Domesticated Foreign Foods I Love Quiz

Answer: pho

Pho, pronounced "faw", raises arguments amongst the Vietnamese and other Asian ethnicities as to where pho originated and who invented it, due to the fact that the Vietnamese consider it significant to their identity. "Pilotless", or "meatless" pho, came about after the war when meat was at a premium and often too expensive to use in Vietnamese restaurants and state-owned restaurants. I was very reluctant to try it due to it containing tendon pieces, as well as tripe, which is an organ meat taken from the stomachs of various farm animals. Since you can order many varieties of pho in Vietnamese restaurants, you can request they leave those ingredients out.

The broth, which takes several hours to prepare, contains a mixture of spices and herbs such as cilantro, roasted ginger and onion, Thai basil, green onions, chives, hoisin sauce, and several others.

The spices and herbs are placed in a cheesecloth bag before being added to the broth, thus avoiding them getting into the carefully prepared dish.

Answer: veal on a bun

You can find all the deli sandwiches named on most menus in Italian restaurants and delis, but the veal used for "veal on a bun" is always tender and covered with breading that has a mixture of garlic powder and other seasonings. Veal is lean and tender meat taken from young cattle, usually male dairy calves.

The meat can be from the female also, but the male cattle is more tender as it has not had to endure the stress of being milked everyday. The veal from a young female is good too, but the more a dairy cow is milked, the tougher the meat gets. Every time I go to Toronto, which is 4-6 times a year minimum, I never miss my opportunity to sink my chompers into a few veal sandwiches from my favourite Italian delicatessen.

As well as the toppings mentioned, I rarely eat a veal "sammich" without a smattering of crushed red chillies and parmesan cheese. MMMMmmm...I have to stop talking about this or I'm going to be going for a looong ride!

Answer: sweet and sour chicken balls

Although all the dishes named are delicious, sweet and sour chicken balls came about from the Chinese cooks of the railway groups in Canada and the U.S. The workers were tired of the same fare being served day after day while the work crews put the railways through the sprawling forests and hills of North America. Authentic Chinese food or not, I rarely order takeout without a double order of those yummy, golden, deep-fried rounds of chicken breast slathered in that reddish-orange delicious sauce. I think I may be getting on the phone shortly...

Answer: pizza

While I'm sure you can add a lot of great ingredients to any of these food 'bases', it has to be pizza pie that I'm talking about. Oh yeah! I love mine with quadruple cheese, pepperoni, cheese, red onions, cheese, Italian sausage, and cheese! Modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, and pizza pies have become hugely popular in all parts of the world. In 2009, Italy requested that "Neapolitan" pizza should be safeguarded within the European Union as a "Traditional Speciality Guaranteed" dish. A "TSG" gives exclusive exclusive rights over a registered product name. Therefore, the registered product's name can only be used by producers who conform to the registered manufacturing methods and product specifications.

Answer: gazpacho

Waiter? My soup is cold! That complaint just doesn't cut it with the two best cold soups, gazpacho and vichyssoise, with gazpacho being my favourite by far. Mmmmmmmm... so yummy! Gazpacho is a "cold soup" which originated in the Andalucian region of Spain and is consumed in great quantities as an appetizer in that country, as well as in Portugal.

In actuality, it's served in countries all over the world. Regarded mostly as an appetizer, it is hearty enough that I love to eat it as a main entree. Also best known for being served cold, it can also be eaten warm and is just as delicious.

It could be argued that "vichysoisse" also might be an answer to the question because it, too, is a "cold soup", but vichysoisse is made mainly with leeks and potatoes and other ingredients that are never included in original gazpacho.

Answer: olive oil

I cannot stand the taste of olives, but mixing parmesan into a nice, light olive oil and using it as a dip for pieces of crusty Italian bread, pumpernickel, rye bread, or any other type of chewy bread is a favourite snack and/or appetizer of mine. Olives grow on short shrubs and small evergreen trees and the olives that grow on them are considered to be a variety of fruit.

Answer: jerk

If you're in a Caribbean eatery and see that today's special is "Jerk" Chicken and/or "Jerked" goat or other dish, then be assured it's hot! And I love it regardless of the intense suffering the spicy heat can bring about if you're not ready for it. Make sure you have a few bottles of water on the side or even better, milk so it can neutralize the capsicum in the spice.

The "jerk spice" is most often made with a blend of crushed red, scotch bonnet, and/or chili pepper as well as a variety of black peppers and other spices.

Despite its fierce heat, it truly suits all things made in a Jamaican restaurant and is very delicious. The other answers, crazy, nuts, and goofy, is what your friends call you after their first sample of "jerked foods".

Answer: Caesar salad

I hope the inventor's name gave you all the hint you needed. So the answer is Caesar salad. The salad's invention was born out of necessity when in 1924, Caesar's restaurant in Tijuana became very depleted of food after a huge rush of customers made him come up with a dish made from all he had left in the place. To keep the customers interested, he decided to 'throw' it together table-side, giving the "meal" a flare in its preparation and serving method.

Some restaurants today still make the salad beside the table. Whether in the kitchen or at table-side, it is still one of my very favourite side orders in many places I eat in.

Answer: shawarma

Shawarma delis are opening up faster than one can count, especially in Toronto, Canada. I drool just thinking of that huge block of beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, veal, or mixed meats such as stewed lamb and beef, turning slowly on a circular spit as the juices drip down the side.

The server then slices loads of the meat from the slab and places it on a grilled pita, naan, Israeli taboun bread, or flatbread and adds your choice of ingredients. I love mine with tabbouleh, fattoush(not 'fat tush' LOL), cucumber, tomato, and topped with hummus, tahini, purple onions, iceberg lettuce, and amba, which is a tangy pickled mango sauce.

There are more types that can be listed, but I guarantee that once you have one, you'll return soon for more.

Answer: spruce beer

Using evergreen needles in beverages was first introduced by the indigenous peoples of North America to keep scurvy under control during winter months when fresh fruit and vitamin C sources were unavailable. The hint "coniferous beer" in the question, should have steered you to "spruce beer", since "birch" is of the deciduous variety. Honey lagers and stout have alcohol content and the question further stated that it was a "non-alcoholic" beer we were looking for. Spruce beer indeed tastes like spruce tree and has a distinct spruce flavour with lots of carbonation. To get it here in Eastern Canada, one must cross the border into Quebec or live down east in the Maritimes as it is not available in other parts of Canada, probably because its flavour is not appreciated in eastern provinces and it did not sell well enough to keep in stock in Ontario and other eastern provinces. If you are a soda pop connoisseur like myself, I strongly suggest you try this flavour if you ever get the opportunity.