~ {{ The Fried Foods from Around the World thread }} ~

[Hurricane Annie]

 Here in the Antipodes we have  "green bananas",  used by our Pasifika brethren from the Islands, for cooking. They are bigger firmer greener banana  used much like potato or yam.  Baked, toasted, boiled.  I was never brave enough to try, when I lived in an area where shops  sold them as staple.

 As an aside; while studying Ghana at primary school [age around 9yr], our teacher  cooked us up a batch  of chopped bananas [in place of plantain] and paprika. I  have experimented at home since, but it has never tasted the same as on the old electric fry pan  in the classroom

Seems to me that "Green Bananas" would be a better match for the Ghanian dish w/ hot red pepper powder instead of paprika (sweets pepper). Ripe Cavendish bananas are too sweet and soft. You want something starchy. Also in the West we need to move away from Cavendish Bananas. They're one breath away from falling vulnerable to one particular disease, because they're all clones from each other.

The irony is there are over 4000 (?) species of bananas of all colours and sizes. We should not be in this position. The global production of bananas is dominated by just a handful (less than 5) companies in the world, all of them using the same Cavendish banana clone. People in the 1st World need to learn to eat "different foods."

 Now you have me off on a gardening tangent....  I will only briefly divert down this path...

  I was given a scrubby sprout  of ornamental banana.  It was a small piece  that nearly died a few times, ripped out by neighbours dog, ridden  by children, moved a couple of times  - [long story short] it grew higher than the house, had a stem a a few feet in diameter  and had a  huge purple flower  that looked like a giant feathered  elephants trunk to me.   My  female friends  took another perspective shall we say, got the Vapours over it   and insisted I chop it down and never grow it in my front yard again.

 Back to the fried foods - our fruit and vegetables have been modified so much for commercial use, that what he have now are a  pitiful pallid selection that are unrecognisable  from the original.  So many of our weeds today were the  nutritious sautéed salads of yester years.  Until recent times people ate off the land  and gathered  from the meadows, supplemented by the odd rabbit  and water fowl.  We have lost  vast knowledge  of what is edible, what is not  and how to process it. To make it palatable.  There is a movement towards Urban Foraging, it is still considered eccentric and frowned upon

[Mercury Wells]

Pipian Verde (Pumpking seed sauce/paste)?

[J. Wilhelm]

Pipian Verde (Pumpking seed sauce/paste)?

Well, that certainly qualifies as fried, though it's a sauce to be placed on meat, poultry or fish. If it were the pumpkin seeds alone, as a snack, those are fried and known as Pepitas. As Pipián, the pumpkin seed sauce is by definition one of many types of Mole (mole being the native Mexican name for "sauce."). On Mole Poblano, the hero of the paste would be various nuts, peanuts as well as peppers, chocolate and spices. You have many variations of Mole depending on which types of ingredients you use. When you use pumpkin seeds and Tomatillos (small green tomatoes) then it's known as Mole Verde (Green Mole), I'm thinking that's the same as Pipián Verde. Most Moles including Pipián are made by frying the ground ingredients repeatedly and continuously - with the exception of Guacamole which is very very different (as most people know it's made from avocado which is never cooked) .

Making Mole from scratch is a day long procedure, and guaranteed to smoke the house and trigger smoke alarms, inviting the Fire Department to your doorstep. Most people just buy the paste ready made at the market... Or of you're lazy like me buy the paste in jars at the supermarket.

*********Edit

Mole is considered to be a prehispanic food, and two states in Mexico are considered the most important in Mole history. One state is Puebla which is just about 30 miles from Mexico City in the Valley of Mexico. The other state is Oaxaca in Southwestern Mexico,  which is considered to have the greatest concentration of native people and culture.

The video below show the *most traditional* way of making Mole. Outside of very traditional Native communities, few people make Mole like this; it's not very convenient for modern life, but the video is an educational production made (idk how long ago) by a chocolate company to promote their product, and you can see the roasting of seeds and spices on a "Comal" plate , grinding of cocoa and nuts and tomatoes with "Petates" made from volcanic rock. Then you see the ingredients fried in oil inside "Ollas" the traditional pottery used by natives before the conquest. More modern methods use machines to produce powders and pastes you can buy at the market. Nestlé at one point purchased one of the most famous brands (Doña María) which you can buy at a supermarket (sold on a jar). I can get those jars here in Texas at my local super.

Making mole negro sauce in Oaxaca, Mexico

If you skip to 10:10 on this video, you can see the traditional presentation of Mole Poblano, Mole Rojo and Pipián (Mole Verde) on a single plate.

Gringos Eat Comida Poblana (Mole, tacos árabes, camotes, and cemitas)

[Synistor 303]

I made a chicken/chocolate mole once... Mighty were the preparations, and long and arduous the making of the dish. Tasted amazing! The only 'problem' was it had bananas in it and our daughter didn't like bananas, so I didn't make it again. I might give it another shot soon...

Now tell me, it it pronounced 'mole' as in hole, or something more fancy like moo-lay?

[J. Wilhelm]

I made a chicken/chocolate mole once... Mighty were the preparations, and long and arduous the making of the dish. Tasted amazing! The only 'problem' was it had bananas in it and our daughter didn't like bananas, so I didn't make it again. I might give it another shot soon...

Now tell me, it it pronounced 'mole' as in hole, or something more fancy like moo-lay?

The E is not mute. Use straight Latin pronunciation of vowels. "Mo" is pronounced like in the word "modern" . ""Le" is pronounced as in "Les", short for Lester.

You might want to look at different recipes online. Mole is a bit like a stew, there are many kinds and you can throw just about anything into it. The primary ingredients are chile peppers, some kind of nut, pumpkin seeds. Poblano adds chocolate, pecans, peanuts and tomato. Green (or Verde aka Pipián) is mostly pumpkin seeds, spice chile peppers and green tomato sauce, which makes it a bit bitter, children won't like the green kind, but adults will like it. The most basic Poblano style mole (the one with Chocolate) you buy in a jar is little more than ground peanuts, chile peppers, spices, chocolate and toasted crackers! Nestlé purchased and briefly owned one of the most popular brands in Mexico (Doña María) just a few years ago, and they began to export to the US for regular non ethnic supermarkets (at least in Southwestern states). Walmart followed suit by importing two different brands, who offer red, green and poblano among other types (like 5 kinds). It's not half bad, actually! You can spruce it up with tomatoes, onion and nuts to make it better, according to online tutorials.

[Melrose]

Whilst respecting the gourmet cuisine on these pages, I feel the thread is incomplete (unless I missed it) without recognising the Chiko Roll.
Wikipedia - Chiko Roll
There. Fixed. You're welcome.And I've just solved the question of lunch today.

[J. Wilhelm]

Whilst respecting the gourmet cuisine on these pages, I feel the thread is incomplete (unless I missed it) without recognising the Chiko Roll.
Wikipedia - Chiko Roll
There. Fixed. You're welcome.And I've just solved the question of lunch today.

From Wiki:

Australian Chiko Roll

The Chiko Roll is an Australian savoury snack invented by Frank McEncroe, inspired by the Chinese spring roll and first sold in 1951 as the "Chicken Roll" despite not actually containing chicken.[1] The snack was designed to be easily eaten on the move without a plate or cutlery. Since 1995 they have been owned by Simplot Australia.

A Chiko Roll's filling is primarily cabbage and barley, as well as carrot, green beans, beef, beef tallow, wheat cereal, celery and onion. This filling is partially pulped and enclosed in a thick egg and flour pastry tube designed to survive handling at football matches. The roll is typically deep-fried in vegetable oil.

You just reminded me of a particular idiosyncrasy in Mexican food. A "quesadilla" in Mexican Spanish refers to a Calzone type of finger food where you fold a soft maize Tortilla around some filling usually meat, potato or vegetable with a  sauce of any kind and chees, or only cheese as a filling, but *always* containing cheese (cheese="queso" in Spanish, the "u" is mute) ), hence the name, "QUESadilla." An alternative  preparation is to use two wheat flour Tortillas and make a sandwich type of arrangement. In either case the Quesadilla is cooked on a griddle which I guess is not far from the definition of frying, as you can use as much or little oil as you may want. In either case, the goal is to crisp up the outside and melt the cheese.

Mexican Quesadilla
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quesadilla

 Now, in Mexico City, however and ONLY in Mexico City, Quesadillas refer to the very same arrangement but with no cheese! The filling can be anything, but if you don't explicitly ask for the cheese, you will not get it! It leads to the redundant plea" Give me a Quesadilla with Queso... "

The Chiko Roll seems more similar to the American" Egg Roll" which is wrapped in a crispy shell, to be filled with the usual cabbage filling of the Chinese Spring Roll, but the Chiko Roll filling is described as all-vegetable. I was wondering if you have to do the same in Australia?...  "Give me a Chiko Roll with chicken"

To make matters more interesting, Egg Rolls do not contain any egg, whatsoever, thus making the Chicko Roll a better Egg Roll... 

Chinese-American Egg Roll
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_roll

The origins of the dish are unclear and remain disputed. Egg rolls are closely related to, but distinct from, the spring rolls served in mainland China, and were first seen in the early 20th century in the United States. An early reference to egg rolls appeared in a 1917 Chinese recipe pamphlet published in the United States, but the dish does not resemble the modern egg roll. The 1917 recipe described a meat and vegetable filling wrapped in an egg omelet, panfried, and served in slices,[6] similar to Gyeran-mari.

Andrew Coe, author of “Chop Suey: A Cultural history of Chinese food in the United States", has stated that the modern American egg roll was probably invented at a Chinese restaurant in New York City in the early 1930s, by one of two chefs who both later claimed credit for the creation: Lung Fong of Lung Fong's, or Henry Low of Port Arthur. According to Coe, Low's recipe, printed in a 1938 cookbook, Cook at Home in Chinese included “bamboo shoots, roast pork, shrimp, scallions, water chestnuts, salt, MSG, sugar, palm oil, and pepper,” but notably did not include cabbage, which is the main filling ingredient in modern egg rolls.

Egg rolls do not typically contain egg in the filling,[8] and the wheat flour wrapper may or may not contain egg.[9] In addition to the disputed origin of the dish, it is unclear how the word "egg" appeared in the name, since the predominant flavor in American egg rolls is cabbage, not eggs. A 1979 Washington Post article speculated that the Chinese word for "egg" sounds very similar to the Chinese word for "spring",[10] but this theory has not been widely adopted.

So apparently Egg rolls have no egg in them... Can you ask for a "Egg Roll with egg??   I prefer my Chiko Rolls with chicken, my Quesadillas with queso and my Egg Rolls with egg!!

[Banfili]

Whilst respecting the gourmet cuisine on these pages, I feel the thread is incomplete (unless I missed it) without recognising the Chiko Roll.
Wikipedia - Chiko Roll
There. Fixed. You're welcome.And I've just solved the question of lunch today.

Created (despite arguments to the contrary from Victoria!) in my old home town of Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales! I still have a Chiko Roll on the odd occasion, especially when I go home for the day!

[J. Wilhelm]

I think it's better if said finger food was created so long ago that no one can claim its invention. Trademarking said food just robs it from its folkloric value. A Big Mac is just a brand applied to a poorly made sandwich.

[Melrose]

Chiko rolls are mass produced, so no options other than salt sprinkled over them or not. They are dropped into a vat of boiling oil for a while (if bought at the chippie), but we can buy them frozen at supermarkets. I get a craving for them now and then so often have a pack in the freezer. I have to die of something.
Quesadillas sound nice though.

[Banfili]

Chiko rolls are mass produced, so no options other than salt sprinkled over them or not. They are dropped into a vat of boiling oil for a while (if bought at the chippie), but we can buy them frozen at supermarkets. I get a craving for them now and then so often have a pack in the freezer. I have to die of something.
Quesadillas sound nice though.

I like to add a little chicken salt - same with fresh cooked potato scallops!

[J. Wilhelm]

Chiko rolls are mass produced, so no options other than salt sprinkled over them or not. They are dropped into a vat of boiling oil for a while (if bought at the chippie), but we can buy them frozen at supermarkets. I get a craving for them now and then so often have a pack in the freezer. I have to die of something.
Quesadillas sound nice though.

Then it sounds like you'd have more variety simply getting Asian Spring Rolls. One really interesting variation of the Egg-Roll or Chika Roll, I found at a restaurant chain is Avocado Rolls. Basically the filling is avocado and some sort of sweet relish before deep frying and then served with a spicy dipping sauce. I'd love to try making those.. The chain in question is "The Cheesecake Factory," what I'd call a hipster "pasta and chicken" chain famous for its desserts that grew exponentially in theUS  in the 1990s and 2000s.

Another chain with creative dishes is the Chinese American chain PF Chang's. I've seen some of their foods sold in the supermarket (I happen to be at the supermarket right now - hence the pictures). I'm sure some variation on this exists the Antipodes.

[J. Wilhelm]

Chiko rolls are mass produced, so no options other than salt sprinkled over them or not. They are dropped into a vat of boiling oil for a while (if bought at the chippie), but we can buy them frozen at supermarkets. I get a craving for them now and then so often have a pack in the freezer. I have to die of something.
Quesadillas sound nice though.

I like to add a little chicken salt - same with fresh cooked potato scallops!

https://mashable.com/2017/01/05/chicken-salt-history-australia/

I had to look they up. It basically sounds like one of several vegetable seasoning "rubs" for steaks and meat in general. I'm curious if I can find something similar.

PS. Welp. It's going to take a bit of time to figure if any of these is similar to Chicken Salt...

[Banfili]

Chiko rolls are mass produced, so no options other than salt sprinkled over them or not. They are dropped into a vat of boiling oil for a while (if bought at the chippie), but we can buy them frozen at supermarkets. I get a craving for them now and then so often have a pack in the freezer. I have to die of something.
Quesadillas sound nice though.

I like to add a little chicken salt - same with fresh cooked potato scallops!

https://mashable.com/2017/01/05/chicken-salt-history-australia/

I had to look they up. It basically sounds like one of several vegetable seasoning "rubs" for steaks and meat in general. I'm curious if I can find something similar.

PS. Welp. It's going to take a bit of time to figure if any of these is similar to Chicken Salt...

J. Wilhelm, if you can't find chicken salt, the next best thing is a sprinkle of chicken stock powder - low salt, if you can get it! Massel is my preferred brand.

[Mercury Wells]

Jianbing

Jianbing (simplified Chinese: 煎饼; traditional Chinese: 煎餅; pinyin: jiānbǐng; literally: 'fried pancake') is a traditional Chinese street food similar to crepes. It is a type of bing generally eaten for breakfast and hailed as "one of China's most popular street breakfasts."[1][2][3] The main ingredients of jianbing are a batter of wheat and grain flour, eggs and sauces.[3] It can be topped with different fillings and sauces such as baocui (薄脆, thin and crispy fried cracker), ham, chopped or diced mustard pickles, scallions and coriander, chili sauce or hoisin sauce depending on personal preference. It is often folded several times before serving.

Jianbing is now spreading to the West in cities such as New York City, Seattle, Austin, Chicago and San Francisco, sometimes with modifications for Western tastes.[4][5]

[Synistor 303]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

[J. Wilhelm]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

Many food customs are geographically and historically idiosyncratic. Especially branded inventions in the 20th century. Americans are particularly unaware that there is no such thing as "Ranch" salad dressing outside of the United States. It's a specific blend of spices including dill in a mayonnaise and buttermilk salad dressing invented by a housing contractor in the 1950s in Alaska, and marketed under the "Hidden Valley Ranch" brand in California. It's now ubiquitous to the point no one realizes this is a trademark (litigation in 1976 settled the ownership of the name and recipe).

Sometimes I feel like that branded products reduce the cultural value of food.

[RJBowman]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

I was surprised that the Root Beer was pretty much North America only. I've also been told that grape jelly, ubiquitous here, is not common in England.

[Mercury Wells]

Manchester style scotch egg

[J. Wilhelm]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

I was surprised that the Root Beer was pretty much North America only. I've also been told that grape jelly, ubiquitous here, is not common in England.

That is starting to change, though. Along with sodas that were not considered palatable in Mexico, for example, like Dr. Pepper.

[Synistor 303]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

I was surprised that the Root Beer was pretty much North America only. I've also been told that grape jelly, ubiquitous here, is not common in England.

That is starting to change, though. Along with sodas that were not considered palatable in Mexico, for example, like Dr. Pepper.

I can understand that - I tried Dr Pepper once... Like pumpkin pie, I was left wondering how anyone could consume it willingly.

Isn't Root Beer what we call Ginger Beer? (Made from ginger root.)

[Sir Henry]

I can understand that - I tried Dr Pepper once... Like pumpkin pie, I was left wondering how anyone could consume it willingly.

Isn't Root Beer what we call Ginger Beer? (Made from ginger root.)

Someone once described Dr Pepper as the world's only prune flavoured fizzy drink - it may not be true but it's a good description.

And Root Beer is sarsparilla- and wintergreen-based (sometimes with liquorice and possibly ginger, but not essentially), very different from Ginger Beer.

[Mercury Wells]

Kulkuls Indian (Goan) Christmas Sweet Curls

Portuguese Filhoses Enroladas.

[Banfili]

Orange sweet potato chips and/or crisps - yum!

[J. Wilhelm]

Chicken salt is sooo good... I was surprised to hear you Americas don't have it.

I was surprised that the Root Beer was pretty much North America only. I've also been told that grape jelly, ubiquitous here, is not common in England.

That is starting to change, though. Along with sodas that were not considered palatable in Mexico, for example, like Dr. Pepper.

I can understand that - I tried Dr Pepper once... Like pumpkin pie, I was left wondering how anyone could consume it willingly.

Isn't Root Beer what we call Ginger Beer? (Made from ginger root.)

Root beer is most definitely not Ginger based. Either Sarsaparilla and/or Sassafras is the main herbal flavour in it as Sir Henry points out (In the US American Sasafrass was used at first, but because it's a very strong medicine, European Sarsaparilla came to substitute it later in the 19th century) . If Dr. Pepper tastes like prune soda, then to me root beer has a licorice - like flavour, and it's - to me - considerably stronger than Dr. Pepper. They're very different yet similar flavours - if that makes any sense, but both ellicit the same kind of "Why are you drinking this?" reaction from first timers, and I'd say they're both very addictive in the long run. I think it's the strength and strangeness of the taste that pulls you back into it. Plus some interesting stuff you can do with ice cream...

How to Make a Root Beer Float from Scratch | Sassafras Maple Brew: HTME: Remix

PS. I don't suggest making *everything* from scratch like that dude in the video, although I loved the process. In the event civilisation collapses, I know I can survive on root beer floats  . You can just go to the supermarket and buy the ice-cream and root beer