Bhutanese cuisine ( Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཟས་; Wylie: ''brug-zas'') employs much red rice (like

brown rice Brown rice is a whole grain rice with the inedible outer hull removed. This kind of rice sheds its outer hull or husk but the bran and germ layer remain on, constituting the brown or tan colour of rice. White rice is the same grain without the ...

in texture, but with a nutty taste, the only variety of rice that grows at high altitudes),

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagop ...

, and increasingly maize.

Regional cuisines

Buckwheat is eaten mainly in Bumthang, maize in the Eastern districts, and rice elsewhere. The diet in the hills also includes chicken,

yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...

meat, dried

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

, pork, pork fat, and

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

. Soups and stews of meat, rice, ferns,

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest produ ...

s, and dried vegetables, spiced with

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...

s and

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, are a favorite meal during the cold seasons. ''Zow shungo'' is a rice dish mixed with leftover vegetables. ''

Ema datshi Ema datshi ( dz, ཨེ་མ་དར་ཚིལ་; Wylie: ) is among the most famous dishes in Bhutanese cuisine, recognized as a national dish of Bhutan. It is made from hot chili peppers and cheese; "ema" means "chili" and "datshi" means " ...

'' is a spicy dish made with large, green chili peppers in a cheesy sauce (similar to

chile con queso Chile con queso ( Spanish for "chile with cheese"), sometimes simply called queso, is an appetizer or side dish of melted cheese and chili peppers, typically served in Tex-Mex restaurants as a dip for tortilla chips. Background Chile con queso ...

), which might be called the

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

for its ubiquity and the pride that

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

ese have for it. Other foods include ''jasha maru'' (a chicken dish), ''phaksha paa'' (dried pork cooked with chili peppers, spices, and vegetables, including

turnip The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...

s, greens, or radishes), ''

thukpa Thukpa ( Tibetan: ཐུག་པ ; ne, थुक्पा; IPA: /tʰu(k̚)ˀ˥˥.pə˥˥/ ) is a Nepali and Tibetan noodle soup, which originated in the eastern part of Tibet. ''Amdo thukpa'' (especially '' thenthuk'') is a famous variant am ...

'', ''puta'' (buckwheat noodles), ''bathup'', and

fried rice Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. ...

Snacks

Popular snacks include '' momo'' (Bhutanese dumplings), ''shakam eezay'', ''khabzey'' (dried fritters made with flour, water, and sugar, which are then deep-fried), '' shabalay'', ''juma'' (Bhutanese sausages marinated in spices), and noodles.

Foreign influences

Restaurants in the country can serve

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

, Nepalese,

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

foods, which are very popular and in recent years Korean restaurants have opened due to the increasing popularity of Korean popular culture in the country.

Dairy and beverages

Dairy foods, particularly

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

and cheese from

s and

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

s, are also popular, and indeed almost all milk is turned into butter and cheese. Cheese made from cow's milk called ''datshi'' is never eaten raw, but used to make sauces. ''Zoedoe'' is another type of cheese made in the Eastern districts, which is added to soups. Zoedoe is normally greenish in color and has a strong smell. Other types of cheese include Western types like Cheddar and Gouda. Western cheese is made in the Swiss Cheese Factory in Bumthang or imported from India. Popular beverages include

butter tea Butter tea, also known as ''po cha'' (, "Tibetan tea"), ''cha süma'' (, "churned tea"), Mandarin Chinese: ''sūyóu chá'' ( 酥油茶) or ''gur gur cha'' in the Ladakhi language, is a drink of the people in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhut ...

prepared using tea leaves, salt and butter (called ''suja''), milk tea (called ''ngaja''),

black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...

, locally brewed '' ara'' ( rice wine), and beer. Spices include

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradi ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are re ...

, ginger, ''thingay'' ( Sichuan pepper), garlic, turmeric, and

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

. File:Cooking jasha maroo.JPG, Cooking ''jasha maru'', a traditional dish consisting of minced chicken, tomatoes, and other ingredients File:Bhutanese Jasha Tshoem.jpg, ''Jasha tshoem'', Bhutanese chicken

File:Bhutanese chili.jpg, Bhutanese

s at a market in Thimphu File:Bhutanese_red_rice_with_chicken_and_spinach.jpg, Traditional dish with lemon glazed chicken, sauteed spinach and steamed Bhutanese red rice

Etiquette

When offered food, one says ''meshu meshu'', covering one's mouth with the hands in refusal according to Bhutanese manners, and then gives in on the second or third offer.

References

* Rennie, Frank; Mason, Robin (2008.
''Bhutan: ways of knowing''
Information Age Publishing, Inc. * ''Tashi Delek''

Drukair Drukair Corporation Limited ( dz, འབྲུག་མཁའ་འགྲུལ་ལས་འཛིན།), operating as Drukair — Royal Bhutan Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, headquartered in the western dzongkh ...

Magazine Volume XII No. 4 Fall 2007 Page 42

External links

'Datsi in the Druk Highlands,' Article in Sunday Mid-Day,01-02-2009, by Arjun Razdan
{{Authority control South Asian cuisine