Ethnic food

[Windswept]

I know that some of you have a lot of experience with eating ethnic foods.

I haven't, however. Part of the reason is that for the longest time, ethnic food places in my city mostly existed around the university campus, which is quite far from where I live.

Recently, though, all kinds of ethnic food eateries have been opening up relatively nearby; and so I'd like some recommendations of dishes I should be sure to try - in whatever kind of ethnic cuisine you'd like to mention.

The closest two new places are a Vietnamese cafe and a Korean Barbecue restaurant. I haven't been in either, and haven't seen their menus. But I thought some of you might care to recommend something tasty from either or both of those cuisines.

To start with, I'd probably want to stay away from *hot* (as in jalapeno 'hot') dishes, since I seem to have a more delicate palate.

Anyway, thanks for any recommendations on tasty dishes from any ethnic cuisine. I really appreciate the advice. :)

PS - I've eaten Mexican food for many years, but have never tried stuff like 'menudo'. (Not sure what that is, exactly; but I think it's something icky. :p ) I'm not too keen on eating stuff like brains, stomach lining, or intestines... so you can leave such items out of any suggestions. Thanks very much. :)

[Ebby]

My logic is they wouldn't serve food that someone didn't like and stay in business. If you have preferences of don't like something in particular, avoid it, otherwise narrow down your selection to two and flip a coin.

Oh, and most places have a handful of default-American items. Try to stay away from those. (Like where every Chinese food place has Sweet&Sour pork or something)

Personally, I would check out the Korean BBQ first as I think it has a bit less spice than Vietnamese food. Not so much temperature-wise, but almost overwhelming flavors. I have a Mongolian BBQ place near my house and that is freaking addictive. (Thanks a lot for reminding me, I just kicked the habit. ;) )

[Windswept]

Well, the Korean place is just having their grand opening. I happened to walk past last night and saw quite a few people inside. They all looked... Korean. :)

Both restaurants are fairly small and could probably survive solely on the business of their own ethnic communities. Having said that, the Vietnamese cafe never seems to have many customers, so don't know how long it will last.

I do like spicy food. Just not 'hot' with pepper. I love garlic, and think that it is very possibly addictive. ;)

Don't care for anise flavoring. urk.

[Sauvblanc]

I've been to a few Korean BBQ places. If it's largely Korean ppl then you might want to tread carefully and check up the menu beforehand. A BBQ place that caters to non-Koreans will place raw meat/shellfish/seafood in front of you (based on your selection from the menu and basically you cook it yourself. It's a fun way to do it and really doesn't take long because the meat tends to be sliced thin so it cooks quickly and since it's been marinated beforehand it can be quite tasty.

A more ethnic place will do it slightly differently, perhaps. This is based on my experience in Korean BBQ's. The last one I went to with my wife when we were feeling slightly adventurous turned out to be a surprise. Every single dish featured octopus. Which is fine, I like octopus. But in this case our dish consisted of a HUGE cast iron skillet placed on a gas burner built into the table and contained LOTS of veggies and three medium sized...whole...raw..octopi. Like with heads and all. The waiter helped us cook it and then got out some shears and cut up the octopi. My wife and I would take a small bowlful and search around for bits of brain or eye or beak or anything that didn't recognizably look like a tentacle. It was actually quite good but rather educatioinal.

Vietnamese...I LOVE salt'n'pepper squid. Vietnamese spring rolls also rock, you wrap them up in lettuce leaves and dip them in a sauce (not spicy, though). Vietnamese soup (known as "pho") is also a hearty meal unto itself. Huge bowls of broth containing noodles, onions and a variety of meats. Beef tends to be sliced quite thinly and put into the hot soup raw and the soup effectively cooks the beef. Served with bean shoots and (I think) Vietnamese basil. You can spice it up a little bit by putting in just a touch of hot sauce, but they also have this other black sauce that I never seem to remember. Pho is just the thing for a cold night.

I'd go check out the menus and see what they have. Most places will tell you how spicy a given dish is or ask you how spicy you want it.

[Windswept]

they also have this other black sauce that I never seem to remember.


Is it 'nuoc mam' sauce... or something like that? :)

[Is it 1981?]

Is it 'nuoc mam' sauce... or something like that? :)

Bloody hell. Most folks here in the UK wouldn't have a clue what 'nuoc mam' is. Kudos to you. :D

Having said that, my own folks are Vietnamese, but I wasn't - I'm too Westernised and am almost ashamed at how little I know about Viet culture/ language etc.

[Windswept]

Bloody hell. Most folks here in the UK wouldn't have a clue what 'nuoc mam' is. Kudos to you. :D
Yay! :D Thank you. :)

Having said that, my own folks are Vietnamese, but I wasn't - I'm too Westernised and am almost ashamed at how little I know about Viet culture/ language etc.
Oh wow. You should try to hang on to the language, if you can. Fluency in another language is a wonderful thing. And being able to write an Asian language would be SO cool. :)

Having said that, alas: my father spoke Finnish as a child on a farm in Wisconsin. 'His' father was born in Finland. And I? I know maybe three words in Finnish. :\ Tsk.

[Shades of Blue]

I love Indian food, especially papri chaat as an appetizer (it's kind of Indian nachos; little crunchy chips plus chickpeas and other stuff), and chicken tikka masala as a main course. Yum.

[Dave]

Having said that, alas: my father spoke Finnish as a child on a farm in Wisconsin. 'His' father was born in Finland. And I? I know maybe three words in Finnish. :\ Tsk.

How many of them are swear words?

[hflomberg]

Vietnamese food-- C-rations?

OK, bad joke - But Bulgogi (Korean) is Wonderful!

[BlueRabbit]

Is it 'nuoc mam' sauce... or something like that? :)
Nuoc mam is fish sauce. It's like soy sauce, except golden-colored, less salty, and waaay more pungent. I think it's excellent, but most people I know don't like it too much. I guess it must be a cultural thing.

The black sauce Sauvblanc is thinking of is Hoisin sauce. It's pretty sweet, and I always pour it on whenever I eat pho.

[thegelding]

lemon grass anything is good...spring rolls dipped in peanut sauce with hot sauce mixed in...add some fish sauce to your glass noodles..top off with vietnamese coffee...mmm, good eating

other foods you must try, Indian, Thai...both heavy on curry...curry is freakin addictive...i miss ethopian food...none in new mexico...food is eaten with your hands...lots of spices and funky spongey bread you pick food up with...yummy

g

[hiltond]

Tonight for dinner I tried to make Paella de marisco which is one of my favorite dishes. A for ambition, C- for execution, but I think I know what to do different next time.

In Newark's Ironbound, Elizabeth and in my city we have a lot of restaurants that cater to a large Spanish and Portuguese community and they serve very tasty dishes.

Iberia in Newark has Sangria that I would trade just about anything for the recipe to. You can't drive after drinking it and it is a little to easy to go the wrong way on the city subway after a long dinner. The Rodizo is yummy, while not cheap you do get a lot for the money. I think the short ribs, turkey wrapped in bacon and filet mignon are my favorite parts.

Now that I think about most of the other "ethnic" places I eat at, Thai and Punjab, serve spicy food.

[Freewell]

Love Indian food. There was an Indian restaurant I used to go to that had these fabulous mango smoothie type drinks that were absolutely incredible. Don't recall the name. Thai food is the bomb. Of course I love spicy food, so that helps!

Italian is always up at the top of my list, as is Chinese, real Mexican, and believe it or not, I absolutely loved the borsch I had in Moscow. From what I have gathered though, some people love it, others have other sentiments. I thought it was delicious. I did skip the head cheese though... hmmm... Perhaps if I would have just given it a try... Who knows?! :err:

[CoolToddHunter]

PS - I've eaten Mexican food for many years, but have never tried stuff like 'menudo'. (Not sure what that is, exactly; but I think it's something icky. :p ) I'm not too keen on eating stuff like brains, stomach lining, or intestines... so you can leave such items out of any suggestions. Thanks very much. :)

Menudo is stomach lining, or more correctly, is soup made out of stomach lining and hominy. I find it quite nasty, but there's a dish that's exactly the same minus stomach lining called posole. That, on the other hand, is good stuff, though I've met people who don't like the hominy.

[AWR]

I have never had anything Korean or Vietnamese that I didn't like. Two of my favorite types of cooking, and very different.

My Korean favorite is probably the most common main dish, BBQ meat (anything works for me) that you wrap up in a lettuce leaf with some rice and varied seasonings. Hmmmm good. Love all Kimichi too. The problem with Korean restaurants sometimes is that you leave smelling like a grilled rib. :)

I eat this dish for lunch three times a week at the local and very authentic Vietnamese restaurant. Pho: usually the beef version, although it's a small portion of meat. Religiously. Healthy and satisfying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho

Have fun Windswept.

PS. Both of these cuisines are begging for a cold beer refreshment on the side. ;)

[irnchriz]

I know that some of you have a lot of experience with eating ethnic foods.

I haven't, however. Part of the reason is that for the longest time, ethnic food places in my city mostly existed around the university campus, which is quite far from where I live.

Recently, though, all kinds of ethnic food eateries have been opening up relatively nearby; and so I'd like some recommendations of dishes I should be sure to try - in whatever kind of ethnic cuisine you'd like to mention.

The closest two new places are a Vietnamese cafe and a Korean Barbecue restaurant. I haven't been in either, and haven't seen their menus. But I thought some of you might care to recommend something tasty from either or both of those cuisines.

To start with, I'd probably want to stay away from *hot* (as in jalapeno 'hot') dishes, since I seem to have a more delicate palate.

Anyway, thanks for any recommendations on tasty dishes from any ethnic cuisine. I really appreciate the advice. :)

PS - I've eaten Mexican food for many years, but have never tried stuff like 'menudo'. (Not sure what that is, exactly; but I think it's something icky. :p ) I'm not too keen on eating stuff like brains, stomach lining, or intestines... so you can leave such items out of any suggestions. Thanks very much. :)


Try Scottish Haggis

[BuonRotto]

Anything Indian! Just don't get it from a buffet. A good starter dish is chicken tikka masala: very good, not spicy, not too weird or unfamiliar. After that, you can move to stuff like dal makhni, which is a lentil stew; palak paneer, which is cheese and potatoes usually with spinach; chicken or seafood curry; tandoor chicken, a mud oven bbq kind of thing; vegetable korma; and lamb vindaloo, which is very spicy. The breads like naan and kulcha are wonderful, and basmati rice has a beautiful, subtle aroma. You can ask for a traditional yogurt with small veggies to help get you through spicy dishes (they usually ask how spicy you want it, and the heat should never overwhelm the flavor), and bring tissues in case. I'm not a fan of Indian desserts, too sweet usually, but try some chai tea or have lasi instead of the yogurt plate. A lasi is a yogurt-fruit drink.

[Banana]

I wonder if anybody has ever went to a place specializing in "Native American" cuisine? :confused:

I don't even know if there's even such thing as Native American cuisine, but I can tell you I live in area that has significant Native American population and not a single restaurant that specializes in such eatery. The closest thing that I know for sure comes from them would be smoked salmon, but I don't even know what they'd have on sides, what they would have for desserts. :\

It's totally weird that we have Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and even some more exotic ethnic foods scattered over but no foods from Natives? :err:

[Bryson]

Try Scottish Haggis

...from the Chip Shop, with chips, and "Salt & Sauce" - the sauce is somewhere between vinegar and brown sauce and actually not quite like either.

Also, you should try "Indian"* food. Although probably not in North America - you may have to wait until you go to the UK.


* = Although called "Indian" it would probably be much better described as "British Asian" as most restaurants are of Bangladeshi origin and the food is extensively different to that you would find in bangladesh, even. It's British food really, just by people who aren't from Britain originally.

[mattf]

Try Scottish Haggis...from the Chip Shop, with chips, and "Salt & Sauce" - the sauce is somewhere between vinegar and brown sauce and actually not quite like either.


And if you're vegetarian, try the deep-fried MacSween's vegetarian haggis & chips from L'Alba D'Oro (http://www.lalbadoro.com/chippy.htm) in Edinburgh. It, alone, is worth the 100+ mile round trip for me.

Heart attack at 40? Dinnae talk tosh, man.

[zippy]

I wonder if anybody has ever went to a place specializing in "Native American" cuisine? :confused:

I don't even know if there's even such thing as Native American cuisine, but I can tell you I live in area that has significant Native American population and not a single restaurant that specializes in such eatery. The closest thing that I know for sure comes from them would be smoked salmon, but I don't even know what they'd have on sides, what they would have for desserts. :\

It's totally weird that we have Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and even some more exotic ethnic foods scattered over but no foods from Natives? :err:
Indian Tacos on Frye Bread are quite good, but that's about all I've had that was supposedly Native American.

[polvoronn]

Personally, I would check out the Korean BBQ first as I think it has a bit less spice than Vietnamese food. Not so much temperature-wise, but almost overwhelming flavors. I have a Mongolian BBQ place near my house and that is freaking addictive. (Thanks a lot for reminding me, I just kicked the habit. ;) )

I live in Vancouver and the majority of Vietnamese joints are a lot more affordable than Korean places. A place by my house sells a large bowl of pho with a friend spring roll for $7.25 CDN. You cannot go wrong with that. Most other Vietnamese places are comparable. The last time I ate at a Korean pleace it cost me about $10 CDN a person.

My favorite is this Japanese noodle house that specializes in ramen. It's about $7-8 CDN for a huge bowl of ramen. That is my vice for now. It's a 30-45 minute drive there, so I try to go about once a week.

[RowdyScot]

Scottish food <3 <3 <3

Haggis and Irn Bru FTW!

[BlueRabbit]

I live in Vancouver and the majority of Vietnamese joints are a lot more affordable than Korean places. A place by my house sells a large bowl of pho with a friend spring roll for $7.25 CDN. You cannot go wrong with that. Most other Vietnamese places are comparable. The last time I ate at a Korean pleace it cost me about $10 CDN a person.

Oh, totally. There are four or five pho places within walking distance of my university, and all of them sell bowls of pho for $4-6. And they're gigantic, too - the small size is a medium-sized bowl, and you could probably drown a baby in the extra-large bowl. ;)

[CoolToddHunter]

I wonder if anybody has ever went to a place specializing in "Native American" cuisine? :confused:

I don't even know if there's even such thing as Native American cuisine, but I can tell you I live in area that has significant Native American population and not a single restaurant that specializes in such eatery. The closest thing that I know for sure comes from them would be smoked salmon, but I don't even know what they'd have on sides, what they would have for desserts. :\

It's totally weird that we have Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and even some more exotic ethnic foods scattered over but no foods from Natives? :err:

The problem with Native American cuisine is that it isn't native. Many of the natives died from disease, of course, and those that didn't were largely moved to reservations. As these were typically not in an area the natives were used to living (with an half-hearted exception for the southwest), they didn't know how to get food, and in any case, the government gave them staples. The staples they got (white flour, salt, lard, etc.) were not the staples they were used to (squash, beans?), so they had to re-learn how to cook. The fry-bread is what resulted, including the "Navajo Taco" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_taco). So basically, most of the traditional foods were lost, as they couldn't cook them anymore, and a new tradition resulted.

If you want Native American cuisine from outside the US boundaries, you can also look to Canada for a different style (I think they retained more of the traditional cuisine), and Mexican food is also derived heavily from what the natives cooked. However, I can't comment on the availability of Native American restuarants in Canada.

[Windswept]

Vietnamese spring rolls also rock, you wrap them up in lettuce leaves and dip them in a sauce (not spicy, though).

Vietnamese soup (known as "pho") is also a hearty meal unto itself. Huge bowls of broth containing noodles, onions and a variety of meats. Beef tends to be sliced quite thinly and put into the hot soup raw and the soup effectively cooks the beef.

Served with bean shoots and (I think) Vietnamese basil. You can spice it up a little bit by putting in just a touch of hot sauce, but they also have this other black sauce that I never seem to remember. Pho is just the thing for a cold night.

I really do love soups in general; and yes, they certainly are perfect for cold weather. Your description of pho sounds quite delicious, since I'm a big fan of noodles and onions. :)

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm looking forward to some culinary adventures. ;)

[Windswept]

Well, a pho place is now open just a few miles away. Yay! :)

I have a paper copy of their menu, and it's about a mile long, mostly in Vietnamese.

I went there for lunch two days ago, and had a grilled pork with rice dish. Don't know what the Vietnamese name was, but it was very tasty.

I glanced at the menu and noticed a garlic shrimp dish that sounded yummy, so guess I'll try that next time. I definitely want to learn the Vietnamese names of the food, and think it would even be fun to be able to write the Vietnamese characters. :D

Anyone eaten any good ethnic food lately? :)

[Ebby]

We have the "Pho King" over here. It looks like the word "pho" should sound "fo" but it is actually pronounced "fa" giving those who speak Vietnamese a chuckle.

:D

[Ryan]

We've got 5-6 pho restaurants all on one road here. Some right across the street from each other. I've been to one of them, and it was pretty good.

[Windswept]

We have the "Pho King" over here. It looks like the word "pho" should sound "fo" but it is actually pronounced "fa" giving those who speak Vietnamese a chuckle.

:D
So, does "fo" mean something in Vietnamese???

I'm almost afraid to ask. ;)

[cosus]

"pho" means noodles and it's pronounced "fu".

[Engine Joe]

I confess from the start that I haven't read every post in this thread (yet). But I had to take a second to question the premise: what is an "ethnic" food? I mean, most of the food we eat in the USA is a bastardized "ethnic" food, be it German, Italian, English, French, Chinese, etc. Is an ethnic food the pure expression of those cuisines? Is it only the food that seems exotic to an American (so Thai might count but Italian wouldn't)?

[Eugene]

AFAIK, Ebby is closest. I always thought pho was pronounced "fuh."

Ethiopian cuisine would definitely be ethnic food to me. Nothing like putting a whole bunch of different dishes on a giant sheet of extremely sour, metallic tasting spongy injera...and then using that bread as your only utensil to mop up dishes that include kitfo...raw ground beef drenched in chili sauce.

Cajun cuisine would also be ethnic to me, even though it's pretty domestic in origin.

[Windswept]

I confess from the start that I haven't read every post in this thread (yet). But I had to take a second to question the premise: what is an "ethnic" food? I mean, most of the food we eat in the USA is a bastardized "ethnic" food, be it German, Italian, English, French, Chinese, etc. Is an ethnic food the pure expression of those cuisines? Is it only the food that seems exotic to an American (so Thai might count but Italian wouldn't)?
That's a good question, Engine Joe.

I don't think anyone would consider a plate of spaghetti or a pizza as "ethnic food" in the context intended by this thread - though technically, they both originated as such.

I guess 'ethnic food' in this thread would be whatever you'd consider a bit more exotic than the common fare. :)

I'd consider Greek, Persian, or African food as fairly exotic, though 'you' might not; mainly because I've never eaten it - though I did spend a few days in Greece. I can't remember what I ate there, but it must not have seemed much like Greek food. :D

[Windswept]

We have the "Pho King" over here. It looks like the word "pho" should sound "fo" but it is actually pronounced "fa" giving those who speak Vietnamese a chuckle.
:D

So, does "fo" mean something in Vietnamese???

I'm almost afraid to ask. ;)


AFAIK, Ebby is closest. I always thought pho was pronounced "fuh."


"pho" means noodles and it's pronounced "fu".
Ebby said 'pho' looks like 'fo' but is pronounced 'fa'.

So 'my' question to him was, does the word that is actually pronounced as FO mean anything?

[Ryan]

I think Ebby is right. When I first went to a pho restaurant, a Vietnamese friend of mine told me it's pronounced "fuh."

[pkatzman]

Just to add one more suggestion onto the pile, Vegetarian (Southern) Indian food, if you can find it, is pretty reliably awesome. Be careful though, most dishes are pretty intensely spicy - great place to go when you have a headcold. There's a few amazing ones in Atlanta, for one, though we do have a sizeable Indian community.