Only True Foodies Can Name All These Popular Dishes

It can truly be said that more, different foods from more countries and cultures are widely available today than ever before. This cornucopia of flavours, textures, and eating styles has given rise to a way of eating, almost a way of living, that emphasizes trying, enjoying, and appreciating as many of these foods as possible. People who choose to spend extra time and money enjoying food are today called foodies, and they are a group who is proud to eat, share, and eat again. How many different foods can a single person eat, anyway?

These are some of the more popular dishes that have caught on globally around the world, and includes a few that are just catching on for those who are especially engaged in a single cuisine. Some countries seem able to promote more dishes than others, and some national trends stick longer than others. Italian, French, Mexican, and Chinese food are near ubiquitous today, followed closely by Korean, Thai, Indian, Moroccan, and Middle Eastern cuisine. How many of these dishes has everyone tried? Which ones do people want to try? The more you know, the more you can experience, and these foods are a great place to start. Good luck guessing them all!

Question 1

What's the name of this dish?

The pride of Chicago, this filling, near gut-busting tribute to US cuisine is as hot as it gets. Chicago may not be the first place people think of when it comes to great Italian food, and this sausage-heavy creation is actually thanks to the city’s large Eastern European population. Locals and tourists alike scour the city for the tastiest, most inventive, and of course deepest pie around. The secret to this dish is the layers of dough that allow the inner filling to cook together, almost like a pie.

Question 2

What's the name of this dish?

If you haven’t had a chance to try this epic combination of French fries, cheese and gravy, then head to your nearest chip shop and give it a shot. While this intense fat-and-salt delivery system was once only available in its native Quebec, its catching on in popularity around the world. What constitutes a truly authentic recipe is another question, but most agree the cheese should be curds, the sauce slightly acidic, and the overall dish should be filling enough to provide sustenance for a long, Canadian winter.

Question 3

What's the name of this dish?

This dish is a well-known test of a chef’s technical acumen, requiring several layers to be cooked separately before being cooked together. It had begun to slide into obscurity before being revived by chef Gordon Ramsay in his cooking compendium. Its crispy outside combined with a juicy, tender inside makes it irresistible. While the origin of its name may seem obvious, especially for a British dish, there is, in fact, not clear historical linkage to it being named after the defeat of Napoleon.

Question 4

What's the name of this dish?

The origin of this delectable dessert has been long since lost, and may have been a part of French pastry making for centuries. It consists of many layers of puff pastry, cream, and sometimes fruit or chocolate layers, gently baked together. Its name in French, mille feuille, or thousand layers, gives little hint as to its origin or its very different name in English. Like beef Wellington before it, there is no clear connection to Revolutionary France, but the name persists today.

Question 5

What's the name of this dish?

Of the many contributions Chinese cuisine has made to US gastronomy, there may be none greater than the many, many different ways to prepare rice. Most Chinese restaurants, or indeed home cooks, have a few different fried rice recipes in their arsenal, and typically include some kind of scallion, garlic, and ginger. Few outside China may be aware there is one combination that is most common over others, which includes egg, ham, and shrimp. It’s named after the eastern Chinese city it was reputedly developed.

Question 6

What's the name of this dish?

Today, potatoes are a common part of the diets in many countries, providing much of the calories the world runs on. Few remember that scant centuries ago, the potato was considered potentially toxic, even a possible carrier of the Bubonic Plague. It took one French physician- who we can also thank for enforcing smallpox vaccinations- to discover just how much sustenance potatoes can provide. After decades of promoting potato consumption around Europe, he was finally immortalized with this simple dish.

Question 7

What's the name of this dish?

There may be no dish who’s origin, and credit for its development, is more debated than pizza. While few disagree that the modern pizza took its shape in the area around Naples, who did it and when is hard to say. Much of this debate come from 19th century pizza chef Raffaele Esposito, who served a red, white and green pizza (made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil) to celebrate the unification of Italy. He named it after Italy’s queen, and the rest is history.

Question 8

What's the name of this dish?

While Ethiopian food is less well-known in the West than its North African counterparts, its becoming more and more popular thanks to this delicious chicken dish. Copious amounts of onions and chicken are simmered in a sauce, usually made with red wine, before being garnished with hard-boiled eggs. The real secret to this dish’s vaunted status is its use of the Berber spice blend, a complex combination that is hard to reproduce. It is often served with injera, an Ethiopian bread made of teff.

Question 9

What's the name of this dish?

This culinary icon is as well-known for the dish as it is its unique cooking vessel. North African in origin, most likely coming from Morocco, this slow-cooked delicacy can call for countless ingredients, often changing with the season. Favorites include chicken with olive and preserved lemon, lamb and quince, and meatballs in tomato sauce. The secret to the dish lies in the cooking vessel itself- the high lid allows water to evaporate, cool, and return to the food being cooked, keeping everything juicy and good.

Question 10

What's the name of this dish?

This filling, satisfying classic is one of the few dishes of South America to really catch on in North America. Most often associated with Brazil, where it has been described as its national dish, it’s popular around Portugal’s former colonies. Its name is even derived from the Portuguese word for “beans.” The most popular version is made with black beans and pork, but its actual composition varies around the world. It can also be made with red beans, and several vegetarian options are common to other parts of Brazil.

Question 11

What's the name of this dish?

This ancient favourite suffers from a similar affliction to many very old dishes: its name can be misleading to the uninitiated. While it may sound like a unique dessert to discover, it is in fact a fatty, salty, and very intense form of sausage. Consisting primarily of congealed blood, fat, herbs and spices, it exists in many forms around Europe, and is notably popular in Germany. Still, no one has taken to this unique sausage more than the British or Irish, for whom it can be served any time of day.

Question 12

What's the name of this dish?

The last half century has seen a steady increase in the popularity of Japanese food around the world. While sushi is the most common and most easily recognized Japanese culinary export, numerous other dishes, from teriyaki to tempura, have caught on abroad. While grilled chicken skewers is certainly not a Japanese invention, this tender, marinated version, typically made with only dark meat, is a unique and delicious approach. It’s possible to make it with any number of meats or vegetables, but the chicken thigh version is the most popular.

Question 13

What's the name of this dish?

What’s India’s most famous dish after curry? This can be a hard question to answer, mainly because so much of the subcontinent’s best have been exported around the world. This dish is essentially rice layered with other ingredients, often chicken and nuts, but numerous and very elaborate variations abound. Its name is of Persian origin, and it’s a favourite in and around Pakistan as well. Served with a chutney or raita, it can be a main dish instead of a side.

Question 14

What's the name of this dish?

Peruvian food is yet to catch on in a big way in North America, and this dish provides ample evidence that it should be more common. The main feature of this cold, boiled potato dish is its bright yellow sauce, which is deceptively mild. It’s made with Peru’s aji amarillo, a kind of chile pepper that is a cousin to, but distinct from Central America’s more well-known japaleños and habaneros. It’s well worth a try, if, of course, there are any aji amarillos to be found.

Question 15

What's the name of this dish?

Few may know this Egyptian dish outside of North Africa and the western Arabian Peninsula, but it’s a delightful appetizer well worth discovering. The dish is simple: a spice blend, usually made with some combination of cumin, coriander, sesame and herbs, is combined with nuts and ground together. The nuts are usually almonds but can be any type. Diners then take a piece of bread, dip it in some olive oil, then dip it in the spice and nut combination. The result is as delicious as it is straightforward.

Question 16

What's the name of this dish?

Stuffed grape leaves are a common dish around the Mediterranean and Middle East, available everywhere from streetside snack vendors to fine restaurants. As with any very old recipe, its variations are innumerable. They can be stuffed with anything from rice to barley to meat or even roast vegetables. Some are served plain, some in tomato or even cream sauce. The English name is derived from Turkish, which is also similar to the Greek word. In North America it is most often associated with Greek cuisine.

Question 17

What's the name of this dish?

This truly fascinating dish is a lesson in history itself. Perhaps no single taco combination is more faithfully repeated than this: marinated, roasted pork, pineapple, and onion on a small corn tortilla. The pork is traditionally roasted on a vertical spit, like shawarma, imported to Mexico by Syrian Christian immigrants fleeing the Ottoman Empire. The choice of spices in the marinade, often heavy on cumin, is another indication that this classic Mexican dish is more than just a story of Spanish food with ingredients from Central America.

Question 18

What's the name of this dish?

While few pre-Columbian Mexican recipes are commonly cooked in the modern world, one ancient preparation stands out. Its name simply means “sauce” in the native languages of Oaxaca, the western Mexican province from which much of the most revered recipes are often found. There are hundreds of different kinds of these sauces in Mexico, but the most famous is probably black. Oaxacan black sauce can take days to make and includes unique ingredients like plantain, Mexican oregano, and charred tortilla.

Question 19

What's the name of this dish?

Few can say exactly where the burrito comes from originally: somewhere in northern Mexico a century ago, perhaps on the Texas border, perhaps even around the farms of California as recently as the 1950s. Today, it exists in many varieties, with a few more or less codified versions hailing from California’s largest cities. The San Francisco style Mission burrito, usually made to order, may be the most well-known. It typically features grilled meat, beans, cheese, salsa and whatever else the customer desires. Less well-known is the San Diego style burrito: this one contains carne asada and French fries.

Question 20

What's the name of this dish?

Thai food is one of the more popular foreign foods in North America. It’s unusual in that it is commonly eaten in restaurants but rarely cooked at home, despite the increasing ubiquity of Thai ingredients in supermarkets. This lunch special classic is a perfect example of the kind of dishes that dominate Thai restaurants today: rice noodles stir-fried with vegetables, almost certainly including bean sprouts, and thin slices of meat, fish, seafood or tofu. A simple dressing of fish sauce and lime juice can be all it takes to finish it.

Question 21

What's the name of this dish?

This traditional Vietnamese soup has caught on around the world in a big way. A generally hot and sour soup, usually served with rice noodles and heaps of different garnishes from bean sprouts to carrots to scallions and of course chicken, pork, or shrimp. Plenty of lime juice and sometimes hot chilies makes it great in summer or winter. Its name rings funny in English, giving rise to numerous humorous restaurant names that include words like king, this, and you.

Question 22

What's the name of this dish?

In North America, Korean food was a little known adjunct of Chinese or Japanese food until scant decades ago. Now this complex and creative cuisine is so renowned that Korean restaurants are not only commonplace in even smaller towns, many traditional domestic dishes are now featuring Korean-inspired ingredients. Korean tacos are one example. One major Korean dish that remains a classic: thin slices of marinated beef cooked with grated pear or pear juice, lightly stir-fried. Pears are a common ingredient in Korean cooking and can be used in savoury dishes.

Question 23

What's the name of this dish?

There aren’t a lot of dishes that come to mind when one thinks of Russian cuisine. However, those that do are both widely known and highly regarded. Think caviar, pierogis, and of course vodka. It should be no surprise that one of the world’s coldest climates would refine, over centuries, a warm and nourishing soup that can be produced with simple ingredients. Based mainly on beets, a vegetable that keeps well in winter, this soup is often garnished with dill and sour cream.

Question 24

What's the name of this dish?

Few of the foods that originated in North America can be truly said to have developed entirely on the continent. One dish that comes close is chili, which probably developed on the border between Texas and Mexico, and includes a whole suite of Columbian ingredients: beans, tomatoes, and of course meat. So widespread is chili around the US that states and even cities have developed their own regional varieties. Perhaps the most unique amongst these is chili served on top of spaghetti, named for the city where it is most associated.

Question 25

What's the name of this dish?

It’s interesting that one of the most well-known Medieval Eastern European dishes today is now based on an ingredient that was only imported in the 16th century. This Hungarian meat stew is traditionally slow cooked with copious amounts of paprika. Paprika, perhaps Hungary’s most famous ingredient outside the country, arrived in the country scant centuries ago. However, the pepper thrived in the well-watered soil and today Hungary produces some of the finest paprika in the world. This stew has an often velvety texture thanks to the smooth, powdery paprika.

Question 26

What's the name of this dish?

The explosion of popularity that tapas enjoyed over the last 20 years has led global diners to discover all sorts of new Spanish dishes. Beyond just paella and superfine ham, people learned about some of the smaller, simpler, yet no less satisfying dishes. This simple tapa is basically fried potatoes with a paprika-based sauce, sometimes served with aioli, and is now available worldwide. Its somewhat kitschy name is a nod to its often spicy sauce. It’s great with a small drink and a couple of skewers.

Question 27

What's the name of this dish?

With so many famous sauces and salsas emanating from Mexico around the world, it’s surprising that this tasty dip isn’t more commonly made. It’s one of the few surviving dishes that are made with only ingredients available in Mexico before the arrival of Columbus, still with traditional ingredients. Made with grilled tomatoes, garlic, and toasted pumpkin seeds, it’s often garnished with cilantro and grilled habanero. It’s easy to forget that pumpkin, and pumpkin seeds, are actually native to the continent and a traditional ingredient.

Question 28

What's the name of this dish?

When most people think of Chinese soups, they’re likely to think of egg drop soup, wonton soup, hot and sour soup, or even Lanzhou-style pulled noodle soup. This soup, however, is beginning to catch on with the recent popularity of Yunnanese cuisine. It’s peculiar sounding name comes from its uncanny ability to stay warm for long journeys. This is all thanks to the fact that garnishes are all added right before the soup is eaten, and not during cooking. The most renowned name in making this soup is the Brothers Jiang.

Question 29

What's the name of this dish?

Korean food is most often associated with barbecue and bibimbap bowls, not to mention kimchi, but it’s a cuisine that’s given rise to countless great ready to eat snack foods as well. This everyday afterschool snack in Korea is made with lots of strips of vegetables, and usually egg or ham, rolled into a sheet of rice and seaweed. The vegetables can be carrot, cucumber, pickles, anything. While it sounds a lot like sushi, it almost never contains raw fish, and is usually eaten as a snack.

Question 30

What's the name of this dish?

Those who’ve had the good fortune to dine in Turkey are aware of the country’s staggering array of street foods, snack foods, and edible curios. Beyond the shawarma and shish kebab array of grilled delights that are most often associated with Turkish food outside the country, there exists a universe of baked goods and pastries, both sweet and savoury. This meat roll, usually made with ground beef or lamb, finely chopped onions, herbs, and spices, Is rolled into several layers of phyllo dough and baked, sometimes in a sauce, until brown.

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