We’re obsessed with Asian Cuisine! Here are just some of the delightful things we’ve discovered in our dining adventures, both in our wonderfully multicultural hometown of Toronto and during our travels.
We’ve done our best to classify things by nation or culture, but many of these dishes are served in a number of Asian countries. Indeed, it is common to hear disputes about the origins of a dish. Some dishes are born as two or more cultures come into contact with each other.
We do our best based on what we learn from others, but we don’t claim to be experts. This listing is really meant to prompt you to explore some dishes you might not otherwise have encountered. Feel free to double check our information or trust other sources. And if you find something we need to correct, or just elaborate upon, please let us know. We love to learn from our community.
- All
- Dumplings
- Cambodian
- Chinese
- Laoatian
- Taiwan
- Malaysian
- Vietnamese
- Misc
Khmom Ang - Grilled Bee Larvae
This dish is enjoyed in various forms in both Cambodia and Laos, where insects have played an important role in adding protein to the diet. This traditional food is grilled while wrapped in a waxy green banana leaf. Served warm it is surprisingly juicy and mildly sweet with delicate pulp that disappears as you chew. If no one had told us what we were eating, we would have assumed it was some kind of exotic fruit. We enjoyed this dish as Honeycomb & Bee Larvae Marinated in Jungle Garlic and Chilies while dining at Pinakpou in Siem Reap.
Learn more on the Atlas Obscura.
Jungle Sour Beef With Red Tree Ant
Jungle spices, cooked in lemongrass prohok, red tree ant broth, krorsang fruit (wood lemon) and kampot pepper with hot basil. We learned that chefs in the region discovered long ago that red tree ants impart a subtle but distinctive citric note to food. This was evident in this broth, and complemented the spiciness of the peppers perfectly. We enjoyed this while dining at Pinakpou in Siem Reap.
Learn about a different Khmer ant dish on the Atlas Obscura.
Tung Tong - Deep Fried Vegetable Wontons
We think about this dish constantly. You may see it called “Golden Purse” (or even Thai Money Bags). Whatever they’re called these crispy little packets are filled with delicious vegetables and sometimes seasoned shrimp. We first discovered this dish at a fabulous Thai restaurant called Siam Authentic Restaurant in Regina, Canada.
We’ve enjoyed it at other Thai restaurants in Canada. We also enjoyed it in Ipoh, Malaysia at Hong Kong Lamb Pot under a different name of Chinese origin. In Cambodia we enjoyed a delicious vegetarian version served by the social enterprise New Hope.
Grilled Shrimp With Chilli and Lemongrass
We’ve seen this on Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese menus. It’s alway a wonderful dish. The version pictured was enjoyed in Hue, Vietnam at a fusion French-Vietnamese restaurant called La Carambole Bistro.
Popiah
“It’s our burrito.” We heard this from two separate sources in Singapore.
The name translates to “thin pancake”, describing the paper thin crepe that acts as the wrap for this spring roll-like dish. It’s origins can traced to Fujian Province of China.
This elastic, wheat-based crepe takes a fair bit of skill to prepare and lift without breaking.
The popiah can come with all kinds of different fillings. It can filled with lettuce, egg, spring bean sprouts and a marinated root vegetable (possibly turnip).
We enjoyed our first one in Singapore at Ann Chin – a hawker that takes prides in making the whole thing from scratch. It had delicious crispy bits and a bit of a spicy profile.
The best Popiah we’ve had (so far) was in Kuching, Malaysia at Choon Hui. The lady who makes them there had been perfecting her craft for 28 years! Her version has a layer of finely chopped peanuts in a sweet hoisin sauce that was just to die for. Her crepe (also made from scratch) also had a lovely, delicately chewy texture.
Nem Cua Bể
These deep fried crab spring rolls are most often served as an accompaniment to Bún Chả in Vietnam. We enjoyed these “best ever/to-die-for” ones at the Michelin starred Bun Cha Dac Kim in Hà Nội, Vietnam.
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