The most unique Christmas dishes around the globe
We all know about our own Christmas traditions. Some of us eat turkey, some ham, and some even like a plate of roast lamb on Christmas Eve. Regardless of different timings, a common theme throughout the world is the importance food plays in their traditions. Every country has it’s staples – the foods that are a classic and a must have for every table. Here’s a highlight of the most interesting Christmas traditions food from around the world.
1. Fried chicken (specifically KFC-brand) and Kurisumasu Keiki (Japan)
Unlike the traditional ham or turkey Americans are used to seeing during the holidays, many in Japan celebrate by eating fried chicken. While less than 1 percent of the Japanese population is estimated to be Christian, by the power of marketing and advertising it has become common practice to eat KFC during Christmas. The meal is also accompanied by Kurisumasu Keiki, which is a strawberry sponge cake for dessert.
Click here for the recipe.
2. Struffoli (Italy)
In Italy, Christmas is a very quiet and family centered holiday. Children send letters to their parents telling them how much they love them. And unlike in many other countries, it is not just the 25th of December that holds significance. There are many holidays leading up to Christmas.
The lemon zest gives these little hazelnut nuggets of fried dough the perfect kick. And the dash of powdered sugar and sprinkles makes these some of the prettiest bite sized treats to see on Christmas Eve.
Click here for the recipe.
3. Bûche de Noël ( France)
A French classic, this cake is a gorgeous addition to this year’s table. Once a popular Christmas tradition in France, the yule log is an iconic image of Christmas. And this cake has taken its place as a dish that symbolizes the holiday season.
In France, the Christmas season is called Noel and it begins on the 6th of December. On Christmas Eve, children leave out shoes for Le Pere Noel (most know him as Santa Claus) to leave gifts. Christmas is a very special holiday, and it comes at the end of 12 days of holiday celebration in France.
Click here for the recipe
4. Nanaimo Bars ( Canada)
These bars have three layers of deliciousness. The bottom offers a sweet crunch, the middle gives us a smooth and rich custard, and the third provides the right amount of chocolate sweetness for any chocolate-lover.
In English Canada, Christmas dinner is similar to that of its colonial ancestor, England, as well as to its neighbor - the United States. Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing (dressing), mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, vegetables and plum pudding for dessert.
Click here for the recipe
5. Pavlova Meringue with Raspberries, Banana, and Passion Fruit ( Australia)
It is crisp and crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, topped with fluffy whipped cream and garnish with fresh mixed berries, slices of banana and passion fruit pulp.
Christmas comes to Australia during one of the hottest months of the year. Many people hang Christmas wreaths and spend the majority of the season outdoors singing Christmas carols. And when it comes to food, families have outdoor barbeques and go to local seafood markets to enjoy as a Christmas lunch.
Click here for the recipe
6. Stollen ( Germany)
The delicious version of fruit cake, made with rum, spices, and a sugary coating. Stollen is a yeast bread made with nuts, raisins, currants, candied orange and lemon peel, and lots of butter.
Other possible ingredients include orange and lemon zest, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace or cloves. Some people choose to soak the dried fruit in brandy or rum before adding it to the dough, but that’s entirely optional. It’s rolled out with a thinner middle and thicker outsides, folded in, and dusted with powdered sugar and some have a filling of marzipan wrapped inside.
Click here for the recipe
7. Swedish Meatballs (Sweden)
While Christmas Eve in Sweden is full of celebration, feasting, and gift giving, one of the biggest holiday celebration is that of St. Lucia’s Day, celebrated on the 13th of December. Kids dress in white dresses and carry around candles to celebrate the day long celebration. It’s a fun day full of singing and jubilation.
In southern Sweden many people prefer their ground meat with a little more fat, but the further north you go, the less pork you will find in the meatball mixture. However, bread or rusk crumbs allowed to swell in milk are as important as the lingonberries on the side. They give Swedish meatballs their special soft consistency.
8. Chicken Soup Avgolemono (Greece)
In Greece, Christmas is a very religious holiday. On the night of Christms Eve, families go to midnight mass and hang sprigs of basil to keep away the evil spirits known as the Killantzaroi. It is also a day of great family celebration and togetherness.
Avgolemono is served as a first course at a Christmas feast, and with its blend of chicken, lemon, egg, and rice is absolutely enticing. Avgolemono (egg-lemon sauce) is widely used in a variety of Greek dishes, from meatball soup, chicken soup, to Greek-style fricassee, stuffed cabbage rolls.
Click here for the recipe
9.Punitions (France)
These sables are a simultaneously crisp but sandy, buttery, mildly sweet, golden-edged cookie and about as far as you can get from the “punishment” they translate to. Apparently, grandmothers used to give them to their grandchildren for their gouter (after-school snack), luring them in by teasing, “come and get your punishment!”
Canada is full of Christmas traditions as it is a country with a very diverse background. Some celebrate it with French traditions, others with English or German traditions. But one thing that ties all provinces together is the plethora of food eaten on Christmas Eve.
On a cold, gray winter day the delicate and subtly sweet cookies are lovely by themselves or with a cup of honey-sweetened raspberry tea. They’re especially good served with a book and a cosy blanket for snuggling. And the ease and quickness of these cookies make them a great treat to make with kids.
Source: buzzfeed.com, noshon.it.
Click here for the recipe
---
Vocabulary:
- staples /'steipl/: Món ăn chính (món ăn điển hình được sử dụng trong từng nền văn hóa)
- A basic type of food that use a lot
- zest /zest/: vỏ (cam hoặc chanh)
- the outer skin of orange or lemon, when it used to give flavor on cooking
- hazelnuts: Hạt phỉ
- the small brow nut of hazel tree
- Yule log /'ju:llɔg/: khúc gỗ
- A large log of wood tradiontionally burnt in Chrismast Eve
- gravy /'greivi/: nước sốt
- A brown sauce made by adding flour to the juices that comes out of meat while it is cooking
- cranberry /'krænbəri/: quả nam việt quất
- A small sour red berry that grows on a small bush and is use in cooking.
- gooey /'gu:i:/: Mềm dính
- Soft and sticky
- Whip - whipped /wip/: Đánh ( trứng,kem)
- To stir cream or something until it becomes stiff
- wreaths /ri:θ/ - Vòng hoa (Giáng sinh)
- An arrangement of flowers and/or leaves in the shape of a circle, traditionally hung on doors as a decoration at Chrismast.
- currants /'kʌrənt/: phúc bồn tử
- A small dried grape, used in cakes
- A small black, red/white berry that grows in buches on bushes
- candied /'kændid/: Tẩm đường, ngào đường
- Preserved by boiling in sugar
- cardamom /'kɑ:dəməm/: bạch đậu khấu, thảo quả
- The dried seeds of a South East Asia plants, used in cooking
- nutmeg /'nʌtmeg/: nhục đậu khấu
- The hard seeds of a tropical tree originally from South East Asia, used in cooking to give flavor to cakes and sauces
- sprigs of basil /'bæzi/: húng quế
- A plant with shyny green leaves that smells sweet and are used in cooking as a herb
Collected by: Hoang Duc Thai
