Take Your Taste Buds Around The World
Thanks to the huge variety of restaurants and takeaways on our doorsteps, not to mention the possibility of traveling all over the world, our taste buds have evolved to love a huge variety of tastes, flavors, and textures.
If you’re looking at trying something outside of your normal mealtime at home, take a look at some of our meal ideas from across the world.
Malaysian
No trip to South East Asia would be complete without sampling some comforting laksa. This spicy coconut noodle soup can be made with less heat by just reducing the number of chilies used. Choose chicken or prawns or from vegetables such as aubergine for a vegetarian option.
Buy or create a paste for the base of your soup using lemongrass, chilies, shallots, galanga, turmeric, some mixed spices, and dried shrimp. Add coconut milk and rice noodles and you’ll bring a little Asian flavor to your family meal time with some distinct Umami Foods and flavors.
Mexican
With so many dishes to choose from you’re bound to find something to keep even the fussiest eater happy. The great thing about Mexican food, besides the great flavours, is how easy it is to customize. Get children involved with constructing their own taco boats with chilli, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, shredded lettuce, and cheese.
Chinese
If you’re looking for something quick and delicious then Chinese cooking is for you. Have plenty of boiled or fried rice to accompany dishes and fry up beef strips with shallots, ginger, garlic, Chinese rice wine, soy sauce and some sugar. Everyone loves sate so grill some beef skewers and mix some peanut butter up with soy sauce for a quick dip.
Spanish
This might take a little more time to prepare but who doesn’t love a selection of flavourful foods to choose from. Create the classic patatas bravas with potatoes and spicy salsa, marinade some miniature sausages in a red wine sauce, cook mushrooms in garlic oil and create the fiery pil-pil prawns. Have plenty of bread to accompany your dishes and of course jugs of sangria to wash it all down.
Cooking can be a chore when you’re bored of the same old dishes and get the same responses from your family members. So when you’ve got time to come up with something new, how about shaking up mealtimes with food from around the world? Get younger family members involved with the cooking and the eating and even have them learn some customary food phrases to add to the fun. Make sure you pair your food with a suitable alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage and your meal times will be transformed from bland into brilliant.
If you’re looking at what you can do for an evening dinner party, think about Spanish tapas and choose three or four dishes that you can make in quantity to keep guests full throughout the evening.
Get a taste for something new and take your taste buds on a culinary trip around the world.
