Asia, arguably, has the broadest and deepest food culture. Moving from Western Asia down to Southeast Asia, the foods you encounter vary wildly, as do the spices, herbs, and ingredients essential to ethnic dishes. Take some time to explore a popular food item from each region by clicking through the tabs above. We picked foods with recipes you can try at home. Some of these items are even for sale at your local grocery store if you would rather not experiment in the kitchen!
Rotating banquet table at a Chinese restaurant (how many traditional families share meals). Image from Tripadvisor.com
Samsa
A plate of samsas. Image from Wikipedia.
From gastrosenses.com: "These triangular pastries are both crunchy and moist. Traditional buttery flaky pastry dough is wrapped around finely minced lamb meat filling soaked in fragrant spices and baked to golden perfection. The pastry stays crisp on the outside while the inside layers sop up the juices from the meat filling, resulting in a wonderful contrast of crunchy and moist in each bite."
Tempura
Different tempura vegetables for sale. Image from Wikimedia commons.
From japan-guide.com: "Tempura are pieces of lightly battered, deep fried seafood and vegetables. Introduced to Japan during the 16th century by the Portuguese in Nagasaki, tempura has developed over the centuries into a popular Japanese dish both inside and outside of Japan. Tempura can be found in many types of restaurants across the country, where it is commonly served as a main dish, side dish or as a topping for tendon rice bowls, or udon and soba noodle dishes."
Pho
Bowl of pho. Image from Wikimedia commons.
From allrecipes.com: "Pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of bone broth, rice noodles, and thinly sliced meat (usually beef). It may also be served with bean sprouts, fresh herbs, limes, chiles, and other garnishes. The origins of pho are a bit murky, but it is generally believed to have originated in early 20th century northern Vietnam. It eventually migrated south after the division of the country in 1954, and gained even more popularity following the Vietnam War as refugees introduced it to other cultures."
Butter Chicken
Bowl of butter chicken. Image from Wikimedia commons.
From simplyrecipes.com: "Butter chicken is prepared with marinated chicken that's first grilled and then served in a rich gravy (a.k.a. curry) made with tomato, butter, and a special spice blend as a base. Unlike most Indian curries where the preparation of the base starts with a blend of onion and a ginger garlic paste cooked in oil, butter chicken uses tomato as a base and is cooked in butter, giving it a slightly sweet flavor."
Hummus
Bowl of hummus. Image from Flickr. Creator: Darya Pino.
From foodnetwork.com: "Hummus is a smooth and creamy puree of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini and an acid, typically lemon juice. While hummus usually has garlic now, centuries ago it did not. Olive oil isn’t a requirement either, but most modern recipes list it as an ingredient. Hummus has been a staple for communities in the Middle East, Mediterranean and North African regions for longer than we've kept written records.
*We recommend you eat this with slices of warm pita bread! Hummus is also readily available at many grocers.
