Interesting about culinary continua. Some things like kielbasa, cabbage soup, kasza gryczana etc.are popular from Western Poland right the way to Vladivostok.
The bułka z frytkami was thought up by Polish customers of a Kebab stand in Szczecin in 1992, and became a cult hit. Pretty much a well established local tradition now. No connection to British chip butties.
but both were too bland, too rubbery and too unfatty.
There's a trick. You need to squeeze all the water out of it, preferably by first squeezing it and then leaving it with something heavy on top for an hour or so. After that, marinate it with whatever spices/herbs you like, and leave it overnight in the fridge. Next day, it'll be perfect.
I'm quite fond of it because it's very filling and yet it doesn't leave you feeling bloated.
Ah come on, give it a try ;) It works well enough as long as you squeeze all the water out first, so for instance, I was sometimes cooking it with onions, garlic, turmeric and whatever other spices I felt like adding.
Have any of you ever tried preparing traditional Polish dishes using international ingredients like crab, lobster, leeks, bean sprouts, bok choy, kohlrabi, chick peas and others? And also traditional Polish desserts using international fruits like papaya and others? I think someone on here already asked about use (or non-use) of coconut, mango, pineapple in traditional Polish recipes
And also traditional Polish desserts using international fruits like papaya and others?
Yes; there's a lot of scope. If you don't have your own fruit in the garden or you're doing something out of season, there's no reason not to try something else from the shop.
leek
I find that leek's used less in PL than I was used to back home.
How about Mexican/Latin American cuisine (in the fast-food sense) in Poland? Tortilla dishes for example burritos, chimichangas, empanadas, enchiladas, fajitas, guacamole, nachos, quesadillas, (soft or hard) tacos etc. The largest (and only) international Mexican fast-food chain is Taco Bell, I think some Taco Bells in Europe but not (yet) in Poland
There were two or three of them in Warsaw in the mid 1990s but while they always seemed to do a brisk business whenever I was there they disappeared after a few years (corporate fvkkery I suppose).
Flour tortillas are widely available but not in any real Mexican incarnations... nachos are also available and occasionally fried corn tortillas are and that's about it. A few upscale stores have a few other things but usually overpriced...
Fresh corn tortillas are nowhere to be seen :( I love Mexican food but a lot of my favorite dishes depend on fresh corn tortillas so... (grnarl, grumble, rumble)
In the 1990s the city I lived in had a "Mexican" restaurant and I went there a time or two and it was not remotely Mexican (not that I expected it to be....)
Has African-Caribbean cuisine found its way to Poland as yet? Like jerk chicken & jerk beef, pork, etc. (Jamaica), injera (Ethiopia and neighboring countries)?
Diverse international cuisine is a hallmark of countries that have experienced substantial immigration with the establishment of distinct and stable immigrant communities. or whose citizens are well traveled, like the US and the UK.
As far as the first is concerned, Poland has received relatively little immigration. The only established immigrant community is the Vietnamese, who are an odd group that are mainly invisible. They have opened restaurants, but few if any serve Vietnamese food, serving a highly Polonified form of "Chinese" food instead. The only other large group of immigrants is the Ukrainians, who started to come in large numbers only about five years ago, and whose culture and cuisine are not radically different from the native cuisine. They haven't been in Poland long enough to establish stable communities yet, and whether they do or do not will be affected by their ability to rapidly integrate into Polish culture, which I estimate is rather high.
Compare that to the US or the UK, which have abundant immigrants from all over the world, and myriad immigrant communities and neighborhoods dating back a very long time. Or Germany, where millions of Yugoslavs and Turks were invited as "Guest Workers" during the sixties.
As for the second, Poles have not had the opportunity to travel extensively abroad to exotic locations. The exceptions are Tunisia and Egypt, where Pole take advantage of cheap off-season package resort deals. They do not come into much contact with the local culture and cuisine there, though. as they generally stay in the resorts, which serve them Polish meals. Otherwise, travel is mainly restricted to the nearby countries in Europe. There has been extensive emigration of Poles to the richer countries of Western Europe, especially the UK and Germany, where many of them do encounter a vibrant international cuisine. It is primarily among those emigrants who return to Poland that a desire to see more culinary options in Poland is developing. Returning migrant workers to Italy have awakened a great appetite for Italian food in Poland, and pizza is ubiquitous and has "gone native". Migrant workers to Germany brought back a craving for Turkish kebabs, which are likewise ubiquitous.
Compare that to the US or the UK. The taste for Indian food in the UK owes a lot to the fact that so many citizens were dispatched a solidiers or civil servants to the subcontinent when it was under their rule. In the US, a lot of the craze for diverse cuisine is due to the fact that so many American soldiers saw duty in Europe and the Pacific in WWII, and were later stationed there for decades. Also to the fact that the US borders with a county that has a vastly different culture and cuisine, which is not the case for Poland. After WWII, Migration of Americans to Southern California and Texas skyrocketed, and elements of Mexican cooking were adopted into the local cuisine.
None of this has happened in Poland, which is why the international food scene is still in its infancy. Add to this the fact that until thirty years ago, there were few restaurants of any sort in Poland, and that disposal income among younger Poles, the ones who are most adventurous and most likely to try new foods, is still relatively low.
Considering how this thread is about nonexistent foods in traditional Polish cuisine (plus a few posts about nonexistent dishes & cuisines in Poland), I should have instead worded my question "Is African-Caribbean cuisine nonexistent in Poland?". My bad!
There are a few chains now with burritos and other Mexican stuff - most food courts have some kind of Mexican offer and in all the big towns there are Mexican restaurants of different quality. Warsaw has a couple of very good ones.
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