International Favorites

When I visited Europe with my mom in 2004, we went to four countries and ate a lot of different food. In Russia we ate Mexican food (I still don't know what was in that burrito) and German food. In Austria we ate Chinese food. In the Czech Republic we ate Greek food. In Germany we ate Italian food. I have tried a LOT of different cuisines and haven't yet found one I didn't love. My "Foods I Hate" post was pretty successful so I thought I would follow up with my favorite foods from every cuisine I've tried! Please comment on your favorites and let me know what you think of mine!

American
If I can classify "bacon" as American food, then I will just call it quits on this section. Nathan agrees, but just in case, buffalo wings are pretty amazing! Mmmm I don't like it when the sauce is so hot you want to kill yourself, but, for instance, Applebee's classic buffalo sauce is pretty good. I also like buffalo chicken pizza. And bacon pizza. Haha.

German
I looooove German food so much. In Germany this past summer I must have eaten about TEN Döner kebabs (specifically Döner im Brot). These are so ridiculously delicious and I miss them dearly. They're like gyros, but SOOOO much better. I can't even describe it. The BEST one I had was undoubtedly the first one, and I spent the rest of the trip trying to recreate that experience. Best street food EVER. Other notable German foods: hearty potato dumplings at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, and Swabish potato salad. I loooooved that potato salad, and once I successfully recreate it, you can bet your behind I'll be posting the recipe here.

Thai
Hands down, it's gotta be ginger chicken, aka Gai Pad Khing. Back home in my beloved Marysville lies my favorite Thai restaurant, Mai's Thai. Back when I had a job and a car (and lived in Marysville) I would frequently get their lunch special of ginger chicken (two stars!) to go, so much that the owner, a funny Vietnamese lady, eventually recognized my voice over the phone and we established a good rapport :) There is nothing better than Thai food when you want something packed with flavor but not too heavy. Ginger chickennnnnn. My mouth is watering.

French
HOLY CRACKERS. Tarte flambée. I first met it when it was called Flammkuchen, but it's the same thing. Thin dough covered in crème fraîche topped with ONIONS AND BACON (so, in other words, bacon pizza) and baked in a flaming oven! I couldn't remember what it was called so I asked my friend Kyle, "Hey what was that pizza we ate on top of the mountain?" We took a really sweet day cruise with our host families down the Rhine (can you say awesome? because it was awesome) and then had to climb up this ridiculous mountain for lunch. Our reward at the top was this freaking awesome French pizza and I never regretted the climb afterward. So worth it. It was so familiar and yet so French. If you get a chance, definitely try it!

Russian
When we were in Russia (my dad was sent there for a few months to work), we were invited to a coworker's house for an authentic Russian dinner. My mom and I had eaten most of our meals in the aforementioned Mexican restaurant (haha) and German restaurant across the street from our hotel, or in the executive lounge of the five-star Marriott. We hadn't gotten a chance to experience traditional Russian cuisine, so we were excited and NOT disappointed that evening. It's a little cliche, but I really like borscht! Beet soup. It was so tasty, but what REALLY stood out was pelmeni. The best way to describe them is to call them "Russian ravioli." They were really really delicious... incredibly savory and meaty and chock full of goodness. Even more tasty when dipped in sour cream!

Japanese
I really really love sushi. I never had a problem with the whole "raw fish" thing and have been addicted ever since my Japanese aunt took me out for some fantastic sushi in PV, California in 2007. I'd toyed with it beforehand, but once you've had GOOD sushi (and I don't mean grocery store sushi) it's hard to forget. That's what I'm dealing with now. I'm in a landlocked state, and my favorite sushi restaurant, Tokyohouse in Arlington, WA, is over 800 miles away. It's a tragedy, and I feel sorry for myself on a near-daily basis because of the distance haha. Sushi might very well be my favorite food of all time.

Italian
Wow. I loooove Italian food. Maybe I love Americanized Italian food because I'm not sure I've had truly authentic Italian food, but whatevs. However, my favorite is pasta puttanesca. Anchovies, capers, garlic, peppers, olives, and onions in an awesome tomato sauce. It's SO GOOD, but I love pretty much anything drenched in marinara (or bolognese) sauce. Cheese ravioli in bolognese is great too, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about ZUPPA TOSCANA. Invented by Olive Garden this soup is, like many other dishes, better homemade. I've got the recipe in the sweet family cookbook and I make it pretty often. It's creamy, potatoey, bacony, sausagey, and tasty. You can find many variations of the recipe online but once we've stocked up on kale, I'll post it here. Mmmm I think I might make that for dinner.

Chinese
Hot and sour soup! It took me less than 1/10th of a second to figure out what my favorite Chinese food was. I am a huuuuuge soup person and I love soups that have a mega variety of flavor. As the name suggests, hot and sour soup fits that bill perfectly. I could eat a gallon of that stuff--as long as a good restaurant is making it--and still wish I had room in my tummy for more. I am a little bit disdainful of a lot of Chinese food because while the flavor is almost ALWAYS good, it can be rather greasy depending on where you go, but hot and sour soup is the one thing you never have to worry about. I'm so hungry all of a sudden.

Indian
My oldest sister Rachel introduced me and the rest of my family to Indian food. I will be eternally grateful to her for that. Indian food is generally very rich and the flavors are powerful. My two absolute favorite Indian dishes are butter chicken and lamb korma. I wish I could describe them, but I could never do them justice. In restaurants they are served family style with basmati rice. The idea is, you put some rice on your plate and then put the main dish on the rice. Mix it up and enjoy! Scoop up what's left with some tasty naan, which is flat Indian bread.

Mexican
If you go to Mexican restaurants, you know you're in for a huge and delicious meal. I am NOT picky with my Mexican food, but my all-time favorite dish is pollo a la crema--chicken in cream sauce, ideally with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers, and maybe a slice of tomato or two thrown in for good measure. Mix it up with Mexican rice and put it in fresh flour tortillas. HEAVEN ON EARTH. My good friend Alexis described it as "the ultimate comfort food," and she may very well be right on target. Unfortunately, it's hard to find in Mexican restaurants outside of Western Washington, but it's starting to extend its long, delicious arm out to people who live in other lands (someone please let me know when it reaches Eastern Idaho).

Vietnamese
PHO PHO PHO PHO PHO. That's all I have to say. Vietnamese noodle soup, usually with beef (but chicken is good too). It's served with a plate full of... I can only describe them as toppings, but anyway, you add whatever you want to your soup and stir it around and just let your taste buds celebrate. Pho restaurants are opening everywhere (except here) so if you get the chance to try it, TRY THE HECK OUT OF IT.

Brazilian
Apparently the black beans and rice I posted about last week is the staple dish of Brazil. I've had no other Brazilian foods to compare it to, but I'm pretty sure it would still be my favorite haha. For the recipe, click here!


I can't think of anything else, but please post your thoughts and your favorites in the comments!