American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, Indigenous Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures and traditions. Principal influences on American cuisine are European, Native American, soul food, regional heritages including Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mormon foodways, Texan, Tex-Mex, New Mexican, and Tlingit, and the cuisines of immigrant groups such as Chinese American, Italian American, Jewish American, Greek American and Mexican American. The large size of America and its long history of immigration have created an especially diverse cuisine that varies by region.
New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.
Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with panko, and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other dishes such as katsukarē and katsudon.
Tempura is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried. Tempura has its origins dating back to the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and frying, via Nanban trade.
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread, that can also be baked in a tandoor. It is characterized by a light and fluffy texture and golden-brown spots from the baking process. Naan is found in the cuisines of Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
Macaroni and cheese is a dish of macaroni and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar sauce.
Breadsticks, also known as grissini, are generally pencil-sized sticks of crisp, dry baked bread that originated in the Piedmont region of Italy. There is also a soft-baked breadstick version popular in North America.
A crab cake is a variety of fishcake popular in the United States. It is composed of crab meat and various other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, eggs, and seasonings. It is then sautéed, baked, grilled, deep fried, or broiled. Crab cakes are traditionally associated with the Chesapeake Bay, in the state of Maryland. Although the earliest use of the term "crab cake" is commonly believed to date to Crosby Gaige's 1939 publication New York World's Fair Cook Book in which they are described as "Baltimore crab cakes," earlier usages can be found such as in Thomas J. Murrey's book Cookery with a Chafing Dish published in 1891.
Cuchifritos or cochifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork in Spanish and Puerto Rican cuisine. In Spain, cuchifritos are a typical dish from Segovia in Castile. The dish consists of pork meat fried in olive oil and garlic and served hot. In Puerto Rico they include a variety of dishes including morcilla, papas rellenas, and chicharron, and other parts of the pig prepared in different ways. Some cuchifritos dishes are prepared using plantain as a primary ingredient. Cuchifritos vendors also typically serve juices and drinks such as passionfruit, pineapple, and coconut juice, as well as ajonjolí, a drink made from sesame seeds.
A spicy chicken sandwich is a sandwich made of a boneless white breast of chicken whose breading is seasoned with a spicy blend of peppers and spices. Common seasonings include garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, cracked pepper, jalapeno juice, and crushed red pepper flakes, which are stirred into the bread crumbs. The chicken can be brined if desired and then dipped in hot sauce and/or buttermilk and egg, breaded with the flour, cornstarch, bread crumbs, spices, etc.; and then either baked, pressure cooked, or fried in such oils as peanut oil or canola oil. A smoky, chili pepper sauce or sriracha mayo or a spread with such ingredients as mayonnaise, Dijon sauce, lemon juice, celery seeds, pickle juice, hot sauce, and freshly ground black pepper, may be used. Commonly the chicken sandwich is served on a kaiser roll with such toppings as mayo, iceberg lettuce, tomato, shredded cabbage, bread and butter pickle slices, coleslaw, or Monterey Jack cheese.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated. Manihot esculenta is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes.
Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.
Spinach dip is a dip that uses the vegetable spinach as a primary ingredient. Frozen spinach is often used in its preparation. Slow cookers may be used to prepare the dip, and it may be served warm, or there may be no cooking involved. Additional primary ingredients include mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream and cheese. Examples of accompaniments to spinach dip include bread, crackers and chips.
Coconut shrimp is a shrimp dish prepared using shrimp and coconut as primary ingredients. It can be prepared as a crunchy dish with the shrimp coated and deep fried, pan-fried or baked, and as a sautéed dish using coconut milk and other ingredients. It can be prepared and served on skewers.
Fried cheese is a dish of cheese that is fried in oil. Fried cheese can be dipped in a batter before frying, and can be pan-fried or deep fried. It can be served as an appetizer or a snack.
A carrozza, also referred to as mozzarella in carrozza, is a type of fried cheese sandwich or pastry in Italian cuisine. It is prepared by coating a mozzarella cheese sandwich in egg and flour, and frying it. It is a popular dish in the Campania region of Italy and in areas of New York City. Mozzarella fritta is a variation of the dish that consists of battered cheese, without any bread.
Deep-fried avocado is a dish prepared using avocado that has been breaded or battered and deep-fried. Panko bread crumbs are sometimes used. The dish can be stuffed with meats, cheese and other ingredients. The avocado inside the breading or batter may melt after the deep frying occurs. Deep-fried avocado with an egg placed inside the avocado is a breakfast dish. Deep-fried avocado is also used as a main ingredient in deep-fried avocado tacos, as an additional ingredient or topping in tacos, and sometimes as a hamburger topping.
Embutido, or embotido, is a Philippine meatloaf made with ground pork and stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and sliced ham or various sausages. It is traditionally wrapped in aluminum foil and steamed, though it can also be baked.
