The United States is famously a diverse nation, with people from all walks of life and parts of the world moving there to start a new life as Americans. This results in not only a variety of languages spoken and religions practiced, but also culinary diversity. There is no standard “American food,” and there probably never will be. This is great news for Americans who love a wide variety of dishes and flavors, and several particular ethnicities stand as the most common ones for American food. Due to proximity to Latin America, Mexican food stands as the most common, while different European, Middle Eastern, and Asian food have found a place in American restaurants and kitchens, too. Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian, and more prove plenty popular, as do eastern Asian varieties such as Thai food, Japanese food, Chinese food, and more. Asian catering as an option too, or a person may look for the best sushi restaurants in the area. What should someone look for in Thai food or a sushi platter?
On Asian Foods
There is no single, universal “Asian food,” as Asia is as diverse as anywhere else. That said, there are some general trends among Asian recipes such as Thai food or Chinese. While rice is cultivated around the world and feeds over half the human population, rice is especially prominent in Asian food, along with noodles of all kinds. What is more, Asian food tends to be a little lighter on meat than Western food, putting more emphasis on noodles, rice, and most of all, vegetables. Not that meat is totally packing; protein in Asian food is typically chicken, fish, and pork, though beef often factors into Chinese or Japanese food too. Diary products may be rather limited, however, and milk and cheese may be scarce in Asian food compared to Western food.
Thai food is one of the major Asian foods consumed in the United States, and like the others, it may be found in specialized restaurants or served with catering, or even found as frozen meals in a grocery store. Many supermarkets have an Asian food section, for example, with ingredients aplenty. Thai food often involves chicken, peanut sauce, red peppers, and noodles, proving popular for decades. Chinese food is fairly similar, though it may exchange peanut sauce for the likes of soy sauce, orange sauce, and more. Japanese food may involve grilled meats, many varieties of noodles such as soba, udon, and ramen, and certainly distinctive sushi. Although first pioneered in China, sushi is common in Japan and is associated with that nation. Many chefs are sushi specialists and experts, training for years to make high-end sushi dishes for customers. Known for using raw fish, sticky rice, seaweed, and more, sushi has captured the world’s imagination, and can range from expensive dishes at high-end restaurants to simple sushi packaged meals at a grocery store.
The Best Way to Eat
Like with other ethnic foods, Asian food of different kinds can be enjoyed at a restaurant, with catering, or made at home. Most cities and some towns may have Asian restaurants specializing in Thai food, Chinese cuisine, Japanese, Korean, or the like, and a guest to a city can look them up. Someone visiting Los Angeles or Portland, for example, may find many different Asian restaurants, as Asian-American cultures are often found along the West Coast. A search may be like “high end Thai restaurant Log Angeles” or “good sushi bars in Portland”, and the seeker can even enter their ZIP code to refine the search. They cal also refer to Yelp! and similar sites to rank restaurants based on customer reviews.
Asian food can also be catered like anything else. Catered food can be ordered for a large group for any occasion, from a wedding reception to a large birthday party, a sporting event, or anything of the like. Chinese food and Thai food may be especially popular for this. And of course, any interested home chef can visit an Asian supermarket and choose from the huge variety of ingredients there to try some Asian home cooking. This can range from Thai noodle dishes to Chinese stir fry or even amateur sushi. Even amateur sushi can be a delight to prepare and eat.
