Bhutanese food is unlike any other food you’ll ever eat.
In this article I’m going to show you 25 of the very best Bhutanese foods. So prepare yourself to dive deep into the amazing (and little bit recognized) food of Bhutan!
Initially, exactly what is Bhutanese food?
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When you’re in Bhutan you’ll consume a variety of Bhutanese, Tibetan, Nepali, and Indian food, which are all typical and well represented throughout Bhutan.
However, for the functions of this list, I’ve aimed to stick basically to authentic Bhutanese food meals, although there are absolutely some crossovers, especially with Tibet.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this post, and if you ever have a possibility to attempt Bhutanese food, please attempt it out– you’ll remain in for a remarkable food experience.
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Ema datshi
We’ll begin with the most well-known Bhutanese food of them all: ema datshi, which is chilies and cheese
You’ll eat ema datshi not only everyday when you’re in Bhutan, however likely for almost every meal when you’re in Bhutan. The chilies, which can be either fresh green chilies or dry red chilies, are sliced lengthwise, and prepared with datshi, which is local Bhutanese cheese, and plenty of butter for great measure.
Although the basic active ingredients stay the same, the more you consume ema datshi, the more you’ll understand that no two ema datshi’s are the very same: every cook has their own variation, some being lighter or more watery, others being richer and more sticky with cheese.
Kewa datshi- Bhutanese potatoes and cheese
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Kewa datshi
Kewa is potato, so kewa datshi is potatoes and Bhutanese cheese It shocked me by how comparable kewa datshi is to a dish just like scalloped potatoes.
The potatoes are typically sliced into thin pieces, then sautéed down with cheese and great deals of butter. Often cooks will toss in a couple of chilies or tomatoes, however usually, this is a Bhutanese dish that’s pretty moderate, but simply focuses on potatoes and cheese.
Shamu datshi-mushrooms and cheese
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Shamu datshi
A 3rd staple cheese dish in Bhutanese food is shamu datshi, cheese with mushrooms.
Being a chili addict, ema datshi is my individual preferred variation of a Bhutanese veggie cheese meal, however shamu datshi was a close second. The mushrooms, which can be any range of regional Bhutanese Himalayan mushroom, are again, prepared into a tacky saucy stew along with butter.
Much like with all the other variations of Bhutanese datshi, you eat shamu datshi along with rice.
Shakam ema datshi-dried beef with chilies and cheese
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Shakam ema datshi
If you haven’t already discovered, there’s simply about no chance you can go to Bhutan and eat Bhutanese food without eating great deals of cheese. Datshi will probably among the very first words you discover in Dzongkha.
Shakam is Bhutanese dried beef, which is among the most popular of meats. The beef is dried and protected so it tastes similar to beef jerky, but thicker, and not entirely dehydrated.
For shakam datshi, dried beef is cut into bite sized pieces and simmered with cheese and butter. What a combination this is.
Shakam paa- beef and chilies and radish
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Shakam paa
Shakam paa is a fantastic Bhutanese food of dried beef cooked with dried chilies and sometimes pieces of radish.
Throughout my month staying in Bhutan, shakam paa quickly turned into one of my favorite protein meals of choice. Again, the beef is slightly chewy from being dried and maintained, and it’s integrated with great deals of dry chilies.
Something I enjoyed about Bhutanese cooking is how the chilies are just tossed in whole– don’t worry about slicing things up and making them look quite– you get the entire chilies in Bhutan, incredible.
Shakam shukam datshi-dried beef, white chilies, cheese
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Shakam shukam datshi
Shakam shukam datshi is a rather unusual dish that you will not discover at too numerous dining establishments in Bhutan, but when I had it for the very first time at a local restaurant in Thimphu, I instantly fell in love with the combination and specifically with the special white chilies
You probably acknowledge shakam and datshi already– chilies and cheese– but shukam are Bhutanese dried white chilies. So this Bhutanese dish includes cuts of dried beef cooked with cheese and white chilies. The white chilies advertisement an extraordinary sour spice which is quite unique.
Phaksha paa-pork and chilies
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Phaksha paa
Along with beef and yak, pork is also extensively enjoyed throughout Bhutan, maybe one of the most of all meats.
For phaksha paa, slices of pork are stir fried with entire red dry chilies and in some cases some mountain vegetables as well. The result is another staple Bhutanese dish that goes terrific with rice and combined in with some datshi meals.
Sikam paa-the supreme Bhutanese bacon
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Sikam paa
Do you like bacon? Sikam paa resembles bacon on the next level, and from my experience, this is a dish that many Bhutanese love with enthusiasm.
You’ll see strands of half transparent pork tummy hanging in the sun to dry– that’s sikam. The pork, which has quite an impressive ratio of fat, is dried in the sun. For sikam paa, the dried pork stubborn belly is then is fried up with dried chilies.
I need to admit, sikam paa was pushing my oily food limits meter when I was in Bhutan. However a little piece at any meal, plus a lot of the dry chilies, was what I most enjoyed about this well-known Bhutanese meal.
Yaksha shakam-dried yak
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Yaksha shakam
If there’s a meat that can be argued as better than dried beef, it’s dried yak meat. Yak is comparable tasting to beef, however it has a bit of a different scent (without being too gamey), and it apparently is quite nutritional.
For yaksha shakam, the yak meat is dried into a jerky like meat and it can be cooked in a number of different ways. One of the finest variations of dried yak meat that I consumed in Bhutan was dried yak cut up and cooked with fermented yak cheese. It was a Bhutanese dish of dreams.
Goep-Bhutanese style tripe
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Goep
If you like tripe, goep in Bhutan, pieces of tripe stir fried with dried chilies, green onions, and sometimes small veggies, is an excellent meal.
Much like a lot of other well-known Bhutanese meals, what I liked most about consuming g0ep in Bhutan are all the dried chilies that are included in this meal. The tripe can be a little on the chewy side, but that’s the genuine texture of tripe.
Juma-traditional Bhutanese sausage
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Juma
Juma is a type of typical Bhutanese sausage made with minced meat, rice, and some light spices all filled into an intestines wrapper.
The very first thing I might taste on my very first bite of juma was the wonderful citrusy zing of Sichuan pepper. Besides that, many variations of Bhutanese juma I tasted were a little plain tasting, however really meaty.
Gondo datshi-the ultimate rushed eggs
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Gondo datshi
Butter egg fry, or gondo datshi, is like the ultimate Bhutanese rushed eggs you can picture.
Eggs, are rushed up with datshi cheese, and a big quantity of butter, and in some cases smidgens of dried chili. The result is a really condensed rushed egg cheese mixture that is aromatic from butter and packed with heartiness.
If you have some Bhutanese butter egg fry, some chili sauce and a mound of Himalayan red rice, you’re in for a wonderful easy meal.
Jasha maru-Bhutanese chicken stew
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Jasha maru
Jasha maru is Bhutanese chicken stew, or often called a chicken curry.
Among the tastes I enjoy a lot about Bhutanese jasha maru is the noticeable ginger taste, that nearly every version of the meal had that I tried. The actual dry spice flavor is rather moderate, but the ginger is exactly what actually gives this meal its essence.
Momos-the most typical of all Bhutanese quick treats/ meals
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Momos
Momos are dumplings that are commonly eaten from India to Nepal to Bhutan and referred to as a Tibetan food– generally the entire Himalayan area– and even broader, they are very much like any type of dumpling all over the world, probably stemming from China.
Momos are easily the most typical of all dining establishment and street food snacks that you’ll discover in Bhutan They are served piping hot, filled with minced meat, cheese, or veggies, and taken in with lots of Bhutanese chili sauce called ezay.
You can get momos freshly steamed or also deep fried momos, which are fried in oil after being steamed. Let’s simply say, you’ll remain in no short supply of momos when you check out Bhutan.
Hoentay-buckwheat dumplings of Haa Valley, Bhutan.
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Hoentay
Understood particularly for stemming from Haa Valley in Bhutan, hoentay are similar to momos, however they are made with a buckwheat dough wrapper. The dumplings are typically filled with a mix of regional spinach or turnip leaves and cheese, and again, they can either be steamed or fried.
When I remained in Haa Valley for a couple of days, I delighted in various plates of hoentay, which are hearty and filling, and are specifically good when drowned in Bhutanese chili sauce (ezay).
Lom- turnip leaves
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Lom
Due to the harsh winter conditions in many locations of Bhutan, veggies can in some cases be scarce in the winter season. Lom, which are turnip leaves, are among the few vegetables that can be dried and preserved and consumed throughout the year. The real turnips themselves are fed to the livestock.
For lom, it can be sautéed by itself, or prepared with some sikam (dried pork) to give it some additional scrumptious taste.
I truly enjoyed eating lom when I spent some time in Phobjikha Valley. At the farm house I remained at, they had turnip leaves hanging above the wood burning fire, drying and prepared to re-hydrate and eat at any point throughout winter.
Khatem-bitter gourd
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Khatem
I’ve been amazed and liked eating bitter melon/ gourd for many years now, which is called khtem in Bhutan. Something about consuming something so bitter, which in some cases kind of throws off your palate, is interesting to me.
In Bhutan I noticed mostly Indian bitter melon instead of the longer Chinese biter melon. Bitter melon in Bhutanese food is frequently sliced into thin chip like pieces and fried with butter and a little seasoning. I had it in Bhutan for breakfast a few times.
Jaju-Bhutanese milk soup
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Jaju
Jaju is Bhutanese milk and vegetable soup. It’s frequently made with some type of local spinach or turnip leaves or any variety of light leafy veggies. The soup broth includes milk and butter. In general, the taste is generally quite mellow and plain, however it works out together to supplement a complete Bhutanese feast.
When I was in Bhutan I ate some variations of jaju that were extremely light while others included a bit of cheese to make them heartier and more abundant.
Goen hogay- Bhutanese cucumber salad
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Goen hogay
Although lots of Bhutanese meals can be pretty meat heavy, goen hogay is a traditional Bhutanese cucumber salad.
Cucumber is sliced and blended with chili flakes, tomato, cilantro, onions, Sichuan pepper, and a fall apart of datshi cheese for extra flavor. In some cases some additional oil is likewise contributed to the recipe to provide it a dressing like sauce.
I found goen hogay to be a very rejuvenating Bhutanese vegetarian dish and bought it at every possibility I could. I particularly took pleasure in the Sichuan pepper zing it frequently includes.
Khur-le-buckwheat pancakes
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Khur-le
Particularly typical as a Bhutanese breakfast food and for on the go consuming in Bhutan, khur-le is a Bhutanese pancake made from buckwheat, wheat, or barley flour.
You generally consume khur-le together with Bhutanese primary meals, like ema datshi or shakam datshi, or perhaps simply with eggs and ezay (chili sauce). When I remained in Haa Valley, Bhutan, I ate khur-le simply about every day at my home-stay for breakfast.
They have a spongy texture, however are a bit more hearty and filling than a white wheat flour pancake. They are the type of pancake you desire to be consuming in a cold climate.
Puta- Bhutan buckwheat noodles
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Puta
Particularly typical in the Bumthang area of Bhutan, puta are noodles made from extremely healthy buckwheat that can be grown in high altitudes. For puta, the noodles are prepared and boiled, and often prior to being served the noodles are stir fried in mustard oil in addition to a light spices of salt and Sichuan pepper.
Puta are a conventional Bhutanese staple, and they truly advised me of Japanese soba noodles.
Tshampa-flour dough
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Tshampa
Made from whole wheat flour, tshampa is a dough starch that’s consumed as a staple filler, that advised me of eating ugali in East Africa. It’s very starchy and extremely heavy, and has a thick dough consistency.
In order to consume tshampa, you can roll it into a ball in your fingers, and consume it together with any number of primary Bhutanese dishes like ema datshi or shakam paa.
I only consumed tshampa as soon as in Bhutan, at the Folk Heritage Museum Restaurant in Thimphu, and the owner explained to me that this is among the Bhutanese foods that’s conventional, however not really popular any longer, yet it’s healthy and hearty.
Zaow- crispy rice treat
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Zaow
At practically every regional house I checked out in Bhutan, they would offer milk tea (chai) or suja (butter tea) plus a common basket of puffed rice understood as zaow.
Zaow is not too puffy but more on the crispy side instead of the puffy side– it has a texture nearly like the crunchiness of un-popped popcorn. It’s a Bhutanese snack food that’s extremely typical and it goes so well together with a cup of tea.
Often zaow is eaten with chunks of butter combined in. The most memorable version of zaow I was served in Bhutan was in Phobjikha Valley, and it came with a frighteningly big piece of butter on the top!
Chogo (chhurpi)-hardest cheese in the world?
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Chogo (chhurpi)
Chogoo (or chhurpi) just might be the most rock hard, yet edible, cheese treat in the world.
This dried yak cheese, which is likewise common throughout Tibet and Nepal in the Himalayas, is the supreme conservation of cheese, and it’s so hard you have to chomp on it for hours prior to it starts to dissolve on your tongue.
It’s the kind of treat you consume when you’re strolling through the rugged mountains and you have to be chewing on something. You’ll see strands of chogoo hanging like necklaces around markets in Bhutan. Give it a shot!
Ezay-possibly my favorite of all Bhutanese food.
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Ezay
There’s no way I would assemble a list of Bhutanese food without paying complete respect to ezay, which refers to any kind of Bhutanese chili sauce.
Now you might be thinking, chili sauce is not actually a food … but in Bhutan, ezay is so compulsory to consume with every meal that it can be considered a dish of its own. And in some cases it’s almost more like a salad than a chili sauce.
From my first meal to my last meal in Bhutan, I could not get sufficient ezay. And I do not care exactly what I’m eating; ezay actually opts for and complements every Bhutanese food you can envision.
Much like ema datshi, there are no 2 ezays that taste the same. Everybody in Bhutan has their own dish and combination of components. A couple of my favorites include dried chilies, Sichuan pepper, tree tomato (remarkable component), and a sprinkle of cheese for extra flavoring.
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