Asia offers a wide range of cuisine coming from the northern to the southern. Here, you’ll explore five absolutely awesome cuisines in All Asia Recipes.
Western travelers always compliment the variety of Asian food types and the uniqueness of their taste. Thanks to the gift of mother nature, Asia owns various herbs and spices, vegetables, and meat, which are important ingredients for delicious dishes.
Let’s take a tour to explore five absolutely awesome cuisines in All Asia Recipes!
Chinese Cuisine – The balance of yin and yang
The first destination in the tour is China, where it has a long history of not only its culture but also its cuisine. Chinese cuisine harmonizes among appearance and taste, yin and yang elements.
Rice, one of the main ingredients in Chinese food, represents in dishes which are in different ways like steamed, roasted, or boiled. However, instead of rice, people in arid northern China replace wheat for their recipes.
In Chinese culture, meat symbolizes wealth and status in the past as most people couldn’t afford meat for their meals. In terms of meat, pork is a popular choice for every dish.
Sweet and Sour Pork, Ma Po Tofu, Dumplings, and Chow Mien are among the most popular in Chinese cuisine. If you have a chance to visit China, don’t forget to try the taste of authentic Chinese cuisine.
If you want to prepare a Chinese meal for your family or friends, it’s easy to find out easy-to-follow recipes in All Asia Recipes.
Malaysian Cuisine – The mix of Indian and Chinese cuisines in Southeast Asia
Malaysia, home of the best street food and court food in Southeast Asia, is the next destination in our food tour around Asia. This heaven of food harmoniously combines the techniques of Indian and Chinese immigrants coming to this island.
Malaysian food boats strong and spicy taste which originates from herbs and spices in Southeast Asia. Notably, Malaysians use their bare hands to eat all the time. Diners gather food onto their hands and ladle this into the mouth by the back of their thumbs.
Like other Southeast Asian cuisines, rice plays as a soul in a Malaysian meal. Nasi lemak (‘fatty rice’), the Malay’s national dish, is a steamed rice dish with coconut milk eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Malaysian desserts boast a vivid color containing coconut sweets, layered butter cake named Lapis Legit, and coconut rice balls. Another famous dessert should be Kueh Bahulu; a mini sponge cake dipped in black coffee, which is also my personal favorite.
Thai Cuisine – The harmony of four tastes
Travelers who visited Thailand always praise not only the beauty of the country but also the uniquené of its cuisine. A typical meal in Thailand includes the delicious combination of four seasonings: salty, sour, spicy, and sweet.
Thai cuisine also differentiates among regions. Thus, there are five culinary regions such as the north, the northeast, the south, the central plains, and the capital of Bangkok.
The northern region of Thailand includes hills, farmland, and valleys; there is no fish or seafood to be found here. Hence, the north people use red meat, vegetables to make their cooking style.
The northeast of Thailand, Isaan, uses broiling and roasting as the cooking style of this region. The most well-known dish of Isaan is green papaya salad served with sticky rice.
On the other hand, southern cuisine boasts some characteristics of the Malaysian. Southern Thai people combine fresh fish/seafood with coconuts in their dishes. The famous one is coconut milk seafood curries. At the same time, desserts include tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, mango, etc. Rich, creamy sauces like lobster fra’ Diavolo are the ideal dishes to pair with Chardonnay. Check lobster near me and have fresh seafood delivered to you.
Visiting the central plains, you will have a chance to taste pad Thai, the most popular Thai dishes for foreigners. Moreover, pad Thai can be easily made at home. Don’t hesitate to attempt some home-made pad Thai by using the 7-step easy homemade recipe for pad Thai via All Asia Recipes.
Finally, you shouldn’t forget to visit Bangkok, the capital of Thai with the dynamic lifestyle and the excellent cuisine. Bangkok provides various options like home-cooked food from every region of Thailand, or palace food. There are hundreds of Thai desserts in Bangkok made from jellies, cakes, etc.
Vietnamese Cuisine – The paradise of street food
After finishing the food tour in China, let’s move down to the south and visit Vietnam, the paradise of street food. People can quickly get small meals on the street anytime.
The uniqueness of Vietnamese cuisine includes rice and fish sauce. Vietnamese consumes rice in every meal from breakfast to lunch and dinner. Vietnamese use rice to make noodles, wrappers, porridge, and even snacks.
People in the S-shaped country use fish sauce to provide salt intake in their meals. As its popularity in Vietnamese cuisine, fish sauce is added in soup broths, spring roll dips, or for marination.
Vietnamese cuisine varies among three main regions: north, central, and south. In the north, food tastes less spicy, and black pepper is prevalent instead of chili. The legendary ‘bún chả’ is the signature of northern cuisine.
However, central Vietnam adds spicy flavors in almost all dishes. On the other hand, cuisine in southern Vietnam tends to be sweeter and uses herbs more liberally in cooking.
The must-try dishes in Vietnam have to be Phở and Bánh mì. It is recommended that you try Pho in Saigon or Hanoi for the most original and authentic taste. Are you curious about the ingredients in a bowl of Phở? Click to All Asia Recipes for this fantastic dish.
Indian Cuisine – The combination of herbs and spices
Saying goodbye to the Southeast Asian cuisines, we will move to the South of Asia heading to India, the homeland of herbs and spices.
Indians always consume dairy products, eggs, honey, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. While cooking, Indians use a lot of herbs and spices such as turmeric, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, cardamom.
Additionally, Indian food is considerably influenced by foreigners throughout the colonial occupation, trade, and invasions. For instance, the Portuguese introduced chilies, breadfruit, and potato to India.
Lastly, being the seventh-largest country in the world, Indian cuisine varies from region to region.
Hence, the food in the north has nothing in common with the food in the south. Notably, the most significant difference is that atta and wheat are prevalent in the north while southern Indians prefer rice instead.
Final words
By finishing the tour of 5 absolutely interesting cuisines in All Asia Recipes, you definitely would learn more about facts and features of the cuisines in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, India.
You’re welcome to leave any comments on your experience for any cuisines. Also, don’t forget to let others know how diverse Asian cuisine and start trying it.
