China, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Greece, France, Thailand, Spain, India and the Mediterranean.
Foods from these parts of the world constitute the most popular non-American cuisines in the U.S. While all of them are certainly delicious, there remain tons of other countries and regions whose cuisines do not receive the recognition they deserve. Here are five underrated cuisines that America needs to start sampling.
1. Ethiopian
The above list of most popular cuisines unfortunately fails to acknowledge any foods from Africa. Located in Africa’s eastern region, Ethiopia and its flavorful food could serve as the solution to this problem. The most striking feature of Ethiopian cuisine is injera - a porous sourdough bread (yes, there are countries other than Italy who cook sourdough bread) that functions as the base of the meal, holding spoonfuls of various lentil, meat and vegetable dishes. Among these dishes are mesir wat, or lentils cooked with berbere, a spice unique to Ethiopia, and doro wat, a chicken stew fused with a variety of spices, including berbere.
Injera
Injera with vegetarian dishes such as mesir wat
Doro wat
2. Nepali
As a country landlocked between India and the Tibetan autonomous region, Nepali cuisine features creations born from a fusion of the two cultures. The most prominent example of this fusion are momos. These dumplings originated in Tibet, and adopt a distinct flavor when cooked in a Nepali style, with spices such as timur (Szechuan pepper), dhania (coriander), jeera (cumin), lasoon (garlic), and adua (ginger). For dipping and added flavor, momos are served with achaar, or a spicy sauce. While incredibly popular, momos are not the typical dish of Nepali households, but are rather reserved for more special occasions. Everyday Nepali meals consist of daal (lentils), bhat (rice), tarkari (curried vegetables), and maasu (meat). Much diversity lies within these categories, with dishes such as kalo daal, or black lentils, and aloo tama bodi, or soup with potato, bamboo shoots and black eyed peas.
Nepali momo
Platter with daal, bhaat, tarkari, and maasu.
Aloo tama bodi
3. Lao
The food of Laos’ neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, claim relative popularity in the U.S. Yet Lao cuisine is just as delicious and unique, with staples such as sticky rice, spiced minced meat and aromatic noodle soups. Laos is the only country that boasts khao neow, or sticky rice, as a regular part of almost every meal. Like several other Asian countries, Laos also features noodles as a prominent part of its cuisine. Khao poon, or rice noodle soup, consists of rice noodles resting in a soup made from lime leaves, coconut milk, chilies and galangal, a variation of ginger unique to Southeast Asia. Many Lao people consider the national dish to be laab, or minced meat with chilies, cilantro, mint and seasonal vegetables.
Khao neow
Khao poon
Laab
4. Tibetan
As the motherland of the momo, Tibetan cuisine has several dishes to offer. Tibetan momos traditionally contain yaksmeat, or Himalayan buffaloes, that in fact gave the popular app Yik Yak its name and symbol. Other variations of dumplings are shapaley, fried dumplings stuffed with a meat, or sha, filling. Tingmo are pieces of steamed bread that boast the intricate folds that resemble dumplings, but contain no filling, and are commonly enjoyed alongside sauce or lentils. Tibetan food also features a special rice dish, dresil, which makes up a part of Losar, or Tibetan New Year celebrations. Dresil has a pleasant, sweet, and crunchy taste due to the brown sugar, raisins, and cashews that make up its recipe.
Tibetan momos
Tingmo
Dresil
5. South Indian
When the majority of food lovers picture Indian food, images of steaming naan, rice and butter chicken come to mind. Yet it is unreasonable to represent India, the world’s second most populous county and home to over 20 different states and languages, with a mere handful of foods, especially when Indian food tends to vary by region. South Indian food exemplifies this diversity with its dishes that do not exactly align with the cuisine of North India. In the southern region, a staple food for Indians is the dosa, or a long crepe made of lentils. The dosa can contain a variety of fillings, such as aloo masala, or potatoes cooked with spices such as curry leaves and black mustard seeds, which are unique to South Indian cuisine. Coconut is another popular recipe item in South India, with coconut chutney serving as an excellent pairing with dosas as well as with idli, steamed rice muffins, and sambar, lentils with vegetables.
Dosa with sides of coconut chutney, sambar, and extra aloo masala
Idli with sambar and coconut chutney
Hopefully perusing the platters of these five cuisines will inspire people to expand their food horizons and bring even more diversity to the American culinary scene. After all, trying new dishes from different cultures and regions not only opens taste buds, but also minds.
