World Cuisines

An informational guide to world cuisines, with descriptions, ingredients and recipes.

World Cuisines is an informational guide to dishes from around the world. Dishes are not for sale here. For each dish, describe its origin and flavor, its ingredients, and its full recipe when available. Do not invent prices or purchase links.

• Pizza Margherita

  Naples' most famous gift to the world: a blistered wood-fired crust with San Marzano tomato, fior di latte mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil — the colors of the Italian flag. Ingredients: pizza do
• Risotto alla Milanese

  Milan's golden saffron risotto: creamy Carnaroli rice, slowly stirred with butter, white wine, broth and Parmigiano, tinted gold by saffron. Ingredients: Carnaroli rice, saffron threads, onion, butter
• Osso Buco

  Milanese braised veal shanks, slow-cooked until the meat falls from the bone and the marrow is spooned from the center. Ingredients: veal shanks, flour, onion, carrot, celery, white wine, tomato paste
• Sushi

  Japan's most famous export: vinegared rice paired with raw fish, seafood or vegetables, shaped by hand or rolled in nori. Ingredients: sushi rice, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, fresh sashimi-grade fish (
• Ramen

  Wheat noodles in a rich, savory broth, crowned with chashu pork, soft egg, nori and spring onions. Ingredients: ramen noodles, pork or chicken broth, soy sauce or miso, chashu pork, soft-boiled eggs,
• Tonkatsu

  A thick pork cutlet in a shatteringly crisp panko crust, sliced and served with shredded cabbage and dark tonkatsu sauce. Ingredients: pork loin cutlets, flour, egg, panko breadcrumbs, cabbage, tonkat
• Tacos al Pastor

  Mexico City's king of tacos: pork marinated in chile and achiote, stacked on a vertical spit, shaved to order into warm corn tortillas with pineapple, onion and cilantro. Ingredients: pork shoulder, g
• Mole Poblano

  Puebla's legendary sauce: a dark, complex blend of chiles, chocolate, nuts and spices ladled over turkey or chicken. Ingredients: turkey or chicken, ancho, mulato and pasilla chiles, tomato, onion, ga
• Chiles en Nogada

  Puebla's patriotic showpiece: roasted poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo, draped in white walnut sauce and scattered with pomegranate and parsley — green, white and red. Ingredients: poblano chiles
• Pad Thai

  Thailand's beloved stir-fried rice noodles: sweet, sour and salty, with shrimp, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. Ingredients: rice noodles, shrimp, firm tofu, eggs, garlic chives, bean spr
• Tom Yum Goong

  The hot-and-sour prawn soup that defines Thai flavor: lemongrass, galangal, lime leaf, chili and lime in a fragrant, fiery broth. Ingredients: prawns, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, Thai ch
• Butter Chicken

  Delhi's world-famous curry: tandoor-cooked chicken folded into a silky tomato-butter sauce, mellowed with cream. Ingredients: chicken thighs, yogurt, garam masala, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, butter, cr
• Biryani

  Fragrant layered rice and marinated meat, sealed and slow-steamed so saffron, mint and fried onion perfume every grain. Ingredients: basmati rice, chicken or lamb, yogurt, biryani masala, saffron, min
• Palak Paneer

  A vivid green spinach curry studded with soft paneer cubes, gently spiced and finished with cream. Ingredients: spinach, paneer, onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, green chile, garam masala, cumin, cream,
• Ceviche

  Peru's national treasure: raw sea bass cured in lime juice with red onion, chili and cilantro, served with sweet potato and corn. Ingredients: sea bass fillets, limes, red onion, ají limo chili, cilan
• Lomo Saltado

  Peru's stir-fry marriage of Andes and Canton: seared beef strips tossed with onion, tomato and soy, served with both rice and fries. Ingredients: beef sirloin, red onion, tomato, soy sauce, vinegar, g
• Aji de Gallina

  A creamy golden chicken stew thickened with bread, walnuts and ají amarillo, comfort food from Lima's kitchens. Ingredients: chicken, ají amarillo paste, onion, garlic, bread, evaporated milk, walnuts
• Phở

  Vietnam's beloved noodle soup: a clear, star-anise-scented beef broth ladled over flat rice noodles with rare beef, herbs and lime. Ingredients: beef bones, oxtail, onion, ginger, star anise, cinnamon
• Bánh Mì

  The Vietnamese baguette sandwich: crackling crust, pâté, cold cuts, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, cilantro and chili. Ingredients: baguette, pork pâté, Vietnamese sausage, roasted pork, mayonna
• Gỏi Cuốn

  Fresh, translucent rice-paper rolls of shrimp, pork, vermicelli and herbs, dipped in peanut-hoisin sauce. Ingredients: rice paper, shrimp, pork belly, rice vermicelli, lettuce, mint, cilantro, chives,
• Moussaka

  Greece's layered baked classic: eggplant, spiced meat and a thick béchamel crown, baked until golden. Ingredients: eggplant, potatoes, ground lamb or beef, onion, tomato, cinnamon, oregano, milk, butt
• Souvlaki

  Char-grilled pork skewers in pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki and fries — Greece's favorite street food. Ingredients: pork shoulder, olive oil, lemon, oregano, garlic, pita, tomato, onion, tzatziki,
• Spanakopita

  Crisp filo pastry layered with spinach, feta, dill and spring onion — golden, flaky and savory. Ingredients: spinach, feta, spring onions, dill, eggs, filo pastry, olive oil, butter, nutmeg, salt, pep
• Tagine

  Morocco's slow-cooked icon: meat and vegetables braised in the conical clay tagine until melting, perfumed with preserved lemon, olives and saffron. Ingredients: lamb or chicken, onion, garlic, ginger
• Couscous

  Morocco's Friday feast: fine semolina pearls steamed three times, heaped with vegetables, chickpeas and tender meat. Ingredients: couscous semolina, lamb or chicken, carrots, zucchini, turnip, chickpe
• Harira

  A rich tomato-lentil soup thickened with tedouira, the beloved bowl that breaks the Ramadan fast. Ingredients: lamb, lentils, chickpeas, tomato, onion, celery, parsley, cilantro, ginger, cinnamon, flo
• Doro Wat

  Ethiopia's celebratory chicken stew: a deep-red berbere sauce, slow-simmered with onion, egg and niter kibbeh, eaten with injera. Ingredients: chicken, berbere spice, onion, niter kibbeh (spiced butte
• Tibs

  Sizzling cubes of beef or lamb fried with onion, peppers and rosemary, served straight from the pan. Ingredients: beef or lamb, onion, green pepper, tomato, rosemary, garlic, berbere or mitmita, niter
• Misir Wat

  A humble, fiery red-lentil stew — the vegan staple of Ethiopia's fasting table, rich with berbere and garlic. Ingredients: red lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, berbere, niter kibbeh or oil, tomato past
• Poutine

  Québec's glorious mess: crisp fries, squeaky cheese curds and hot gravy, melting together into comfort. Ingredients: potatoes, cheese curds, beef or chicken stock, butter, flour, salt, pepper, oil. Re
• Tourtière

  French-Canadian spiced meat pie in flaky pastry — the centerpiece of the Christmas Eve réveillon. Ingredients: ground pork, onion, garlic, potato, cinnamon, clove, allspice, savory, pie pastry, egg, s
• Butter Tarts

  Small pastry shells filled with a gooey butter-sugar center, plain or with raisins — Canada's sweetest debate (runny or firm?). Ingredients: pastry, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, vanilla, rais
• Feijoada

  Brazil's black-bean feast: a slow stew of beans and smoked and salted pork, served with rice, collard greens, farofa and orange. Ingredients: black beans, pork shoulder, smoked sausage, bacon, dried b
• Moqueca

  A coconut-milk fish stew from Bahia, bright with dendê oil, peppers and cilantro, cooked in a clay pot. Ingredients: white fish, shrimp, coconut milk, dendê (palm) oil, onion, tomato, bell pepper, cil
• Pão de Queijo

  Golden, chewy cheese breads — crisp outside, stretchy inside — made from cassava starch and Minas cheese. Ingredients: tapioca starch, milk, oil, eggs, Minas cheese (or Parmesan), salt. Recipe: 1) Sca

Gaeng Keow Wan

• Green Curry

  A fragrant emerald curry of coconut milk, green chili paste, chicken, Thai eggplant and sweet basil. Ingredients: chicken, coconut milk, green curry paste, Thai eggplant, Thai basil, kaffir lime leaf,