Culture

A Brazilian snack from Pará and Amazonas made from açaí berries blended into a smoothie-like base and served in a bowl with toppings.

Berbere is a complex, chili-based spice blend central to Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking.

A South African baked dish of spiced minced meat with an egg-based topping.

A coarsely minced, spiced sausage from South Africa, traditionally grilled and formed into a spiral.

A moist, sweet Japanese sponge cake with Portuguese roots, adapted in Nagasaki and sold in long rectangular boxes.

A spicy South African vegetable relish, traditionally made with tinned tomatoes and beans, chili, and served cold or at room temperature.

Churrasco is grilled beef served across Latin America and Iberia, with regional definitions varying by cut, preparation, and accompaniments.

A Japanese rice-flour dumpling, typically round and skewered, served sweet.

A bean-and-meat stew served across the Portuguese-speaking world, with regional variations in beans, meats, and accompaniments.

A fresh, chopped salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta, olives, oregano, lemon juice, and olive oil — traditionally Greek, with regional variations.

A fiery Tunisian chili paste made from roasted red and Baklouti peppers, spices, garlic, and olive oil.

Kitfo is minced raw beef marinated in chili spice and spiced clarified butter, served with cheese, greens, or flatbreads.

A minced meat salad from Laos, seasoned with lime, fish sauce, roasted rice, and herbs.

A smoothie-like yogurt beverage from Punjab, made by blending yogurt, water, and spices.

A rich, mildly spicy Thai curry with Persian, Indian, and Malay influences, built on coconut milk, meat, potatoes, onions, and peanuts.

A Brazilian seafood stew with regional variations in fish, aromatics, and fats.

A Cameroonian stew of boiled ndoleh leaves, ground peanuts, crayfish, garlic, onions, and fish or beef.

A soft, spiced fish paste wrapped in softened palm leaves and grilled or steamed, with roots in Palembang and widespread presence across maritime Southeast Asia.

A stir-fried rice noodle dish with eggs, tofu, tamarind, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic, shallots, and lime.

A Filipino noodle dish with Chinese origins, typically sautéed with vegetables, meat or seafood, and served with calamansi.

A layered Moroccan pie with savory poultry or seafood, toasted almonds, cinnamon, sugar, and thin werqa pastry.

A sweet Hong Kong bun with a crisp, sugary, pineapple-textured topping over soft bread.

Ramen is Japanese wheat noodles made with alkaline water, served hot in broth.

A Filipino sour soup or stew, typically made with meat or seafood and tamarind.

Beefsteak with deep-fried chipped potatoes, served in Belgian and French brasseries.

A one-pot Senegalese dish of fish, broken rice, tomato sauce, and vegetables.

Tteok are Korean rice cakes made from steamed, pounded, or shaped rice flour.

A fiery curry dish rooted in a Portuguese-Goan pork preparation, now globally recognized in its British restaurant form.

Wagashi are traditional Japanese confections made primarily from plant-based ingredients and shaped to reflect seasonal themes.

A tea-based drink from Taiwan, typically with chewy tapioca balls, milk, and flavoring.

A Japanese green tea blended with roasted, popped brown rice.

A roasted Japanese green tea made by heating bancha or other teas in a porcelain pot over charcoal.

A strong black tea drink from mid-20th-century Hong Kong, made with Ceylon tea leaves and evaporated or condensed milk.

A fermented tea beverage made with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.

A milky, mildly alcoholic Korean rice wine made with nuruk.

A spiced black tea beverage from India, made by simmering spices, brewing tea, and adding milk.

Matcha is a fine green tea powder made from shade-grown, steamed, unrolled Camellia sinensis leaves, traditionally prepared in hot water.

Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made by fermenting polished rice.

A Japanese green tea made by infusing whole processed leaves in hot water.

A clear, colorless Korean distilled spirit, traditionally rice-based, with alcohol content ranging from 12.5% to 53% ABV.

A frothy black tea drink made by pulling hot tea and condensed milk between containers.

A sweet, creamy, chilled black tea drink from Thailand.

A small, unfiltered coffee made by boiling very finely ground beans in a cezve, served with grounds suspended in the liquid.

A strong, sweet, chilled coffee drink made with dark-roast robusta, sweetened condensed milk, and ice.

Steamed rice with pre-cooked Minangkabau dishes from West Sumatra, Indonesia, served in two distinct service styles.

A spinach and paneer dish from the Indian subcontinent, made with puréed spinach and grilled paneer cubes in a tomato-onion base.

Sliced pastrami on rye bread, typically with spicy brown mustard and sometimes Kosher dill pickles.

Yakiniku is Japanese grilled meat, typically bite-size beef or offal cooked tableside on a grill.

A fritter of milled cowpeas fried in palm oil, served split and stuffed, rooted in Yoruba tradition and central to Bahian street food and Candomblé practice.

Skewered, roasted beef heart cubes seasoned with salt and vinegar, often basted with a garlic-onion-aji panca-beer sauce.

Sicilian rice balls stuffed with ragù or butter-based fillings, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.

A fertilized duck egg incubated 14–21 days, then steamed or boiled and eaten from the shell.

A Vietnamese street sandwich built on a light, airy baguette with rice flour, layered with pickled vegetables, herbs, chiles, meats, pâté, and mayonnaise.

A crispy, savory rice crepe from Vietnam, filled with meat, seafood, and vegetables, served with herbs and dipping sauce.

A Mumbai-born street snack of layered puffed rice, puris, sev, potato, onion, and two chutneys.

A North African triangular pastry pocket, commonly deep-fried, filled with egg, tuna, harissa, onion, and parsley.

A Hanoi dish of grilled pork—minced pork shoulder meatballs and pork belly—served with rice noodles and dipping sauce.

A hollowed-out white bread loaf filled with curry and served with salad.

A family of Indian fried-dough snacks, typically served as hors d'oeuvres or street food across South Asia.

A stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia, featuring flat noodles, prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, chives, bean sprouts, and soy sauces.

A grilled chorizo sausage split and served in crusty bread, often with sauce.

A Vietnamese rice dish from the Mekong Delta made with broken rice, ribs, cucumbers, pickled carrots, and sweet-sour fish sauce.

A Brazilian teardrop-shaped fried snack from São Paulo, with chicken-filled wheat dough, often shaped like a drumstick.

A German fast food dish of grilled pork sausage topped with curry ketchup.

A Turkish dish of seasoned meat roasted on a vertical rotisserie and sliced thin.

A deep-fried or baked fritter made from soaked, uncooked chickpeas and herbs, shaped into balls or patties.

A grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage—typically a wiener or frankfurter—served in a slit bun.

A sweet Korean street pancake with a yeasted wheat dough and brown sugar–nut filling, pressed flat on a griddle.

A folded Chinese street crepe made from wheat-and-grain batter, eggs, and sauces, cooked on a flat hotplate.

A layered Egyptian street food of pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and fried onions.

A Sri Lankan street dish of chopped roti pounded with meat curry, egg, onions, and chilies.

A Hungarian deep-fried flatbread made from yeast dough.

A triangular, circular, or oval fried bread from the Swahili coast, often made with coconut milk and served plain.

A crisp, hollow, deep-fried dough sphere filled with spiced potatoes or chickpeas and dipped in chilled, flavored water.

A Mumbai-born vegetable curry with buttered bread rolls, rooted in Maharashtra’s textile mill culture.

A Vietnamese soup of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and beef or chicken, originating in early 20th-century Nam Định Province.

A Roman-origin rectangular pizza baked in trays and sold by weight in slices.

A Middle Eastern street food of thin-sliced meat roasted on a vertical spit and shaved off as it cooks.

A thin, unleavened pancake from southeastern France and northwestern Italy, made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt.

Small pieces of meat—and sometimes vegetables—grilled on a skewer, originating in Greece.

Supplì are Roman fried rice balls, typically risotto with tomato sauce and a mozzarella center.

Suya is a Hausa Nigerian dish of thin skewered meat grilled over smoke and seasoned with Yaji, a variable spice blend including chili, ginger, dried onion, and ground peanut cake.

A Japanese street food cake shaped like a red sea bream, filled with sweet adzuki bean paste and cooked in a fish-shaped mold.

A Japanese street food of octopus-filled batter balls, brushed with sauce and garnished with seaweed and bonito flakes.

A deep-fried potato dumpling in a soft bread bun, native to Maharashtra.

A Japanese stir-fried noodle dish using wheat-based Chinese-style noodles, pork, cabbage, and Worcestershire-style sauce.

Chelow kabab is Iran's national dish: saffron-infused rice topped with grilled skewered meat, served with lavash.

A thick North African soup with lentils, chickpeas, tomato, meat, and warm spices, traditionally served during Ramadan.

Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner rooted in tea ceremony practice and imperial, Buddhist, samurai, and gathering meal traditions.

A Polish meat sausage, traditionally homemade and now widely used in soups, stews, and festive meals.

A fermented vegetable dish from Korea, traditionally made with cabbage or daikon, salted and aged in earthenware vessels.

A round, dense Chinese pastry with sweet paste filling and optional salted duck egg yolk, eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Osechi is a traditional Japanese New Year meal served in stacked lacquered boxes, composed of symbolic dishes meant to convey wishes for health and prosperity.

A boneless, whole-roast pork dish from central Italy, seasoned with salt and wild herbs, roasted with skin and fat intact.

A syrup-soaked cheese dumpling dessert from eastern South Asia, made from chhena balls simmered in sugar syrup.

A Japanese New Year soup with mochi rice cakes, boiled with miscellaneous ingredients.

A Peruvian chicken stew with a chili-sofrito base, thickened with milk-soaked bread, cheese, and nuts, served with potatoes, rice, olives, and hard-boiled egg.

A Meiji-era Japanese dessert of agar jelly cubes served with sweet azuki bean paste, boiled peas, fruits, and black syrup.

A slow-simmered pork rib soup flavored with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dong quai, fennel seeds, and garlic, served in Malaysia and Singapore.

A layered pastry dessert of filo, chopped nuts, and syrup or honey.

A large platter from Colombia’s Paisa region featuring red beans with pork, rice, ground meat, chicharrón, fried egg, ripe plantain, chorizo, arepa, hogao sauce, black pudding, avocado, and lemon.

A fudge-like milk-based sweet from the Indian subcontinent, made from khoa and sugar.

Air-dried, vinegar-cured meat from Southern Africa, seasoned with salt, black pepper, and coriander.

A flaky, layered pastry made with thin dough like filo and filled with meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes.

A German sausage made from pork or less commonly beef, veal, or combinations, with documented regional origins across Franconia, Thuringia, and eastern Switzerland.

A Brazilian chocolate confection made from condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and coated in chocolate sprinkles.

Unbreaded chicken wing sections, deep-fried then coated in vinegar-based cayenne hot sauce and melted butter.

A small French pastry from Bordeaux, flavored with rum and vanilla, with a soft interior and dark, thick caramelized crust.

A Roman pasta dish of cured pork, hard cheese, eggs, salt, and black pepper.

A Southeast Asian dessert of pandan-flavoured rice flour jelly strands served in coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.

Grilled minced-meat sausages from Southeast Europe, with regional variations in meat composition and shape.

Chazuke is a Japanese dish of cooked rice topped with green tea, dashi, or hot water.

A hamburger topped with melted cheese, added near the end of cooking.

A tall-crust Chicago pizza with cheese layered beneath chunky tomato sauce, baked in a pan.

A Hungarian stew of chicken simmered in a paprika-infused roux-based sauce, finished with sour cream and served with egg noodles.

A British-origin curry of roasted marinated chicken in a creamy spiced sauce.

A stir-fried mud crab dish in a semi-thick, sweet-and-savory tomato-and-chilli sauce, originating in Malaysia and Singapore in the 1950s.

A communal, spicy-numbing broth cooked at the table with offal and other ingredients, dipped in sesame oil before eating.

An Italian white bread invented in 1982, flat and holey, made with high-hydration dough and strong flour.

A Turkish dish of poached eggs served over yogurt, often with garlic.

A baked custard of egg yolks and milk, topped with a crisp, caramelized sugar crust.

A hot French ham-and-cheese sandwich on soft white bread, often topped with grated cheese and baked or fried until crisp.

A small round Japanese confection of mochi wrapped around sweet red bean paste, dusted with starch, and traditionally associated with good luck.

A rich Punjabi lentil dish made with urad dal, rajma, butter, and cream, developed in post-Partition Delhi.

Dolma is a category of stuffed vegetables and leaves, traditionally filled with rice, minced meat, herbs, and spices.

A Japanese sweet made of two castella-style pancake patties sandwiching sweet azuki bean paste.

A composed American brunch dish of toasted English muffin halves, cured pork, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.

A rich Asturian bean stew made with large white beans, pork shoulder, blood sausage, chorizo, bacon, olive oil, paprika, garlic, and salt.

A layered Arab dish of crumbled or toasted flatbread topped with other foods.

A Levantine salad of toasted or fried pita with vegetables and sumac.

A sweet-and-sour Iranian stew made with pomegranate paste and ground walnuts, traditionally served on Yaldā Night.

A pufferfish food tradition whose preparation requires specialist controls.

A stew of soft-cooked fava beans served with olive oil, cumin, and optional herbs and spices.

A Korean rolled dish of cooked rice and fillings wrapped in dried seaweed, sliced for serving.

A West African stew with peanut paste, meat, vegetables, and spices, served with rice or fufu.

A deep-fried milk-solid sweet soaked in rose-scented sugar syrup, originating in medieval India.

A layered Filipino cold dessert served in a tall glass with crushed ice, milk, and diverse sweet components including ube jam, beans, jellies, root crops, flan, and sometimes ice cream.

A dense, crumbly or fudge-like confection made from sesame paste and sugar—or toasted flour and syrup—rooted in Persian and early Arab culinary traditions.

A Japanese summer dish of chilled alkaline wheat noodles with toppings, adapted from a Shanghainese original.

A chickpea-based dip with lemon, sesame, and olive oil, documented since the 13th century in Syria.

A slow-simmered stew from Ireland, traditionally built around mutton or lamb with potatoes, onions, and parsley.

A Turkish dish of thinly sliced grilled meat, tomato sauce, pita bread, sheep's milk butter, and yogurt.

A deep-fried, syrup-soaked sweet snack with regional variations across South Asia, West Asia, and North Africa.

A savory Louisiana rice dish with African, Spanish, and French roots, built around meat or seafood, vegetables, rice, and spices.

A thick, stew-like sauce of meat, onions, carrots, and potatoes, served over short-grain rice and made with a roux of curry powder, flour, and oil.

A Korean stir-fried dish now centered on sweet potato starch noodles, mixed with vegetables, meat, mushrooms, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

A West African rice dish from Senegal, built on tomato-based sauce and aromatic seasonings.

A one-pot Arab rice dish from Saudi Arabia or Yemen, made with rice, meat, vegetables, and spices.

A Japanese shaved ice dessert made from pure, often spring-sourced ice, served with sweet syrup and sometimes condensed milk.

Kansas City barbecue is slow-smoked meat with a sweet, thick tomato-based sauce and dry rub, originating in early 20th-century Kansas City, Missouri.

A Filipino stew with oxtail, tripe, and a thick, annatto-colored peanut sauce, traditionally served with bagoong.

Two slices of toast spread with butter and kaya—a coconut jam—often served with kopi and soft-boiled eggs.

A traditional Arab dessert of spun pastry dough layered with cheese and soaked in sugar syrup.

Kofta is a family of meatball and meatloaf dishes across South Asian, Central Asian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African, and South Caucasian cuisines.

A spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent, made with ingredients like chickpea flour, rice vermicelli, or coconut, bound by sugar syrup or jaggery.

A thin-wrapped roll with savory or sweet fillings, served fried or fresh, rooted in Indonesian and Filipino adaptations of Fujianese and Teochew spring rolls.

A Southeast and South Asian dessert of glutinous rice, fresh mango, and coconut milk.

Manti are small dumplings with spiced meat filling, wrapped in thin dough and boiled or steamed, found across Central Asia, West Asia, the South Caucasus, and the Balkans.

A French dessert of layered puff pastry and pastry cream, known by many names across Europe and North America.

A traditional Egyptian and Arab dish made from jute leaves, served as a stew or sautéed vegetable.

Steamed, filled dumplings from Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine, also popular in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and India.

A round Sicilian sesame bread used as a vessel for a cold or toasted sandwich layered with cured meats, cheeses, and a marinated olive salad.

A cold Korean noodle dish of North Korean origin, traditionally handmade from buckwheat or starches like potato or kudzu.

A Malay dish of rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf, served with sambal, anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, and egg.

A Japanese one-pot dish of boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and fish balls simmered in light soy-flavored dashi.

A Japanese rice bowl dish with chicken, egg, scallion or onion, soy sauce, and stock, simmered together and served over rice.

A deep-fried fritter from the Indian subcontinent, typically made by coating vegetables in spiced gram flour batter.

A Tuscan and Umbrian summer salad of soaked stale bread, onions, and tomatoes.

A baked Greek pasta dish with tubular pasta, spiced meat sauce, and a creamy top layer.

A savory Indonesian fishcake from Palembang made of ground fish and sago or tapioca flour, boiled or steamed then fried before serving.

Rajma is a vegetarian dish of red kidney beans in thick spiced gravy, served with rice as Rajma Chawal.

A Tuscan bread-and-vegetable soup, traditionally made by reboiling leftover minestrone or vegetable soup with stale bread.

A composed or tossed salad from Nice, traditionally built around tomatoes, anchovies or tuna, Niçoise olives, and hard-boiled eggs, dressed with olive oil or vinaigrette.

A cold, thick Andalusian tomato soup from Córdoba, made with bread, garlic, and olive oil, often garnished with ham and eggs.

A lentil-based vegetable stew from South India, made with pigeon peas and tamarind broth.

A Korean soup of whole young chicken stuffed with garlic, rice, jujube, mung bean, and ginseng, traditionally eaten in summer for health.

Grilled pork belly with visible layers of lean meat and fat, served tableside on a griddle or gridiron.

A deep-fried triangular turnover from the Indian subcontinent with spiced vegetable, cheese, meat, or fish fillings.

A small, leavened baked good traditionally from Britain and Ireland, commonly made with wheat flour or oatmeal and baking powder.

A boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat and coated in breadcrumbs, then baked or deep-fried.

A Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a spiced tomato-and-pepper sauce.

Japanese buckwheat noodles, often blended with wheat flour, sliced from dough and served hot or cold.

A British savoury pie with diced beef, kidney, and onion, baked in pastry.

A Japanese nabemono dish of thinly sliced beef and vegetables simmered at the table in a sweet-savory broth, served with raw egg dip.

A lightly salted, fermented Baltic Sea herring with a strong smell and acidic taste.

A traditional Japanese dish of vinegared rice combined with seafood, vegetables, or meat—most commonly raw seafood.

A creamy, oily paste made from toasted, ground sesame kernels, used across multiple regions as a condiment, bread accompaniment, or ingredient in dishes like hummus.

A Taiwanese beef noodle soup featuring slow-simmered beef in soy-based, tomato, or clear broths, served with noodles.

A Japanese grilling technique using a soy-mirin-sugar glaze, historically rooted in the Edo period and later adapted in Seattle.

A spicy and sour hot Thai soup made with chicken, galangal, and coconut milk.

A Japanese deep-fried pork cutlet coated in panko breadcrumbs.

Small ring-shaped stuffed pasta from Bologna and Modena, traditionally filled with meat and cheese, served in capon broth.

Tsukemen is a Japanese ramen dish of cold noodles served separately from a hot, intensely flavored dipping broth.

A starch-and-sugar gel confection, often flavored and nut-studded, dusted to prevent sticking.

A Japanese rice bowl topped with grilled eel fillets glazed in sweet soy sauce and seasoned with sanshō.

A category of Indian savoury fried snacks made from soaked, ground legumes, shaped and deep-fried to yield a crispy exterior and fluffy interior.

A Ghanaian dish of rice and beans cooked together with sorghum leaves and powdered limestone, yielding a red hue and distinct flavor.

A hot cheese sauce—often with ale, mustard, or Worcestershire sauce—served on toasted bread.

A Chinese-origin dumpling with a thin square wrapper, filled with pork, chicken, or shrimp, and typically served in soup.

A wok-fried rice dish featuring egg, mixed vegetables, and two proteins—typically pork and shrimp—with scallions.

A Japanese confection of red or white bean paste, agar, and sugar, sold in blocks and sliced for eating.