With unattractive choices in meals and a busy lifestyle, it’s certainly not easy to eat healthy in this day and age. However, here are our top five exotic foods that taste exceptionally well and are also good for your health:
1. Sushi
The traditionally Japanese dish called sushi consists of all healthy ingredients, blending vinegar seasoned rice with a multitude of vegetables and seafood, as well as raw fish. The name of the dish stands for “vinegar rice” in the Japanese language, with “Su” being the word for vinegar while the second part, “Shi”, is a shortening of the Japanese word “Meshi”, which means “cooked rice”. Most people only think of raw fish when they hear the word sushi, especially when it comes to Americans, but that is not true. In reality only some types of sushi use raw fish as an ingredient, while other recipes can use vegetables, fruit, or even cooked fish. The only limit to what sushi can contain is that of the cook’s imagination.
2. Nasi Goreng
Nasi Goreng is another exotic dish, popular especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. The basis of the dish consists of pre-cooked rice, garlic, shallot and the popular soy sauce, all garnished with a couple of spring onions. In preparing the meal the rice used is cooked before-hand and left to cool, which usually means using rice cooked a day earlier. When ordering this meal in restaurants, you can expect to also be served other items like fried chicken or eggs, satay, vegetables or kerupuk.
3. Spanish Paella
Combining a multitude of natural and healthy ingredients such as rice, chicken broth, garlic, red peppers, olive oil, chopped onions, tomatoes and a selection of either chicken or shellfish, this tasty dish originates from the country of Spain. Preparation is done by letting the garlic, along with leeks and tarragon simmer with the rice, vegetables and meat, all until the dish becomes a thick and delicious meal. The principles of Mediterranean food preparation are very evident in the making of Paella: not using salt as seasoning in favor of garlic or onions, using low fat olive oil as well as grains and lean proteins.
4. Greek Soulvaki (Meat Kabobs) with Salad
Preparing the exotic dish of Soulvaki means marinating chicken or lamb in olive oil, lemon juice and some garlic, all of which are sodium free. The meat is then grilled on a skewer with sliced onion and green bell peppers. The most common and healthy side dish for Soulvaki consists of rice flavored with turmeric, an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory spice. Served with the main dish is also the traditional Greek salad, a nutritious combination of black olives, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, romaine lettuce and crumbled feta, a type of Greek cheese. Another common addition to a good Soulvaki is non-fat yogurt sauce, mint or dill flavored, that can be used as seasoning or dipping sauce.
5. Tamale
Cooking this Mexican dish involves stuffing a sweet or savory filling inside a corn dough and steaming it until firm. The dish is so popular in its native Mexico, it has almost 1000 variations on how it can be prepared, but the most common recipes include pork or chicken as the main meat of the filling, while adding green or red salsa or mole. There’s even the tamale de dulce, a sweet tamale cooked by using pink colored sugar in the dough and dry fruit such as raisins as filling.
International cuisine has lots of exotic dishes to offer, all using low-fat proteins and sodium free seasonings. If you’ve had the pleasure of enjoying the amazing flavor of any of these dishes in your little escapade to a far away country, you will certainly want to try recreating the taste of these exotic meals in your own kitchen. And if you haven’t traveled yet, that’s even more of a reason to try a new culinary experience.
This article has been contributed by Aishwarya Vohra from Offshore Ally. She’s a part of the company’s virtual assistant and SEO link builders team. Aishwarya has varied interests which range from SEO and Internet marketing to food and travel. Connect with her via Twitter.