Ask Lemmy

I'm Belgian so only one answer is allowed

Belgian fries with mayonnaise and Flemish stew

From Bulgaria, banitsa, it's a bit difficult to describe, but it's sorta like layered dough with cheese and eggs, though this description really doesn't do it justice...

collapsed inline media

Sauerbraten.

A few kg of meat, traditionally (in the rhine-area) from horse, nowadays more beef, marinated for 1+ month in a few litres of wine and vinegar, with some vegetables. Slowly cooked so it disintegrates on your fork.

Northwest US: smoked salmon with a side of berries. Sockeye with little or no sugar added is the best IMO. The berries should be native varieties if you want to try for authenticity, though the invasive blackberries are really tasty, too.

I'm from France, if I had to select one dish for you to try it would be duck confit with sarladaise potatoes (cooked in duck fat). In terms of calorie density it makes me think of Homer's "I only eat food in bar form" meme. But so worth it.

collapsed inline media

Finland: only had it a couple of times 'cause it's expensive, and takes long and is tedious to make, but loimulohi (fire salmon). It's salmon nailed to a plank and then heated up by an open fire. Very tasty.

Pretty much any big enough fish can be made like that, but I've only had salmon.

From China, boiled dumplings/water dumplings. Preferably stuffed with pork and garlic chives with a little bowl of black vinegar and sesame oil to dip in.

My favorite food of all time. If it was possible to have dumplings every meal and be healthy I 100% would.

collapsed inline media

Singapore here Nasi lemak is to die for Coconut rice with a side of fried fish/chicken,fried egg,deep fried anchovies and peanuts topped with sambal (a sweet chilli paste) Used to eat it for breakfast daily Bring on the heart disease !!

collapsed inline media

German here. I don't know if its reaally local, but mine would be a family dish called "Holzfällerpfanne", the "lumberjack skillet". It's made out of fried potatoes, slices of apple, Champignons, fried onion, fried cabanossi and cheese on top (a lot of it).

So you basically slice all ingredients, fry the raw (and peeled) potatoes for a few minutes, add in the champignons, wait a few more minutes, add the apples next, and after another few minutes add the onions and cabanossi. When everything is slightly browned, spread a good amount of cheese on top, cover the pan with a lid and wait until the cheese is fully melted. Tadaa!

Deciding when to add which ingredient so everything is perfect at the same time is kind of key here, so it may help to fry the onions und cabanossi in a seperate pan to not overdo them.

From Almeirim in Portugal, there's "sopa da pedra", translates to "soup of the rock". It has several kinds of meat, beans, potato, and it's usually eaten with bread (some say even a specific local bread type, but I'm not picky on that). It used to come with a stone in it traditionally, but for higiene reasons restaurants are not allowed to anymore. Some people at home still do it, I believe.

collapsed inline media

With it there is an old tale:

There was once a poor friar that was traveling. Once it came time to rest, he knocked on someone's door and asked for their hospitality in exchange for a soup. His hosts let him in and they see the friar pulling an old smooth stone from his pocket and putting it in a pot, along with water.

"Some seasoning would make this soup better... Do you happen to have any chouriço?" [best translation I've got is "meat", or maybe "sausage"] asks the friar. And so his hosts find him some chouriço that they throw in the pan.

"It's looking great! Now this soup would really improve if we could thicken it up a little. Do you happen to have some potatoes or beans leftover from yesterday?" And some potatoes and beans have indeed been leftover from yesterday. The friar adds it to the soup.

The friar asks for a few more spices, olive oil, and soon there is a delicious smell coming from the pot. What a nice soup!

They eat and once the soup is finished the friar fishes out the stone, washes it and puts it back in his pocket. Tomorrow he'll knock on someone else's door along the way ;)

Thailand - gaeng tai pla, som tam, mango sticky rice. First 2 are really spicy, so probably not for everyone.

Stamppot. I’m from the Netherlands and I really love stamppot.

It’s basically boiled veggies (usually a type of kale, but it can also be made with endive or carrots (but then it’s called hutspot) and potatoes mashed together. Add a smoked sausage and some gravy over it. delicious!

But it’s best when it’s winter and it’s really cold outside and when you make it, the windows steam up. Then it’s really gezellig

merjimek chorbasy - is a lentil soup, I think it's originally turkish. nohutli et - lamb stew with chickpeas. yantyq - pie with minced lamb fried in a pan without fat. I'm originally from Crimea, Ukraine.

from the Arabian peninsula; Shawarma, bukhari or mandi.

Bonus: Foul and tamis, but those are from afghanistan iirc? They're very popular here though

Brazilian Feijoada

It tastes awesome!! Look up images of it if you want. Black beans + sausage + carne seca (dried meat) is an amazing combo and I love this dish @w@

in Guatemala, the spicy rice tamales are probably my favorite thing here.

but today I'm getting the chipilin tamales, which have little leaves mixed into the dough and are also real good.

Vegemite on toast is just good.

Foreigners always fuck up the ratios.

Norwegian, here. Lutefisk is incredible if done right, but it's easy to fuck up severely. So if someone were to try and cook something based on my recommendation, I'd suggest Fårikål or Pinnekjøtt instead, as they're both incredibly easy to make and quite tasty.

"Braaibroodjie" - South Africa

It's a Toastie made on a wood fire, usually containing tomato, onion, cheese and buttered on all sides

Nam ngiao is a cotton flower and noodle soup from north Thailand and it's the best thai dish you've never heard of!

It uses dried cotton flower, beef or pork broth, a bit of tomatoes and of course a combination of thai spices.

It's an incredible mix of the golden triangle cultures (Thailand, Burma, Laos, Yunan China) and whenever I go there I do a little Nam ngiao tour as it's a bit lole with Japanese ramen - every shop as their own recipe and flavor.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_ngiao

From approximately the french Alps: Ravioles du Dauphiné or Tartiflette

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raviole_du_Dauphin%C3%A9
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartiflette

Grünkohl!

I've lived all over the U.S., so here are some of my favorites:

Texas:

• Beef barbecue. The classic is beef brisket, but a lot of places have great beef rib, too.
• Tex Mex: fajitas hit the spot every time.
• Breakfast tacos, especially with leftover smoked brisket from the day before, or some other smoked meat like smoked sausage. Undeniably Texas, undeniably delicious.

Louisiana:

• Boiled crawfish, with red potatoes and corn and andouille sausage. Some people overcook their potatoes and corn, but even then there's still a charm to it. But the whole experience of a crawfish boil is everything great about food culture: socializing around a big table, making a big mess, teaching kids and newbies how do engage in that task of peeling crawfish. The Vietnamese riffs on these traditions are also great, and Viet-Cajun is a great genre of food in general, too.

The American South in general:

• American Southern style fried chicken. It's just great.
• Pecan pie. Easily my favorite American dessert.

Southern California:

• Burritos. Something about the fresh made flour tortillas in Southern California are just better than everywhere else in the U.S. So a good burrito provides flavor from the fillings, and also flavor from the wrap itself, in a way that all the parts just complement each other.
• Ensenada style fish tacos (yes, I know this originates south of the border but it is "local" to the general region). There's just something refreshing about fish tacos with a crunchy cabbage slaw, fresh lime juice, a crema-based sauce, eaten outdoors. Can't beat it.

New York:

• Bodega style breakfast sandwich. The basic concept is universal across the U.S. (egg, a breakfast meat like sausage or bacon, and cheese on some kind of roll, bun, or even bagel, griddled with generous amounts of butter), but something about the New York bodegas just make these taste better when you're on the go.

Chicago:

• Deep dish pizza. Looks kinda dumb, but it's delicious.
• Chicago style, "dragged through the garden" hot dogs. Every component makes this ensemble great.
• Italian beef sandwiches. I don't know why these aren't more popular outside of Chicago. Get it dipped, get a little messy with it.

As an Australian, I'm going to say Pavlova because it's the only thing that comes to mind when I think of favourite foods

I call bullshit on new zealand's claim with their so called unnamed chef that probably didn't even exist

UK, we are the butt of many a joke and several post here talking about our traditional fast food. I will submit that a well cooked roast dinner is the equal of any other national dish, for me its either pork shoulder, skow cooked, or chicken, with parsnips, leeks in cheese, carrots, peas and maybe bread sauce, along with those roast potatoes, crunchy in the outside, soft and milky on the inside, just the right amount of salty crunch with the star of the show, a rich gravy. Even without the meat this would still be an incredible tasty plate of food.

Hmmm. I will extend it to anything Norwegian. "Pinnekjøtt" usually a Christmas dish.

Cured (salted and/or smoked) sheep ribs. (Often lamb)

The ribs are then separated to individual ribs.

You water it for 16 hours, changing the water once. Or they will be too salty. Then you steam them until the meat releases from the bones (3ish hours)

Serves with mashed swedes, sausage, and potatoes, using the water as a sort of gravy (it's full of fat)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnekj%C3%B8tt

Do you mean local like within my own city or regionally/by country?

Countrywide: Hotdogs are the first thing I think of when I think "American food."

Statewide (California): The sour dough bread bowls at the San Francisco wharf are amazing as fuck.

In my city: The best thing here are taco trucks. There's even a whole dedicated parking area for a bunch of them to gather downtown called "Grub Hubs."

Dish born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: the "Kapsalon"

This may come as a surprise, but it's Kaiserschmarrn. I'm from Austria btw.

Germany
Gaisburger Marsch
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaisburger_Marsch

Beef Rendang (Indonesia or Malaysia) - a v unique curry unless you've had indo food before

Char Keow Teow (Malaysia) - great Fried rice noodles

Germany: Kesselsknall. Imagine a potato cake with bacon and sausages, baked in a cast iron casserole.

Louisiana, US - Crawfish Étouffée.

Philly area

Yes cheesesteak, hoagie, soft pretzels.

But I believe strongly that a roast pork Italiano sandwich loaded up with sharp provolone, roasted long hots, and broccoli rabe is the best Philly sandwich.

Go a little out into the suburbs around Norristown, and you'll also find the "Zep" a sort of pared-down hoagie, one kind of meat, cheese, oil and spices, tomatoes, and plenty of onions.

I'm not going to wade into the minefield of which sandwich shops are best except to say Pat's and Geno's are garbage, but maybe worth it for the experience if you're a tourist. Avoid anywhere that advertises as a "Philly Cheesesteak" look for cheesesteak, steak sandwiches, or even just steaks. For a Zep I don't think it's controversial to say Lou's ro Eve's are the places to go.

Tomato pie- close relative of pizza, thick sort of focaccia-like crust, square, thick tomato sauce, dusting of Parmesan cheese, served cold. Staple of many parties here.

Also in the suburbs - Franzones pizza, Bridgeport is the original location, but the original owner sold it to a relative and opened the one in Plymouth/Conshy location and another in Manayunk. You're going to either love or hate the pizza, thin crust, very sweet sauce in a spiral on top of the cheese. There's a few imitators out there but Franzones is the original.

This is the right time of year for them so "Irish Potato" candies. Sweet cream cheese and shredded coconut, rolled in cinnamon. Nothing Irish about them but they kind of look like potatoes.

Zitners Easter eggs- chocolate candies with various fillings.

Goldenbergs Peanut Chews- chewy molasses candy with peanuts covered in chocolate

Mallow Cups- like a Reese's cup but full of marshmallow and coconut instead of peanut butter

Scrapple - don't ask what's in it, just eat it.

Pork roll (kind of a jersey thing, but ubiquitous in Philly too) it's basically round spam

Pepperpot soup- this is old Philly food, like revolutionary war Philly, it's damn hard to find these days but every few years some local restaurant gets the idea to recreate it. It's a hearty, slightly spicy beef and trip soup. There's some Caribbean pepper pot soups that are kind of similar.

Ghormeh Sabzi - or The story of how my SO got me by my belly. Iranian stew mandatorily served with rice crowned with it's Tadigh crust.

collapsed inline media

Adana Kebab

Minced meat mixed with peppers, onion, garlic and tail fat, then cooked in strips covering the skewer. Served with lavash bread and onion salad, and if you're grilling it you can grill tomatoes and peppers to go alongside with it.

So I'm from North Carolina, for the uninitiated this is one out of fifty of the United States of America, which is a nation located on the continent of North America bordered by Canada to the North and Mexico to the South. If you were paying close enough attention you might have heard of us in the news recently. North Carolina is located on the Eastern coast, that's adjacent to the Atlantic ocean, you'll find it just across the Northern border of South Carolina, to the South of Virginia, and to the East of Tennessee. We also share a relatively short stretch of border with Georgia to the Southwest. You might find us after a few hours examining a globe.

North Carolina is almost as famous for our barbecue as we are for our barbecue. Two distinct styles of pork barbecue emerged in North Carolina, the Eastern style characterized by smoking a whole hog prepared with a dry rub and served with a spicy, thin, vinegar-based sauce, and the Western style characterized by smoking pork shoulders basted with and served at the table with a sweeter tomato based sauce.

In both cases, shoulder meat will be coarsely shredded simply by pulling it apart with forks or bare hands, done right it's more tender than cooked hamburger. Piled high on an inch roll slathered in barbecue sauce and topped with coleslaw and you've got a pulled pork sandwich, serve it with a side of hushpuppies.

Fun fact: A candidate for North Carolina governor once lost the race because he was heard saying he was getting sick of barbecue. Nope, you don't get to be chief executive Tarheel like that. That ain't gonna work.

Mission style burritos are tasty.

I also like California style pizza so long as the toppings aren’t too weird.

Palt. Potato dumping filled with meat.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palt

Chicken Rice - Singapore

Ontario, Canada. For me it's Shawarma poutine.

Classic poutine is already amazing, and there are all sorts of variations, but shawarma poutine just hits the spot like no other. It still has the fries, gravy, and cheese curds, and they add chicken swarma, hot sauce, and toum (garlic sauce).

Maximum comfort food, especially to watch a movie with in the winter.

Indian with a sweet tooth here. My vote goes to Halwa. It is a broad category of sweet dishes that can be made using different ingredients and each one of them are delicious in their own ways. They range from quick ones made of whole wheat flour, samolina or gram flour to tedious carrot and dry fruit ones. A bowl of home made Halwa is the very definition of comfort food for me.

collapsed inline media

The Bobbie from Delaware, USA!

Delaware is a small state on the Delaware River on the east coast of the United States, just south of Philadelphia and across the bay from New Jersey. For the comic fans, Gotham is somewhere near Cape May, NJ and Metropolis is near Lewis, DE.

Another great treat from this area is scrapple. Don’t look it up before you eat it. It’s deliciously horrifying!

The Seattle Dog.

Basically, a hot dog with cream cheese and sauteed onions.

Its not as common as it once was, afaik you can only get it from street vendors in a few spots, or maybe way overpay for one at a restaurant or two.

... It is from Seattle, Washington State, USA.

Sarmale

🇨🇦 I feel like I’m supposed to say poutine but honestly…

Beef patty in coco bread! It definitely didn’t originate here but it’s a pretty common street food besides bratwursts.

Now for a truly local pick, Beavertails! It’s like a big flattened donut you can put anything on, ranging from simple cinnamon and lemon, candy, or something savoury like cheese.

I love my local dish: crab cakes. I hate my local seasoning: Old Bay. Never bought a can in my life.

A semi local but a "screamer" is pretty great, it's a slush or slerpy with soft serve icecream on top or mixed in and probably the best answer to the flavourless ice you get at the bottom of the cup

Rootbeer is of course a great slush flavour for this