COMFORT FOOD FOR HUNGRY TRAVELLERS

 

Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture. Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called 'comfort food'—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's poached egg or famous chicken soup. However, for travelers comfort food is different, it is what you easily get, at a reasonable price, just outside your hotel or a tourist spot.

While we rely on food to sustain us physically, we also depend on it for its comforting properties — sometimes a dish just knows how to convey so much more than words ever could. From greasy fish and chips in Great Britain to the lasagna-like moussaka in Greece, certain dishes undeniably make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Whether you're looking for something to fill you up on a chilly fall day or looking for a delicious dish for your travel memoir, these comfort foods are sure to hit the spot.

For a certain type of traveller, food is everything. You don’t plan your holidays around weather patterns. You don’t consider festivals or other events. You think purely about food. What do I want to eat in 2024? You can safely count me in this elite group. So, these are my favourites, as I have trotted the world:

Fish and Chips

Fish & Chips, Australia, U.K, New Zealand, Ireland

In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, fish and chips are usually sold by independent restaurants and take-aways known as fish and chip shops. Outlets range from small affairs to chain restaurants. Frozen fish such as Basa fillets are particularly popular for fish and chips in Australia because of their neutral taste, low cost and moist flesh. However, the pairing of fish and chips has long been considered a British staple. The irresistible combination of a hunk of battered cod resting atop a mound of steaming hot chips (French fries in America) is the quintessential British comfort food.

Khinkali

Khinkali – Georgia

These are Georgian dumplings common in this Eastern European country. This is one of the oldest wine-producing nations in the world. It’s also a place where flavours and ingredients from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are deftly deployed in a range of unique dishes that form part of a food-obsessed whole. I could rattle off dish after dish that I’m in love with in Georgia, but for now I will stick with khinkali, the Georgian soup dumplings that are like Chinese xiao long bao meets Turkish manti. Meaty, peppery, umami-packed goodness.

Moussaka

Moussaka, Greece

Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (brinjals) and potatoes, a rich, tomato mixed beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food. Moussaka (mousaka) is without a doubt, Greece’s most popular, traditional dish! You’ll be hard pressed to find a tavern that doesn’t serve it or a household that doesn’t make it on special occasions!

Chicken Shawarma

Falafel / Shawarma, Middle East

Falafels are deep-fried balls traditionally found in Middle Eastern cuisine. They are mostly made from chickpeas, fava beans or a combination of the two. Most recipes contain a range of herbs, spices and other ingredients, such as onion, parsley, coriander, garlic purée, cumin, black pepper, flour and vegetable oil. Many falafel restaurants also serve a meat counterpart of the falafel known as Shawarma, which is usually lamb (but can be chicken or turkey) roasted on a spit and shaved off for sandwiches.

Spaghetti and meatballs, Italy, U.S.A

Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs. Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigrants in the USA. Meatballs usually comprise a mixture of ingredients and are covered with a sauce, so they could be savory, sweet, slightly salty, tart, garlicky, spicy (and how many types of spices are there?). Meatball flavor also depends on how they're cooked. They might have a smokey, charred, or raw meat flavor.

Pizza, Italy, U.S.A

Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States. Later on it spread to all the countries by American food chains.

Ramen noodles

Ramen, Japan

This Japanese noodle soup is also hugely popular in Australia, with dedicated restaurants opening across the country. But still, the ramen outside Japan is but a mere sliver of the breadth and brilliance of ramen culture in Japan, and the more I know about this dish, the longer I want to spend in its homeland diving deep into bowl after bowl.

The variations on ramen are endless: soup bases made with pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, vegetables or combinations of two or three; thin noodles, wavy noodles, fat noodles, all bouncy with alkaline water; toppings of chashu pork, poached chicken, pickled bamboo shoots, marinated eggs and more; oils that add a perfumed flavour punch. This dish is an art and a science and I want more.

The Indian Thali

Thali, India

Here’s another cherished national staple with an infinite number of variations. A thali is an Indian set meal of various dishes, with rice and bread, served on a platter (the word thali means plate). The dishes you will be served on your thali vary widely depending on your location, from the vegetable-heavy classics of southern India to the meatier, creamier curries of the north.

Wherever you find yourself in the subcontinent, this is the ideal way to eat cheaply and to eat well, enjoying a perfect sample of local cuisine. Having recently gained more of an appreciation for regional differences in India, I would love to indulge in a thali tour of the country to sample its finest. I wish to dedicate a future blog to the various thalis of India!

Asado

Asado, Argentina

There’s a lot that can be said for simplicity. Meat and fire. Two ingredients but an entire culture. That’s an asado in Argentina, a multi-course, full-day extravaganza of meat cooked on a wood-fired parrilla, with little time for the frippery of vegetables. You’ll find chorizo and morcilla sausages on the grill here, plus sweetbreads, short-ribs, flank steak and maybe even a rib-eye.

This is a classic and cherished style of cooking that is only now becoming popular in other parts of the world. It’s also a tradition and an important social occasion, which is what travelling for food should be all about.

Banh Mi

Bánh Mì, Vietnam

Baguettes may have been adopted from the French, but bánh mì is as Vietnamese as it comes. Paté and margarine are spread swiftly across the soft, chewy interior of a baguette and later, the sandwich is loaded with pickled vegetables, fresh cilantro, pork belly, pork floss and cucumber. Sink your teeth into the crunchy crust and watch the warm roll give way to a whole scheme of textures.

Som tam

Som tam (papaya salad), Thailand

This deliciously addictive spicy papaya salad is one of Thailand’s most famous street food dishes and something of national institution. Although som tam is associated with the north-east region of Isaan, the dish can be found at hawker stalls and markets across the country. If you pass a food stall with a mortar and pestle, there’s a good chance the vendor will be selling som tam. Unripe green papaya is mixed with a number of other ingredients including chilies, dried shrimps, green beans, peanuts and tomatoes. It’s the chilies that give this dish its kick and for some Thai people som tam isn’t som tam unless there are enough chilies in there to make your eyes water!

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng, Indonesia

Nasi goreng is a type of fried rice dish that hails from Indonesia - you might have tried it when on holiday in Bali. It's usually made with leftover rice, vegetables and sometimes meat or prawns that caramelise as they cook. It gets most of its flavour from garlic, shallots and sweet soy sauce. Although similar to fried rice from other countries in Asia, what makes nasi goreng different is sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). Nasi goreng is highly influenced by the Chinese immigrants in Indonesia.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak, Malaysia

Nasi lemak is a Malay dish with fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and betel nut. It is commonly found all over Malaysia, where it is considered a national dish. It is also a native cuisine in neighbouring areas with significant Malay populations such as Singapore, Brunei and southern Thailand. In Indonesia it can be found in many parts of Sumatra; Notably Riau Islands and the Malay region of Medan. Sambal, anchovy, peanuts and boiled eggs are found in this traditional favourite. This is the most traditional version. The Nasi Lemak Stall can be served with fried eggs, cockle - a local favourite, Sambal Squids, Sambal Fish, Chicken or Chicken / Beef Rising, Squid Fritter or even Fried Chicken or Fish.

 

While travelling the world we have noticed that people connect to their cultural or ethnic group through food patterns. Food is often used as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The areas in which families live and where their ancestors originated influence food like and dislikes.

 

So, are any specific sensory cues can be identified that are especially strongly associated with those foods that are typically considered as comfort foods? Surely, there are. Are there particular tastes, textures, smells, etc., for instance, that tend to be overrepresented in the most commonly-mentioned comfort foods? Yes again, for different people with different tastes, likes and dislikes, their comfort food changes. What is however common in all is that they are easy to get, easy on our purse and easy to digest and all these three qualities are priceless for a traveller.

 

If you have tasted some unique food during your travel please write about it in the Comment section.