Ethnic foods I'm supposed to like - but don't.

[Kerry Beal]

In the spirit of 'Cocktails I'm supposed to like, but don't' - I'd like to raise the issue of those ethnic foods that folks wax poetic about - but that you simply don't get!

I will start with Pad Thai - never had one I liked - even in places that are supposed to make the 'best in town'. There is just something about the combination that doesn't do it for me.

So what "favourites" don't titillate your taste buds?

[chefmd]

Refried beans. I like my beans whole and with some bite.

Except hummus.

Edited July 31, 2013 by chefmd (log)

[judiu]

Curried anything. To me, they all taste and smell the same. I accused my mom of ruining oven 'fried' chicken by putting curry in the breading; she was amazed that I could taste it! Every inexpensive motel in Texas reeked of curry in the lobby. Yeesh!

[lesliec]

I'm with you, Judiu. I just don't 'get' curry.

My wife says it's because I've never had a good one, to which I reply I don't believe there are any good ones. To me, curries are very confused, muddy-tasting and -smelling things (I think it's the cumin, but I can't be certain).

Give me a nice fried pork chop any time.

[Keith_W]

Could it be that these bad "ethnic" dishes that you do not like is more a function of bad restaurants in your area rather than the cuisine itself? I have never had good Korean food, but then i've never been to Korea - so i'm reserving judgement for now. It looks like it could be something amazing, but all the Korean food i've served so far has been pretty underwhelming.

[gfweb]

Curry is just OK. Refried beans are lost on me. Cilantro tastes like soap, or if really fresh like stink bug. In fact most Mexican food isn't great to me. Taco Bell is better than authentic stuff and TB pretty much sucks. Southwestern cuisine is much better to me than Mexican.

[Edward J]

The Indonasian/Malaysain dish "Gado-Gado, and it's close cousin, "Rojak". I dunno, it's something about the combination of beansprouts and h.b. eggs with the yolks cooked to that greeny-black hue that I just don't "get"..............

[Mjx]

Kerry, I'm going to take your question as not being from an exclusively North American perspective, so... macaroni and cheese.

Seriously. I spent my childhood in Italy, so when my family moved back to the US, I was introduced to a lot of traditional American dishes for the first time, and to me they were as 'ethnic' and exotic as the various Asian and Latin American cuisines that I was being introduced to at that same time. People rave to me about how cosy and nostalgic mac and cheese is for them, and I just cannot like it.

[ChrisTaylor]

What does 'curry' mean? A Thai jungle curry isn't packing a remotely similar flavour profile to anything Indian, for instance. Something Anglo with a sprinkle of a British-brand 'curry powder'?

I too had to warm up to Mac and Cheese. It took a while.

Edited July 31, 2013 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[annachan]

Buddha jumps over the wall - never quite liked the dish. I know it's supposed to be like a showcase of the most expensive ingredients. But never found the flavor to be great.

[Tri2Cook]

In fact most Mexican food isn't great to me. Taco Bell is better than authentic stuff and TB pretty much sucks.

Mind = blown. Not liking authentic Mexican food is one thing, personal preference and all that... but "Taco Bell is better"?

[ChrisTaylor]

Buddha jumps over the wall - never quite liked the dish. I know it's supposed to be like a showcase of the most expensive ingredients. But never found the flavor to be great.

I didn't know this dish until you mentioned it. It's like a high class turducken.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Steak and Eggs, and its Latino friend Churrasco. It's taking a perfectly good cut of meat and ruining it by putting a sunny-runny on top.

[Anna N]

Refried beans. I like my beans whole and with some bite.

Except hummus.

I am so with you on the refried beans but I don't get hummus either.

[Ashen]

I embrace most food related things from my Italian heritage but I just can't do chickenheads and feet or tripe . My father and uncles would gather at one of their houses and have a feed heads and feet or tripe together occasionally when they were alive because no one else in their respective families would touch it.

[gfweb]

In fact most Mexican food isn't great to me. Taco Bell is better than authentic stuff and TB pretty much sucks.

Mind = blown. Not liking authentic Mexican food is one thing, personal preference and all that... but "Taco Bell is better"?

Taco Belch isn't all that Mexican, I'm told. More Southwestern...tuned to yankee tastes.

[SylviaLovegren]

Refried beans? Really? But they are so delicious!

For me, it's kimchee. Even the smell of it, when your spouse opens a jar downstairs and you can smell in the upstairs bedroom... Aaacccckkk. Although sad to say, most Korean food fits in that category for me. The hub loves Korean food and when we lived in NJ there were a lot of Korean restaurants nearby. At one place my husband loved -- we were the only non-Koreans in the place and a "special" waiter had to come to our table because he spoke English and the other waiters didn't -- I ordered a soup, figuring that would be "safe". But it turned out to be cold, with slippery noodles and then chunks of raw apple. My husband was happily slurping down all the quivery gelatinous stuff, he loved it, but I had to get up and remove my heaving stomach. Went next door and got a coffee and a bagel with cream cheese from a surly Hispanic guy (most of the bagel joints in northern NJ are run by Hispanics) and felt much better. Meanwhile, the English-speaking Korean waiter thought it was hilarious and comped my husband extra goodies.

[annabelle]

Falafels. Yuck.

[Bill Klapp]

Even all gussied up in a sandwich? If you put enough salad and sauce on falafel, there is nothing but crunch left!

[dcarch]

Many of these foods are just everyday inexpensive meals to keep you from going hungry. They are not supposed to be three star gourmet treats.

How about Boxty, Colcannon, Black pudding, shepherd's pie? Do you go nuts for them?

dcarch

[Tri2Cook]

How about Boxty, Colcannon, Black pudding, shepherd's pie? Do you go nuts for them?

dcarch

Yes, yes, no, yes.

Well, maybe not "go nuts" but I'm never unhappy to see them on my plate.

[cegadede]

Steak and Eggs, and its Latino friend Churrasco. It's taking a perfectly good cut of meat and ruining it by putting a sunny-runny on top.

Churrasco doesn't have eggs.

[annabelle]

Even all gussied up in a sandwich? If you put enough salad and sauce on falafel, there is nothing but crunch left!

If I can take the falafel out of the pita bread and eat the fixings, then sure.

I also don't like Indian food. At all. The mains are too saucy and spicy. The condiments are too hard to source. There are a million and one spices to dry roast and grind up. Everything is served with rice and flat bread. The desserts are way too sweet.

Other than that, there's nothing bad to say about it.

[Anna N]

Falafels. Yuck.

I am right with you and nothing that one adds to them makes a damn bit of difference. They are nasty.

[Tri2Cook]

I thought about this topic all day and I really don't have anything to add. My dislikes are all related to specific ingredients, not cuisines or dishes. The things I don't like, I don't like no matter what dish or cuisine they're used in.