What do people eat in Bhutan?

Mealtime

The staple diet is red rice, buckwheat, wheat, maize, pork, beef, chicken, yak meat, cheese, and chilies, which are eaten as vegetables and not as spices. Yak butter and cheese provide important calories in cold highlands. Chili peppers are a favorite ingredient in Bhutanese cuisine. Meat dishes, mainly pork, beef, and yak, are lavishly spiced with chilies, and it is common to see bright red peppers drying on rooftops in the sun.

Emadatse (a dish made of chili, cottage cheese, and herbs) is considered, unofficially, the national dish. Salted butter tea, or suja, is served on all social occasions. Chang, a local beer, and arra, a spirit distilled from rice, maize, wheat, or barley, are also common and widely favored. Doma, or betel nut is offered as a customary gesture of greeting.

Popular Bhutan Recipes

Cucumbers with Onion and Cheese - Side Dish
Ema Datshi (Chili and Cheese) - Side Dish
Hapai Hantue (Buckwheat Dumplings with Bok Choy and Poppy Seed Filling) - Main Dish
Kewa Datshi (Potatoes and Cheese) - Side Dish
Pork Fing (Pork with Bean Threads and Chili Peppers) - Main Dish

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