Top 10 National Dishes
National dishes are a part of a nation's identity and self-image. A national dish is strongly associated with a particular country for several reasons:1) It is a staple food.
2) It is made from a selection of locally available ingredients, sometimes 'exotic.'
3) It is served as a festive culinary tradition that is part of a cultural heritage.
4) It is a part of a religious practice.
5) It has been promoted as a national dish by the country itself.
It wasn't easy to make this list because:
On one hand, a country may have more than one national dish, especially big countries with diverse traditions and cultures (USA, India).
On the other hand, two or more countries may have the same national dish (both Peru and Ecuador claim ceviche as their national dish).
I ranked the dishes according to my taste, and you know that taste is something very subjective. I didn't rank the countries, so nobody should feel offended.
Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec in the late 1950s, made with French fries and cheese curds topped with light brown gravy. Poutine is the most popular dish in Quebec. It's also found across Canada and in some places in the northern United States. Poutine has many variations as many toppings can be added - ham, chicken, sausage, bacon, and everything else somebody may like. Call me biased, but I really like it.
But a British guy wrote something in an article about dishes that can't be called biased because he isn't Canadian:
"I tried this one very recently after my Canadian roommate very patriotically wouldn't stop raving on about it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. This is food for addicts, pure and simple. You have greasy chips (or fries, as you people over the pond call them) that are then loaded with cheese curds and topped off with a generous slathering of rich gravy. When I tried this dish, the world faded away around me, I dived in and totally forgot my friends, my manners, my name..."
Yup, don't forget to write your name on a sheet of paper before you try poutine.
Cheeseburgers are so good. I prefer them homemade, as they are healthy that way.
Gyro (or gyros) is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Very often, several types of meat are placed on the spit (lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal). They may be grilled for as long as a day. The resulting taste is incredible. It can be served on a plate or as a wrap. Gyro is like shawarma or döner kebab.
I like this type of meat preparation.
Contenders: Moussaka, Souvlaki
What can I say? It's a classic.
I tried it and I loved it.
It is a very thin, breaded, and pan-fried cutlet made from veal.
In Montreal, Canada (where I live), many varieties of dumplings can be found in grocery stores, and I like most of them.
I like most of the sushi varieties.
Sushi looks so good.
Contenders: Polenta, Pizza, Risotto.
Pizza is probably the most popular Italian dish worldwide, but in most sources, pasta is considered their national dish more often than pizza.
Pasta is awesome.
New Zealand lamb, particularly the leg, is prized for its flavor and tenderness.
Contenders: Bacon and egg pie, Pavlova
I didn't do research, but I have a feeling that this might be the most popular food internationally.
Pizza is the #1 food of all time!
According to wiki, Fish and Chips are traditionally wrapped in white paper and newspaper.
I definitely like it!
A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. Very popular in North America (US, Canada), not only in Mexico.
Whenever I hear Mexico, this is the first thing that comes to mind for me.
A dish of chunks of roasted marinated chicken (chicken tikka) in a spiced curry sauce.
Dolma is stuffed veggies - usually tomato, pepper, eggplant, onion, zucchini, garlic.
That's pretty good - small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer.
It's a meat patty.
Yay, they are the best. I love these.
I think I would like this. In our grocery store, there are Macadamia Nut Cookies, which I like.