To those familiar with Israeli culture and food, you probably know what this post is about. I have posted particularly every popular topic that I could think of about Israel. So don't worry I haven't left out Israeli or Jewish food.
Western, European and Asian. A middle-eastern food that can be eaten as a snack or a meal in itself, known as Shawarma is quite famous here and Persian cuisine, like the kebab is capturing the taste buds of most Filipinos. I haven't tried eating in a Jewish restaurant (I have yet to discover a good and authentic Jewish restaurant here) but I have tried eating hummus with pita bread, a favorite of the Israelis. I hope that in the near future or better yet soon, Israel cuisine will also be popular in the Philippines.
The streets in Israel is always bustling and there are a lot of street foods that's available to everyone. Like my country, neigboring Muslim and Arab countries has also contributed to the Israeli cuisine but of course, there is the original Israeli cuisine that is really Jewish. I will share with you all of what I have learned and watched online about Israeli food.
Let me give you a look into Israeli's street food. According to Janna Guv, chef and author of The New
Book of Israeli Food. The unofficial dish of Israel would be the Falafel. Falafel is a mixture of mashed chick peas, fava beans and herbs that is deep fried in oil. According to her her it is filling, delicious, crispy and very, very cheap. She further added that generation of Israelis grew up eating Falafel. Every neighboorhood would have neighborhood joint Falafel. In the street food documentary that I've seen, the narrator said that there has tough competition on the streets, like Shawarma. Like I've mentioned earlier it is also very popular in my country. Shawarma is slices of turkey, lamb, or chicken meat that is shave off in a huge rotating skewer and then the meat shavings is stuffed into a pita bread with salad and hummus sauce. Another dish that the Israelis love is the hummus. This spread is made up of crushed chick peas, tahini sauce, lemon, olive oil, salt and garlic. The locals eat it in this manner, they wipe the hummus with pita bread and it goes straight into the mouth. Yum! Another popular street food is the Sabich, it is a sort of pizza sandwich made of fried
eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salad and pickled mango cakked as 'amba'. Then there's also Shashuka. As the narrator says nobody does Shasuka better than Dr. Shasuka himself, a legend in the Jaffa marketplace in Israel. Shasuka is a casserole dish of poached egg and spicy tomato sauce.
The Abulafia bakery also in Jaffa, Israel is always packed with customers. Day and night this is the place to buy all kinds of bread and to find other dough bake goodness stuffs. Borekas (fried pocket bread that has fillings inside) is a pocket full of happiness as the narrator says. The shape of the Borekas tells you what filling the bread has inside. Triangle shaped pocket bread has mushroom fillling inside. Rectangle has potatoes. Swirls has spinach in it and lastly half-moon shape has cheese filling.
Janna Guv, chef and food writer further added that true street food is made on the premises, its fresh and is usually authentic. Fast-food in Israel is very different from the what 'fast-food' in the U.S of America is. She said U.S 'fast-food' is commercial and factory made food not like the fresh Israeli food.
For dessert, you can try the Malabi, it is a milk-pudding flavored with rose-water, and topped with coconut and chopped peanuts. The latest darling of Israeli street is the Kurtosh, its a Hungarian cake that has undergone an Israeli makeover. It is an extra thin-dough wrapped around skewers, baked and then caramelized with chocolate and vanilla toppings.
So that's about it! Happy Eating! As the Hebrews say it, בתאבון (b'teyavon).
---
(The usual prayer/blessing said over food and drinks by a Jew)
Blessings for Food and Drinks:
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam hamotzi lehem min ha'aretz.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei p'ri hagafen.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei p'ri ha'eitz.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei p'ri ha'adamah.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the ground.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the ground.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei minei mezonot.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates varieties of nourishment.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates varieties of nourishment.
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam shehakol niyah bidvaro.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, at whose word all came to be
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, at whose word all came to be
---
(Note: This is the part I of my food article about Israel, in the next part will talk about Kosher, what's and what's not in Jewish cooking.)
No comments:
Post a Comment