5 Popular Soft Foods From Around The World

Soft foods are delicious, comforting, and easy to chew. There’s just one problem: they’re incredibly hard to find in many countries around the world. In America and parts of Europe, this isn’t much of an issue, but in other regions, you may have trouble finding restaurants that serve softer items like oatmeal or mashed potatoes (or even soft tacos!). That said, there are still plenty of places you can visit to get your fill of delicious soft food!

Spain: Patatas Bravas

This dish of potatoes, fried in oil and doused with a hot sauce made from paprika, is said to have originated in Barcelona. While you can order patatas bravas with chicken or ham added on top, it’s traditionally an appetizer served to mark fiestas and other special occasions.

Turkey: Çiğköfte

Turkey is known for its wide variety of delicious, exotic foods. One such dish is çiğköfte, which translates to meatball in English. Çiğköfte consists of lamb or beef that has been ground and mixed with onion, parsley, mint and water then shaped into balls.

South Korea: Japchae (잡채)

A staple Korean dish, Japchae is a stir-fried noodle dish that includes vegetables such as carrots and onions. It’s made from sweet potato noodles called naengmyeon, which is cooked with sesame oil and beef or chicken broth. Because Japchae is often made for special occasions like holidays and birthdays, it’s also referred to as celebration noodles. Learn more about its origins in our other post: Celebrations in Korea.

Philippines: Halo Halo

Made from native ingredients like red beans and Leche flan, Halo-Halo is a popular Filipino dessert. This cold dessert is served in a hollowed-out half-grapefruit (the name translates to mix).

Thailand: Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai (ก๋ําเขียวหวานไก่)

A green curry chicken soup. Green curry (วําเข็มแดง) itself is made from chopped-up hot peppers, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and shallots cooked in coconut milk. It’s sweet but has a spicy kick to it. This dish will quickly become your favourite comfort food; especially when you need to cheer up or if you feel sick.