Fall is finally here and it is time to whip up some fall food. What will you be making in your house- chili, pumpkin soup or some kind of casserole? In other countries they have a whole new take on what they tend to eat when the weather gets cooler. Would you try one of these dishes?
- Songpyeion, Korea
This dish is synonymous with the fall harvest festival, Chuseok. It’s made with glutinous rice flour cakes and has a sweet filling that’s made with red bean and chestnut paste, honey and sesame seeds. It’s then steamed and served with, of all things, pine needles. The scent is supposedly heavenly and the finished product looks like the harvest moon.
- Solyanka, Russia
A thick and hearty stew made with sausage, ham, beef, onion, tomatoes and herbs.
- Matsutake Mushrooms, Japan
These mushrooms are synonymous with fall in Japan and can be as expensive as black truffles. The most popular dish is Matsutake Gohan which is a mushroom rice made with a delicious dashi broth & soy, mirin and sake.
- Snake Soup, Hong Kong
This is one dish that I don’t think I would ever try. Snake Soup literally contains snakes, and lots of them. It’s believed to keep colds away by heating up the body. To make it you must include two snakes and shred their meat. Popular snake choices are pythons, rat snakes, vipers, cobras and water snakes. Diners report that snake soup tastes similar to chicken soup and can cure anything from malaria to delirium. If you want to try this soup, but aren’t in the mood to try to catch a bunch of snakes, many of the restaurants in Hong Kong have Snake Soup on their menu.
- Porramatur, Sweden
This dish is often served in conjunction with a festival that honors the god Thor. It includes a rye bread and cured meat and fish. The key ingredient though is a Greenland shark that’s been fermented. Basically the shark is buried in the ground for several weeks. Then it is removed and hung to dry for around five months. This dish is not for those that are sensitive to smell as it gives off a strong ammonia scent from the rotting shark. Unfortunately, the shark has to rot as fresh shark is poisonous.
- Barfi, India
Often served during the festival of Diwali, barfi is quite a popular food to eat. This sweet dish is made with sugar, flour and condensed milk. It’s then mixed with a variety of other foods like nuts or fruit. Barfi is usually coated with vark, which is a very thin layer of silver. It’s also cut into diamond shapes because it represents being prosperous. If you try this, be prepared as it’s quite sweet.
- Suppen und Eintopf, Germany
This is Germany’s version of a 1 pot meal. It has a mix of beans, potato, onion, bacon and/or pork sausage, seasoned with Maggi.
For recipes, check out Disney cruise line recipes, Holland America cruise line recipes and New Years Lucky foods.
