International Food & Recipe Roundup

If you love to travel and explore culinary traditions from around the world, then we’ve got the recipe roundup for you. Adventures abroad often leave us wondering how to create those tasty and inspiring dishes from the comfort of home. We’re here to tell you that with the right tools, you can have a world of flavor at your fingertips! 

Mexican Street Tacos

South of the border you’ll find streets filled with the smell of warm masa and hot carnitas. But you can bring those Mexican flavors home, too. All it takes to make the perfect street taco is a few simple ingredients, paired with complimentary textures. 

One of our favorite combinations is diced chicken breast sauteed in garlic and onion powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne. Top that with pico de gallo made with finely diced onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. Mash an avocado with sour cream or Greek yogurt and a touch of salt and cayenne for an avocado crema topper. 

The key to making an authentic taco is all about the edible plate that holds the ingredients. Yes, we’re talking about the tortilla! You can make them easily from scratch with a simple mix of masa, water, and salt. Choose your favorite Tortilla pan from the de Buyer collection and you’re on your way to making street tacos like a pro. 

Chicken Fajitas

Everyone loves putting together their own fajitas. Topping a soft tortilla with grilled chicken, peppers, salsa, and sour cream is a simple pleasure that’s as healthy as it is delicious. This is a meal that comes together pretty quickly, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner for the whole family. 

Start by marinating sliced peppers, onions, and strips of chicken in a bowl with cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lime juice. While you wait, make a quick salsa of finely diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice, and chili for a bit of spice. Heat up the grill and cook your marinated chicken and vegetables. Warm the tortillas and assemble your fajita!

Easy Spanish Paella

When you think of paella, you can almost smell the toasted rice nestled in a blanket of fragrant spices and rich meat and seafood. You might also think those flavors take a whole day to prepare. But the truth is you can whip up a pan of this hearty Spanish comfort food in just an hour! 

The trick is to start the night before by placing the diced chicken in a marinade of olive oil, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. The next day, just an hour before meal time, toast your rice in a paella pan with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic. After a few minutes, add chicken stock, bay leaf, parsley, lemon zest, and saffron to get that signature flavor. In a separate pan, cook the marinated chicken, then add shellfish and vegetables to the mix. When the proteins and vegetables are ready, add them to the rice, and voila, homemade paella in a flash!

Wok Recipe: Dan Dan Noodles

If you’re already a fan of Sichuan food, then you’ve likely discovered the rich, nutty, noodle-filled bowl known as Dan Dan Noodles. A staple of Chinese cooking, this recipe will transport you on a flavorful journey that you’ll want to revisit often. It all starts with chili oil made from Chinese Five Spice, Sichuan peppers, sesame seeds, and chili flakes. Cook these ingredients in vegetable oil in a small frying pan until fragrant, then leave to cool. Next, you’ll cook pork chunks in a large wok with a blend of hoisin sauce, black vinegar, and soy sauce. 

Finally, it’s time for that savory, umami-packed noodle sauce. This is a blend of tahini, garlic, soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, and your homemade chili oil. Prep your noodles (ramen is perfect for this dish) and toss everything together in the wok.  Place in serving bowls and top your dish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Then, go back for seconds. 

Vegetable Stir Fry

Looking for a healthy, quick dinner for your family? Stir fry is the perfect one-pan meal that satisfies even the pickiest eater. Plus it’s highly adaptable, making it ideal for using up whatever veggies you have that need to get used in the fridge. This simple rice and vegetable meal can also take different directions with a wide variety of sauces from soy-based to coconut milk and more. 

The simplest way to dish up a vegetable stir fry is to make sure you have a pan large enough to contain and mix the ingredients so the sauce distributes evenly. An 11” or 12” wok is the perfect tool for the job. Add your cooking oil of choice and toss in your favorite veggies. Be sure to stir every couple of minutes so everything cooks to perfection. Meanwhile, prepare your rice or choice of noodles in a separate pan. Once you’ve prepped your sauce, mix everything together,  toss it all in the wok, and it’s dinner time!

Stir Fry sauce ideas:

• Soy, honey, fresh ginger, sriracha, and garlic
• Soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, ginger, red pepper flakes
• Coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, and sweet chile sauce

Lamb Karahi

A savory Indian curry spooned over a pile of steamed basmati rice is the ultimate comfort food- especially if you like it on the spicy side. If you’ve never made Lamb Karahi, then the rich flavors and fragrant aroma of this North Indian curry will make you an instant fan. The stand-out flavor comes from garam masala, which is a traditional spice blend consisting of cinnamon, peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves, coriander seeds, mace, cardamom, and nutmeg. Green chili, tomatoes, and garlic round out the curry portion of the dish, resulting in a deep and decadent sauce. 

For the protein, lamb is the traditional choice but you can also opt for chicken, beef, or veggies. The trick with any karahi is that the meat is braised properly, and that requires the right pan. In Indian cooking, a karahi is a heavy-bottomed pan with dual handles that helps you cook the meat and sauce to perfection. Our Stainless Steel Braising Pan is the perfect partner for the job. Ladle the meat and curry over rice and enjoy! 

Beef Massaman Curry

For another classic curry dish, Beef Massaman gives you all of the robust flavors of Karahi but with a richer, creamier sauce. Massaman is a Thai curry, so it features a thicker, coconut milk base. It’s paired with brown sugar, fish sauce, peanuts, kaffir lime leaves, and tamarind paste. The flavor is equally rich but a bit brighter and tropical than its Indian counterpart. 

The key to this dish is again down to the braising process, so be sure to use a heavy-bottomed braising pan. Once the aromatics have bloomed, add the coconut milk and beef. Cook the beef low and slow until it becomes fall-apart tender, just under 2 hours. Add potatoes and green beans and steam under the lid until tender. Spoon this rich curry over rice and dig in! 

International Food is Easy with the Right Cookware

Exploring the world through flavor is one of the best ways to travel! Getting creative and cooking internationally-inspired dishes at home is not only fun, but it helps expand your culinary knowledge in the process. Ensuring that you have the right tools for the job is one way to ease the process and uplevel your cooking experience. Choosing the right cookware not only enables you to follow a recipe with more precision, but it’ll also help foods cook at the right speed and temperature. So, whether you’re a tortilla fanatic or a curry aficionado, the right equipment is the path to flavor perfection!