I want to learn, can anyone give me some good ethnic recipes? ?

Question

I want to make something other than boring American food for my family, I've never really liked American food... Can anyone please give me some really good recipes for ethnic food :0)?

I live in Arizona and I already know how to make mexican food. So anything but American/ Mexican food please. I'm pretty good with

Italian food too but could always use some new things.

I want to be International Crocker :0)

Answer 1

Google "Moussaka", its a traditional Greek dish. Im sorry but i cant be bothered to type out the recipe as its quite long winded. But trust me, you wont be dissapointed. If the recipe you find calls for minced beef, use minced lamb instead (thats the traditional method) and serve with a crisp green salad and crusty bread. Enjoy!

Answer 2

How about some traditional South African Bobotie? It's a baked meat dish with an egg-based topping. It also has a lot of different spices.

THE BOBOTIE FILLING

· 1 lb beef, minced

· 2 eggs

· 2 slices white bread, stale with crusts removed

· 1 onion, thinly sliced

· 2 tbsp cooking oil

· 2 tbsp hot water

· 2 tbsp sugar

· 2 tbsp lemon juice

· 2 tsp curry powder

· ½ tsp ground cloves

· 1 tsp garlic, crushed

· 1 tsp turmeric

· ½ tsp salt

THE BOBOTIE TOPPING

· 1 egg, lightly beaten

· ½ cup milk

· bay leaves or lemon leaves for garnishing

Pre-heat the oven to 325o F.

Soak the bread in water for 10 minutes, squeeze out the excess and then crumble.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and braise the onion until golden.

Break the two eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Mix in the mince

  

Add the onion mixture from the frying pan, the hot water, lemon juice, crumbled bread, turmeric and sugar to the mince, mixing well.

Spoon the mixture into a well-greased, oven-proof dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and then remove from the oven.

Topping

Combine the other egg with the milk and beat well. Pour the mixture over the bobotie and arrange the bay/lemon leaves as garnish. Return to the oven and bake at 350o F for 10 minutes, or until the topping is set.

Serve the Bobotie with a large salad and rice. It also works very nicely with a tangy fruit chutney.  

Answer 3

Epicurious has an international section divided by region http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/g...

Allrecipes you can search for a collection by keyword like "Greek" http://allrecipes.com/Search/Collection....

Food Network you can search a regional collection http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/re_colle...

You could also puruse the ethnic aisle of your grocery store for ready made simple ideas - then try to find a homemade recipe.  I like to buy a pre-made curry simmer sauce and pour over chicken and potatoes or veggies to cook. Very simple but unique.

Answer 4

How about Filipino food: Menudo (it's bitter but different)

or Pancit Palabok (pasta type) Do you know real Mexican food?

or Wanna be Mexican food (Taco shop Americanized weird nasty food)

Pork Menudo Recipe

Estimated preparation & cooking time: 50 minutes

Menudo Ingredients:    

    1/2 kilo pork (cut into small chunks)

    1/4 kilo pork liver (cut into small cubes)

        5 pieces chorizo Bilbao (also cut in small pieces)

      4 potatoes (peeled, cut in small cubes, fried)

      1 green and 1 red bell pepper (diced)

      1 cup chickpeas

      1/4 cup raisins

       1/2 teaspoon paprika

     1 cup pork or chicken stock

      2 teaspoons of patis (fish sauce)

      3 tablespoons oil

     1 tablespoon atsuete oil (optional)

     3 tomatoes (diced)

      1 small head of garlic (minced)

      1 medium size onion (diced)

      Menudo Cooking Instructions:

      In a pan or wok, heat cooking oil and atsuete oil.

      Saute garlic, onion. Then add the pork, liver, chorizo de Bilabo, tomatoes, bell pepper, paprika, patis and the stock.

      Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the pork is tender.

      Add the chickpeas, potatoes and raisins. Boil of another 2 minutes.

      Salt and pepper to taste.

      Serve hot with white rice.

Pancit Palabok Recipe: Estimated preparation for toppings: 1 1/2 hours

Estimated cooking time for sauce & noodles: 40 minutes

Pansit Palabok Ingredients: Palabok Noodles / Sauce

    

  1/2 kilo miki noodles

      1/2 kilo small crabs

      5 cloves of garlic, minced

      1 onion, chopped

      2 tablespoons of atchuete seeds or oil

      2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

      4 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in water

      1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)

     1 1/2 cups of water

Palabok Toppings:

      Tinapa flakes (smoked fish)

      Cooked shrimps, shelled

      Squid adobo, sliced into rings

      Pork chicharon, grounded

          Spring onions, chopped

      Hard boiled eggs, shelled, sliced

     Fried garlic, minced

      Fresh calamansi (lemon), sliced

Pansit Palabok Cooking Instructions:

      Extract fat and meat from clean crabs, set aside.

      Pound crab and extract juice on 1 1/2 cups of water

     On a pan, sauté garlic and onions until golden brown then add crab fat, crab meat, 1 1/2 cups of crab wash, patis and MSG. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

      Add corn starch and continue to simmer while constantly stirring until thick.  Put miki noodles in a strainer and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked.  Lay drained noodles on a platter and pour the palabok sauce. Garnish with toppings and serve.

Answer 5

Pho- Vietnam

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Beef Broth:

1 small onion, chopped

1 2-inch stick ginger

2 pounds beef bones

12 cups water

6 star anise

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound lean, tender beef

Noodles:

1 16-ounce package dry, flat rice noodles (pho)

Garnish:

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

10 cilantro sprigs, finely chopped

1 cup bean sprouts

10 sprigs basil

10 sprigs fresh culantro (ngo gai)

fresh red or green chile pepper, thinly sliced

Accompaniments

lime or lemon quarters

fish sauce

hoisin sauce

hot chile sauce

Preparation:

Broil onion and ginger until they look burned. Using back of cleaver, smash the ginger and set aside.

  Wash beef bones, place in a large soup pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and immediately pour off this "first boiling" water and discard. Add another 12 cups of fresh water and again bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add the broiled onion and ginger, star anise, salt and sugar. Over medium-low heat, simmer for 30 minutes.  Slice raw beef into thin strips and set aside.

Remove bones from broth and strain out vegetables and seasonings.  Soak noodles in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain. In a soup pot bring two quarts fresh water to a boil. Add drained noodles and cook seven minutes at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally until noodles are tender.

  Rinse noodles under cold running water and set aside.

  Return the broth to a boil over high heat.

  To serve: Divide noodles among 4 to 6 large individual serving bowls. Arrange thinly sliced raw beef, scallions, onion, and cilantro on top. Pour boiling hot broth to cover noodles and serve immediately. The boiling broth will cook the thin slices of beef. Pho is always accompanied by bean sprouts, basil leaves, culantro and chile pepper. Serve with lime and lemon quarters, fish sauce, hoisin sauce and hot chile sauce. Serves 4 to 6.

Answer 6

Here are my favs

Thai green curry

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp green curry paste (according to taste)

1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar

1-2 thick stalks lemongrass, fat ends bashed with a rolling pin (optional)

750g/1½lb skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks (use breast and/or leg meat)

6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 lime)

400ml/14fl oz coconut milk

good shake of Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce

small handful of coriander, roughly chopped

½-1 lime, juice only

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass, if using. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the chicken pieces and lime leaves or zest until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce or soy sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 25-30 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce if needed.

2. The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. You will also taste the true flavours of the curry paste ingredients when it's slightly cooler. Serve with lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

x*x

India- Chicken samosas-more of a snack, can be served as a starter

Ingredients :

1. For the Dough

Flour - 500gm

Salt - 1/2tsp

Ginger juice - 1tsp

Garlic juice - 1tsp

Ghee - 3tbs

Milk - 1cup

2. Minced Chicken - 500gm

Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1tbs

Minced Onion - 2 (large)

Ghee - 2tbs

Coriander leaves - a handful

Chopped mint leaves - few

Groundnut oil - for frying

3.

Green chillies - 6nos

Peppercorns - 5

Coriander seeds - 1tbs

Cumin seeds - 1/2tsp

Cinnamon - a small piece

Green cardamoms - 4nos

Method :

Sieve the flour and salt together. Add ghee and mix till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a dent in the centre and put in the milk, ginger and garlic juice. Mix well and knead to make a soft but not sticky dough.

Boil the minced chicken with the ginger garlic paste and salt till done. Keep it aside. Grind the 3rd ingredients.

Heat some ghee in a pan. Fry the onion and ground masala for 3-4 minutes. Add the minced chicken and fry till dry. Mix with the coriander leaves and mint. Keep it aside and allow to cool.

Divide the dough into 6 to 8 portions. Roll each portion into a thin rounds. Place a heaped tablespoon of the mince filling at the centre and cover with another rolled portion. Seal the edges by pressing down. Cut into triangles and deep fry in hot oil.

South Africa-Babotie

Bobotie Filling Ingredients:

1 lb beef, minced

2 eggs

2 slices white bread, stale with crusts removed

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 tbsp hot water

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp curry powder

Half tsp ground cloves

1 tsp garlic, crushed

1 tsp turmeric

Half tsp salt

Bobotie Topping:

1 egg, lightly beaten

Half cup milk

bay leaves or lemon leaves for garnishing

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Soak the bread in water for 10 minutes, squeeze out the excess and then crumble.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and braise the onion until golden.

Break the two eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Mix in the mince

Add the onion mixture from the frying pan, the hot water, lemon juice, crumbled bread, turmeric and sugar to the mince, mixing well.

Spoon the mixture into a well-greased, oven-proof dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and then remove from the oven.

Topping

Combine the other egg with the milk and beat well.

Pour the mixture over the bobotie and arrange the bay/lemon leaves as garnish.

Return to the oven and bake at 350o F for 10 minutes, or until the topping is set.

Serve the Bobotie with a large salad and rice.

These wher my first attempts at ethnic cooking,hope they work for you.