Soul food is an ethnic cuisine originating in the Southern United States historically pertaining to African-Americans. It originated from the cuisines of enslaved Africans trafficked to the North American colonies through the Atlantic slave trade during the Antebellum period and is closely associated with the cuisine of the American South. The expression "soul food" originated in the mid-1960s, when "soul" was a common word used to describe African-American culture. Soul food uses cooking techniques and ingredients from West African, Central African, Western European, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas. Soul food came from the blending of what African Americans ate in their native countries in Africa and what was available to them as slaves. The cuisine had its share of negativity initially. Soul food was initially seen as low class food, and Northern African Americans looked down on their Black Southern counterparts who preferred soul food. The term evolved from being the diet of a slave in the South to being a primary pride in the African American community in the North such as New York City.
The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.
Turkish cuisine is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Southeast Europe (Balkans), Central Europe, and Western Europe. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm taking influences from and influencing Mesopotamian cuisine, Armenian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Egyptian cuisine, Balkan cuisine, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia, creating a vast array of specialities. Turkish cuisine also includes dishes invented in the Ottoman palace kitchen.
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States, which blends West African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences, as well as influences from the general cuisine of the Southern United States.
Gumbo is a stew popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the official state cuisine. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the Creole "holy trinity" – celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, whether okra or filé powder.
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties.
Chicharrón is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. Chicharrón may also be made from chicken, mutton or beef.
A hush puppy is a small, savory, deep-fried round ball made from cornmeal-based batter. Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish with seafood and other deep-fried foods.
Cutlet refers to:
- a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork, or chicken
- a dish made of such slice, often breaded
- a croquette or cutlet-shaped patty made of ground meat
- a kind of fish cut where the fish is sliced perpendicular to the spine, rather than parallel ; often synonymous with steak
- a prawn or shrimp with its head and outer shell removed, leaving only the flesh and tail
- a mash of vegetables fried with bread
Dirty rice is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish made from white rice which gets a "dirty" color from being cooked with small pieces of pork, beef or chicken, green bell pepper, celery, and onion, and spiced with cayenne and black pepper. Parsley and chopped green onions are common garnishes. Dirty rice is most common in the Creole regions of southern Louisiana; however, it can also be found in other areas of the American South and referenced as "chicken and rice," "Cajun rice," or "rice dressing".
Fried noodles are common throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Many varieties, cooking styles, and ingredients exist.
The cuisine of New Orleans encompasses common dishes and foods in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is perhaps the most distinctively recognized regional cuisine in the United States. Some of the dishes originated in New Orleans, while others are common and popular in the city and surrounding areas, such as the Mississippi River Delta and southern Louisiana. The cuisine of New Orleans is heavily influenced by Creole cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and soul food. Seafood also plays a prominent part in the cuisine. Dishes invented in New Orleans include po' boy and muffuletta sandwiches, oysters Rockefeller and oysters Bienville, pompano en papillote, and bananas Foster, among others.
Teochew porridge is a Teochew rice porridge dish often accompanied with various small plates of side dishes. Teochew porridge is served as a banquet of meats, fish egg, and vegetables that is eaten with plain rice porridge. It may be simply prepared plain, or include sweet potatoes. The rice grains, while softened from cooking, are still whole and not in an overly starchy state. Because the porridge is served plain, it is suitable to accompany salty side dishes. The recipe originated in Chaozhou and was later modified by early immigrants prepared in Malaysia and Singapore over the generations to suit local tastes.
Lassis Inn is a restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, founded in 1905. It was a meeting place for local civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 60s. In 2017 it was one of three inaugural inductees into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame and in 2020 was named an America's Classic by the James Beard Foundation.
