Expanding your palate by trying new cuisine is both exciting and scary. If you don’t know what you’re getting into, you could end up biting into something unexpectedly delicious – or disgusting.
Western and Asian food are both known for extreme flavor varieties. Western food includes everything from European to American meals – robust, hearty, and – often – greasy.
Asian food, or Eastern cuisine, has a completely different feel to it. Often spicier, this type of cuisine focuses less on big portions and more on big flavor.
So what are the key differences between these two foods? Here are 5 you may not be aware of.
5 Ways to Differentiate Western and Asian Foods
1. Portions. Westerners from American to Australia like their big portions. Serving sizes in these countries are usually pretty hefty. They’re definitely enough to fill your stomach, but you’ll want to go back for more because of the flavor.
In Eastern countries, though, the servings are smaller. If you’re used to a small or medium in Western food lingo, you might want to ask for a large in Asian countries.
2. Focus on meat. Western meals almost always revolve around the meat being served. If you’re having steak for dinner, your sides and your drink will be based on what pairs well with the cut of steak you choose.
Asian meals focus on rice as the main dish. The rice served is cultivated as a main course, seasoned and cooked with passion and relish. A meal in Asian countries is not complete without rice of some sort, or noodles at a minimum.
Restaurants in Asian countries such as Georgia have the art of rice cooking to a science. When you get a Georgia tour package from Dubai, you may also get to explore the nuances of this fine cuisine.
3. Fast food. In Western culture, fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Subway are on almost every corner of the big cities. Even small, quiet towns have at least one fast food restaurant in them.
But in many Eastern countries, fast food isn’t taking off quite as well. Yes, you can find your favorite big chain in food stalls of the bigger areas, but home-cooked cuisine in which the chef spends time making the meal “just right” is preferred.
4. Flavors. If your food tastes tend to revolve around sweet or salty, you probably prefer Western cuisine. These meals focus less on spice and more on robust flavors.
But in Asian food, spice is life! Bitter and spicy flavors are interchanged regularly to create vivid, flavorful meals full of fire, the hotter the better to many people.
5. Condiments. Western countries often prefer ketchup, mustard, and salt and vinegar with their meals, depending on what you’re eating and where you are.
In Asian cuisine, though, you’re more likely to be served soy sauce with your chicken or wasabi with your sushi. Don’t forget the ginger – on everything!
That’s not to say those who eat both types of food don’t enjoy all of the condiments at any given time. Some would say there’s a place for salt or ketchup on just about everything!
It’s All in the Tastebuds
People express their love or disdain for a certain food all the time. But there’s no way to account for taste in determining if a meal is yummy or not. It’s all up to the individual person.
However, wherever you go, there’s a wide variety of culinary delights that await you when you’re ready to expand your palate!
