Asian Foods

Did you know that Asian food is a tourist attraction? Foreigners actually come to Asia to sample some of them! According to experts and economists, Asia will soon experience the next renaissance and it will be as grand and as pivotal as what Europe had experienced in the Middle Ages. But while most Asian countries are still in the third-world status we see another side of it flourishing and already fulfilling this prophecy (of sorts) and it has to do with Asian food!

Since Asia is such a huge continent with various influences from multiple regions, flavors and cultures that, it makes it difficult to choose which Asian delicacy is commonly accepted as the most delicious. However, we found some Asian dishes that are popular across several Asian countries and they’re even popular to some foreign countries as well. In some cases heated debates happen among restaurant owners and street vendors as to who created what dish and from which country they came from. But does that really matter? What’s important is that these Asian foods are very palatable!

10 Best Rated Asian Dishes

1). Kuymak

This traditional Turkish dish combines coarsely-ground cornmeal and (oftentimes) aged local cheeses such as trabzon or kashar. Grated cheese is mixed into piping hot cornmeal until it turns stringy, and the dish is then typically enriched with butter or kaymak—Turkish clotted cream.

Kuymak is typical of the area surrounding the Black Sea, where it is mainly enjoyed for breakfast. It always needs to be served warm and freshly prepared.

2). Chaat

Chaat is a term signifying a variety of Indian street foods which usually combine salty, spicy, sweet, and sour flavors. The name chaat is derived from a Hindi verb chaatna, meaning to lick, possibly referring to the finger-licking good quality of the dishes.

Chaat dishes are usually small, consumed on their own, as a snack, or combined with other dishes to form a big meal. Throughout India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, chaat can be found at chaatwallas (street vendors), serving various dishes, from stuffed bread to deep-fried pastries with accompanying dipping sauces.

In India, a chaat stand is usually specialized for one or two dishes which are always made fresh. If chaat is offered in a larger restaurant, it is often accompanied by a traditional Indian drink called lassi. Chaat dishes are very popular due to their enormous variety: from crispy fried potatoes, sevpuri, and pakora, to chila pancakes with chutney and pav bhaji, there is a variety of chaat for every type of consumer.

3). Katmer

A type of sweet börek, katmer is a specialty of Gaziantep, or simply Antep – Turkey's gastronomic capital and a rich melting pot of diverse cultures and cuisines nestled in southeastern Anatolia – an ancient city whose claim to fame is being home to world’s finest pistachios and the delicious Antep baklavası.

Katmer is what most locals start their day with: in fact, there are bakeries and cafés in Gaziantep open from early morning until noon serving katmer for breakfast. Traditionally, it is also the first meal eaten by newlyweds after their first wedding night, as it represents the sweetness they hope to find in their marriage.

Filled with pistachios and kaymak – Turkish clotted cream made with water buffalo milk, which is often referred to as kaymağın kaymağı, meaning crème de la crème – these flaky, crunchy pastries must be served fresh from the oven, while they're still warm.

For a perfect Turkish breakfast, have your katmer drizzled with a little honey, sprinkled with crushed pistachios, and paired with a nice cup of tea.

4). Jiaozi

These Chinese dumplings known as jiaozi, consisting of a thinly rolled piece of dough which contains either meat or a vegetable filling, are one of the most popular and most commonly eaten dishes in China and East Asia. They can be served either as an appetizer, a side dish, or as the main course, always with a side of soy sauce-based dipping sauce, but traditionally, jiaozi are always eaten for Chinese New Year.

Depending on how they are cooked, jiaozi dumplings can be classified into three categories: boiled, steamed, and pan-fried, but when it comes to folding techniques, there are many, and the most popular one is known as pinched-edge fold, which results in crescent-shaped jiaozi, the most popular shape in China.

Well-known variations of jiaozi dumplings include the smaller variety gaau ji that has a thin, translucent wrapping, the pan-fried guotie, and the Japanese-style dumpling, gyoza.

5). Tulumba

Turkish tulumba is a hot water dough fritter traditionally found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, particularly throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. Even though tulumba (lit. pump) was named after a special tool used to make it—a kind of syringe with a star-shaped nozzle—in Iranian cuisine they call it bamiyeh; in Egypt balah el-sham, and datli in Iraq; while in the rest of the Arab world tulumba fritters are also known as asabe Zainab (lit. Zainab's fingers).

These deep-fried, crisp-shelled treats deliver a serious kick of sugar as they are soaked in thick, sometimes lemon-flavored syrup. In Lebanon and Syria, they often use orange blossom and rose water for flavoring, while Gulf countries add cardamom and saffron as well, and in Morocco they use heated honey instead of syrup.

Tulumba was typically prepared during Ramadan and enjoyed cold, but today, this classic Turkish dessert has become one of the most popular street foods, sold by numerous street vendors who fry it up fresh on the spot, and serve it warm, sprinkled with crushed pistachios.

6). Nigiri

Nigiri or nigirizushi is a special kind of hand-pressed sushi where the meat is sliced and pressed on top of sushi rice. It was developed in Tokyo (then called Edo) during the 1800s. Sometimes, nori seaweed is used to wrap the whole concoction and keep it together.

The topping is usually seafood such as shrimp, tuna, haddock, or eel, and it should always be fresh and of the highest quality. Traditionally, nigirizushi is paired with shiso leaves, wasabi, soy sauce, or pickled ginger. It is sometimes garnished with daikon and salted seaweed.

The dish is traditionally eaten by hand, in a single bite.

7). Borek

Börek is a baked dish consisting of a savory or sweet filling wrapped in yufka - thinly stretched sheets of dough made with flour, water, and salt. Heartier than phyllo, but thinner than a tortilla, hand-made yufka is typically brushed with butter before baking.

Although many countries have their own versions of this satisfying dish, it was probably invented during the Ottoman Empire in the Anatolian Provinces, an area that nowadays belongs to Turkey. Some sources suggest that börek might be even older, a descendant of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Anatolian dish known as en tyritas plakountas, consisting of layered dough filled with cheese, its recipe dating back to 160 BC.

Nowadays, Turkey is famous for its layered pies and pastries, all united under the name börek (also burek, byurek, byrek, böregi). Regardless of many börek varieties, yufka always remains the same, and almost everything wrapped in it may be called börek, which could also explain the name: some suggest that it comes from the Turkish word bur, meaning to twist.

In Turkey, there are many regional variations of börek, and the names usually contain a descriptive word referring to the shape, ingredients, cooking method, or a region where the specific variety of börek comes from. For example, su böreği or water börek is made with boiled sheets of dough which are buttered and filled with a mixture of feta cheese and parsley (an alternative recipe suggests minced meat and onions), then baked. Kalem böregi or pen börek is a thin, cigarette-shaped variety that is often served in restaurants as an appetizer.

Due to their shape, they were originally called sigara böreği, but in 2011, Turkish pastry chefs started calling them kalem to avoid the connections with smoking. They are usually filled with feta cheese, potatoes, and parsley, but can also be enriched with minced meat or sausages, and vegetables such as spinach, nettles, leeks, and courgettes. Paçanga böreği is a deep-fried variety from Istanbul, filled with pastırma or kaşar and chopped green peppers. Saray böreği or palace börek is a truly decadent version made with fresh butter rolled between each sheet of dough, while kol böreği or arm börek is the classic variety prepared at home - shaped in long rolls, either rounded or lined, it is usually filled with minced meat, feta cheese, spinach, or potatoes (it's smaller and fattier variety is called sarıyer böreği, named after Sarıyer, a district of Istanbul where it is traditionally prepared).

The most beautiful variety might be gül böreği or rose börek, arranged in a spiral that resembles a rose filled with various fillings which are often spicy in flavor. Çiğ börek or raw börek is a half-moon-shaped variety filled with raw minced meat and fried in oil.

On the other hand, there is also töbörek - a similar variety which is baked instead of fried. However, börek doesn't have to be savory - a sweet variety called laz böreği is prepared in the Rize region. It is filled with muhallebi (a local spin on custard) and served generously dusted with powdered sugar.

Another sweet variety is called kürt böreği, also known as sade, meaning plain börek, referring to the fact that it has no filling at all, just a generous layer of powdered sugar on top. Seeing all these varieties, it is clear that börek may be one of the most significant dishes of the Turkish cuisine – it surely is one of the oldest and most traditional ones.

8). Samosa

Due to their crunchy texture and a variety of different flavors, samosas provide a perfect introduction to the world of Indian cuisine for newcomers. These deep-fried, triangular pastries are filled with a variety of ingredients ranging from vegetables to meat, such as onions, lentils, spiced potatoes, peas, or ground meat.

It is said that the popular, golden-brown snack travelled to India along the old trade routes from Central Asia. These savory triangles are typically served hot and accompanied with chopped onions, yogurt, or fresh, homemade Indian chutneys made with a variety of ingredients such as mint, coriander or tamarind.

However, not all samosas are savory - some versions can contain a number of sweet ingredients such as pomegranate, mango, and raisins. Sweet or savory, they can be found throughout India at numerous street stalls and roadside eateries, freshly made and traditionally paired with masala chai tea.

9). Gozleme

Gözleme is a Turkish flatbread consisting of flour, water, yeast, olive oil, and yogurt, which prevents the flatbread from going too brittle. The dough is filled with ingredients such as meat, vegetables, eggs, various cheeses, or mushrooms, and is then baked on a sac griddle.

Originally, gözleme was served for breakfast or as a light afternoon snack, but today it has a status of popular fast food that can be found throughout the country's restaurants, food carts, and cafés.

10). Miso Ramen

Miso ramen is a flavorful dish made by cooking the miso base, broth, and vegetables in a wok. The concoction is then topped with bean sprouts, chopped pork, garlic, sweet corn, and (sometimes) local seafood such as crabs, scallops, and squids. The dish was invented in 1955 in Sapporo, when a customer in Aji no Sanpei noodle house asked the chef to put noodles in his pork and miso soup.

In the 1960s, miso ramen's popularity had skyrocketed, and Sapporo still remains a paradise for ramen lovers, taking pride in its Ramen Alley, with over a dozen ramen shops scattered through the street.