Thai Village Cuisine

what makes Middle Eastern cuisine different from other cuisines like indian,chinese,japanese,thai etc?

jus want to know the differences and similarities of these cuisines.thanks

Public Comments

1. you know how italian, chinese, japanese food smells so good? Well middle eastern food smells far from it. I love middle eastern food because of the spice combination used in many dishes. It tastes great, but smells awful.
2. Like all cuisines, it's not completely different from those you listed. There are similarities, but of course they taste different. Chinese vs. Middle Eastern: -I would say the flavors are just very different. Chinese food (even authentic) is saltier. In some cases, it's spicier. Some Middle Easter cuisine can be spicy, and some Chinese food isn't, but I would say in general Chinese is spicier. -I haven't seen certain ingredients in Chinese food, like grape leaves, chick peas, lamb, yogurt (probably others). These are used often in Middle Eastern cuisine. -Chinese food uses the soy bean in many ways, I haven't seen this in Middle Eastern food. -Chinese uses sauces thickened with corn starch, again, haven't seen it in ME food. Japanese vs. Middle Eastern -Japanese food uses a lot more sea foods, not just fish or shell fish, but also sea weed. -Like Chinese, use of soy beans, haven't seen use of chick peas, yogurt, lamb, grape leaves, flat wheat based bread. Indian vs. Middle Eastern -Probably the most similar to ME cuisine out of all those you listed -Generally much spicier than ME food -Uses less meat than ME food (general statement, but I think it's overall correct) -Difference in cooking oil; usually ghee in Indian, I think usually oil in ME (kind probably depends on region) -I'm Indian and I have eaten a lot of ME food, but I'm a little stumped to tell you any big differences. They are quite similar in terms of ingredients that would be used: beans, lentils, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, chicken, lamb, tomatoes, potatoes, rice, wheat based flat breads, cucumber, onion ... Well, in Indian food usually beef is not used (although for non-Hindu Indians outside of India it may be). There are some spices/flavorings like asafoetida, coconut milk, tamarind and ginger that I've never had in ME cuisine. Also, peanuts are used in Indian food, I don't know about ME. Thai vs. ME -Also uses peanut, tamarind and coconut milk like Indian food -Uses soy beans and may use cornstarch thickened sauces like Chinese and Japanese -I think there is more seafood in Thai cuisine than in ME. It's much lighter on the meat and heavier on the seafood. Almost every dish uses fish sauce, and fish, shrimp, and shellfish are common ingredients. ME food also varies widely regionally. I've seen some that has dill, basil, cilantro, mint. The only one of those that in my experience doesn't appear in the other cuisines is dill. Hope it helps!