better. Like fish (not the rice), they should be dipped into soy sauce to extract the raw taste, so this should be used sparingly. In top-end sushi restaurants, it is considered a bad form to request or add extra wasabi when the chef has (or should have) already placed a suitable amount in each morsel. Likewise, one connoisseur counsels "adding wasabi to soy sauce is a disaster. It reduces the spiciness dramatically and masks the taste of the fish."[14] Also contrary to popular belief in the west, sake is not considered a natural pairing of sushi, since the flavor is too similar to rice to enrich the meal.
Many sushi restaurants offer fixed-price sets, selected by the chef from the catch of the day. These are often graded as shō-chiku-bai (松竹梅), shō/matsu (松, pine), chiku/take (竹, bamboo) and bai/ume (梅, ume), with matsu the most expensive and ume the cheapest. The house soy sauce is often diluted with dashi, a broth made from fish flakes and kelp.
In Japan, staff in sushi restaurants often employ a complex code-like vocabulary, where alternate words are substituted for common items. For example, egg is called gyoku ("jewel"), rice is called shari (Buddha's bones), soy sauce is called murasaki ("purple") and the bill is known as o-aiso ("courtesy", "compliment"). The code words vary from place to place and often evolve locally to incorporate puns: for example, shako (giant clam) might be called garēji (garage), because the Japanese word shako can also refer to a vehicle depot. These terms would not be used, or even understood, in other contexts, but regular patrons may pick up and use this specialized terminology themselves while dining in the restaurant.
Utensils for preparing sushi

Cheese-topped sushi is seared using a blow torch
• Fukin: Kitchen cloth.
• Hangiri: Rice barrel.
• Hocho: Kitchen knives.
• Makisu: Bamboo rolling mat.
• Ryoribashi: Cooking chopsticks.
• Shamoji: Wooden rice paddle.
• Makiyakinabe: Rectangular omelet pan.
• Oshizushihako: a mold used to make oshizushi.
Also see the comprehensive list of Japanese cooking utensils.
Guinness World Records
1. January 1992. A 325 kg (715 lb) Bluefin tuna sold for $83,500 (almost $257 / kg or $117 / lb) in Tokyo, Japan. The tuna was reduced to 2,400 servings of sushi for wealthy diners at $75 per serving. The estimated takings from this one fish were approximately $180,000. At the time, the fish held the record for Most Expensive Fish.
2. October 12, 1997: The longest sushi roll. Six hundred members of the Nikopaka Festa Committee made a kappamaki (cucumber roll) that was 1 km (3,281 ft.) long at Yoshii, Japan.