This was the introduction to the last project I completed which was a historical culinary
guide, with recipes, of the national dishes of the world.
Introduction
What is a national dish? There is no defining reason why a particular country should choose a food to
characterise its cultural identity. National dishes evolve for many reasons; they are created by
geography, history, by culture, by colonisation, climate and by emigration and often by survival.
They are often born of out of mans’ desire to form an identity or to stamp his own identity on another
culture; hence we have the fish and chips on the Costa del Sol and German hamburgers in the US.
What, other than a desire for historical authenticity would drive the individual states of the US to
adopt an official state dish, often born from the influence of immigrants to their shores?
National dishes are created by proximity to neighbouring countries and by sharing a common
heritage. Sometimes, as in the case of Chivitos invented by a Mr Cabrera in Uruguay, they are created
by one person. More often, they evolve through mass movements in civilisation and cultures. Who
can deny the vast influence of the Persians on the cuisines of countless countries throughout the East
and their influence on the Moghuls whose biryanies developed into the Turkish Pilav, Greek Pilafi,
Indian Pullao and Spanish Paella, or the nomadic Arabs who transported goods across deserts or the
huge impact of the spice routes spanning the world from China to the Mediterranean?
Sometimes, a national dish becomes so popular that it grows to be a global food, replicated in
restaurants and homes everywhere. In other cases the meal has to be made on its own soil; even
though pasta, the national dish of Italy is eaten all over the world, everyone connects pasta with Italy,
a sunny climate and Mediterranean cuisine. The French baguette is an equally defining part of the
French identity but in comparison to pasta, it doesn’t travel well at all. Although we try to reproduce it
in our bakers’ shops, it’s never going to rival the sensation of stepping out of the French boulangerie
with that crisp, aromatic loaf tucked under your arm. In the US, many believe that the dough used to
make the iconic New York-style pizza has to be made with the water of New York, resulting in its
unique taste and crispiness. This has led other states throughout America to import New York water in
vast amounts to recreate the Big Apple flavour in Tennessee or Pennsylvania.
Religion plays a huge part in the creation of a cuisine; Muslim traditions of fasting have led to a
wealth of vegetarian dishes in many countries and to the promotion of grains and fish to a place of
prominence. Jewish kosher traditions have brought about the predominance certain foods like the
Gefilte Fish, Falafel and Latkes.
In Eastern European countries a hearty cuisine has evolved that concentrates on meats, breads and
dumplings born out of a peasant tradition that needed to make meat dishes go further. In Arctic
regions, traditions of salting, marinating and pickling as methods of preserving foods through the long
winters were born. In Africa, for opposite reasons of high temperatures and lack of refrigeration, meat
habits of curing with the aim of preservation became prevalent.
Occasionally a national dish can come to symbolise a concept or represent a patriotic flourish.
Venezuela’s Pabellón Crio stands for the country’s flag and celebrates the ethnicity of its culture. In
England, roast beef used to be synonymous with the idea of a sturdy, well-fed John Bull sitting at his
table of plenty. In the Netherlands, the national dish gained a new significance with the Nazi
occupation during the Second World War, when the ingredients for Hutspot and Stamppot could be
grown underneath the soil away from the eyes of the Germans and so the dish came to represent
liberty and freedom from tyranny. In Iraq, the national dish of the mighty Masgouf fish took on
sinister overtones in the contrast between what it used to represent and what it became associated
with. When an attempt was made to revive the fish restaurants along the banks of the Tigris; a popular
meeting place for families and friends before the war, it was found that years of darkness and conflict
had taken their toll and people now associated the river and hence the Masgouf, with the number of
dead bodies that had been thrown into its waters.
In a lighter vein, a national dish can be used to stereotype a country or a nationality; the English
rosbifs were so called because the French believed the chefs and housewives were incapable of
producing a more complex meal. The English got their own back by labelling the French as “froggies”
a reference to their supposed liking for frogs’ legs. Or a national dish may not even be a national dish;
the story of the battered Mars Bar becoming a countrywide phenomenon in Scotland was largely an
exaggeration by the English media.
A national dish doesn’t have to be old – although the main dish in the UK is still the traditional Roast
Beef and Yorkshire Puddings, many people believe this honour should go to Chicken Tikka Masala
that was introduced by Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani restaurateurs over the last thirty years. The
dish has reached such an unprecedented popularity that “curry nights” are now an established part of
the British way of life.
In some countries, the national dish is a meal that not many inhabitants have heard of, no-one ever
cooks and, if they actually do get round to cooking it, nobody even likes. The Icelandic dish of
Þorramatur has that dubious honour. Consisting of putrefied fish that smells like ammonia
because of its high uric acid content, it sounds like a dish best avoided.
In other cases the national dish is made from an ingredient that is often unique to the country
as in the laver bread, made from a type of seaweed in Wales or the Mountain Chickens
(which are in fact frogs!) of Dominica.
In Africa, the national dish means much more than this. In many countries across the continent it is
life and has been accorded an almost religious status. The ugali, mealie-meal and fufu staples made
from maize, the yam and cassava roots area means of survival and a way of preparing an energy rich
source of food that is so accessible it can be eaten every day, even by the poorest inhabitants. In
Zambia, Nshima stands for the basis of life and for many the name of the national dish itself is used to
describe food.
However complex and for whatever reason a dish has been accorded national status, compiling this
guide has been an unforgettable, fascinating and often mouth-watering experience and a homage to
the diverse culinary traditions that make up the cuisine of the world today.
It was commissioned by Skanz Direct Ltd and is dedicated to those who love cooking and who have
an interest in the culinary history of the countries of the world and in honour of foodies everywhere.