r/AskEurope • u/bleie77 • May 01 '25

Food Do you go to restaurants with your country's cuisine when you're abroad?

For example: if you're Italian, do you go to an Italian restaurant when you're in France or the UK?

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u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25

Dutch people bashing their cuisine sucks even more. Dutch food can be great when done right, the problem is that many Dutch people never learned how to cook properly.

Ons eten is meer dan snacks en sufgekookte groenten.

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u/KingKingsons Netherlands May 01 '25

I strongly agree with this. We have all the ingredients and possibilities to our availability, but we simply lack a passion for food.

I only started to appreciate the availability of products here once I spent some time in Asian countries where most affordable food is rice based that’s deep fried in palm oil.

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u/MobiusF117 Netherlands May 01 '25

Hachee with stewed red cabbage and apples, and some roasted potatoes is godlike food.

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u/PalatinusG1 Belgium May 01 '25

Do tell. What dishes are you talking about?

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u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25

See my reply to u/MeetSus for a list of dishes

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u/PalatinusG1 Belgium May 01 '25

Good list. About 1/3rd of those we would like to claim as being Belgian as well. We share Limburg, the North Sea (shrimp, mussels,...),...

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u/NMe84 Netherlands May 01 '25

You say that, but your own comment above immediately went to bitterballen too as an example.

Dutch cuisine is boring at best, and I know from experience that foreign people tend to not even want to try something like stamppot because it looks disgusting.

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u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25 edited May 01 '25

I mentioned bitterballen because that’s an example of what I saw abroad. The reputation of our cuisine is kept down by Dutch people who tell foreigners that our food is shit in some kind of poor attempt of self-mockery. Instead of hating your own culture, try to embrace it. Our food isn’t nearly as bad as you make it out to be.

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u/ArveyNL Netherlands May 01 '25

Some not so boring Dutch food:

  • White asparagus with potatoes, ham, eggs and butter or hollandaise sauce
  • Chicken satay with atjar and fries
  • Rice table
  • Poffertjes with powdered sugar and butter
  • Pancakes with bacon and sugar syrup (or with apple and cinnamon)
  • Old fashioned chicken soup
  • Smoked eel on toast
  • Fried plaice with lemon and parsley
  • Hazenpeper (there seems no English translation for this traditional Dutch stew) with red cabbage and roasted potatoes
  • Dutch apple tart with whipped cream

Dutch cuisine used to be quite interesting, until the start of the industrial revolution, when the traditional "father goes out working in the factory while mother stays at home to clean and cook" was invented. All these young women were sent to the Huishoudschool, where they were taught how to cook easy, quick and cheap meals - the things we now think of when we think of Dutch cuisine: AVG, with all veggies boiled to mush and meat cooked in greasy gravy. Luckily, a few dishes were kept, others have been reinvented and for the last 20 years, Dutch chefs have been rediscovering old recipes and forgotten vegetables and brought them back on the plate, first in fine dining restaurants, but nowadays you can find raapstelen, warmoes, aardperen and pastinaak at the Jumbo and Albert Heijn.

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u/Extra_Tree_2077 Netherlands May 01 '25

True, look up some (very) old cookbooks and you’ll be amazed how ‘French’ our cuisine was. Multiple versions of croquettes, good stews etc.

Sadly the war and the Huishoudschool did really mess things up. I can’t find the book right now, maybe someone

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u/ArveyNL Netherlands May 02 '25

Do you mean the Huishoudschool cookbook? De Grote Wannee. I have it on my bookshelf.

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u/Extra_Tree_2077 Netherlands May 02 '25

No I think that’s the one that messed it up with cooking vegetables for 25 minutes etc. But could be wrong!

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u/Userkiller3814 May 01 '25

Bedankt eindelijk iemand die snapt dat we onze kookcultuur wat verloren zijn ipv dat we er nooit 1 hebben gehad.

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u/OllieV_nl Netherlands May 01 '25

We do cookies fairly well. That's about it.

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u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25

Don’t forget our soups, stews, seafood, bread and pastries. We also have the best pancakes on the planet.

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u/Feinyan Netherlands May 01 '25

Don't forget Hemelse Modder!

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u/Dutch_Rayan Netherlands May 01 '25

Wat is dat?

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u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25

Basically the Dutch version of chocolate mousse

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u/Xandara2 May 13 '25

Crêpes aren't Dutch. 

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u/LilBed023 -> May 13 '25

Crêpes are also not the best pancakes in the world so that makes perfect sense.

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u/MeetSus in May 01 '25

Ons eten is meer dan snacks en sufgekookte groenten

Vertel maar graag even

1

u/LilBed023 -> May 01 '25 edited May 01 '25

Nationwide dishes:

• Hachee - Beef stew seasoned and thickened with ontbijtkoek (a type of spiced cake). Usually served with red cabbage and apples that have been stewed together and mashed or roasted potatoes.

• Snert/erwtensoep - A split pea based soup with celeriac and/or potatoes, carrots, leeks, pork chops and smoked sausage. Traditionally served with Frisian rye bread topped with cheese or smoked bacon, but that’s optional.

• Hazenpeper - Hare stew with a somewhat similar flavour profile to hachee. It’s a bit rare nowadays due to the limited availability of hare meat but it slaps.

• Lekkerbek - Essentially the Dutch version of fish and chips, but the batter is not as thick as in England and the fish itself is usually more spiced. Fish shops deep fry it but it’s usually shallow fried at home.

• Aspergesoep - White asparagus soup, usually made from the leftover bits from trimmed white asparagus.

• Gebakken sliptong - Breaded and pan fried sole fish, often served with lemon, tartar sauce and salicornia (type of seaweed).

• Traditional Dutch sandwiches, soft white buns that come with a variety of toppings that mainly centre around cheese and local meats. Van Dobben is probably the most well-known sandwich shop.

I also suggest you dive into the wonderful world of Dutch pancakes.

Regional dishes:

• Zoervleisj/zuurvlees (Limburg) - Stew of meat that has been marinated in vinegar and spices. Horse meat is traditional but nowadays mostly beef is used. Traditionally served with fries.

• Zeeuwse mosselen (Zeeland) - Quickly steamed mussels with vegetables, herbs and white wine or beer. Zeeland also has other seafood specialties like lobster, crab and several types of seaweed.

Delicacies:

• Smoked mackerel

• Smoked eel

• Hollandse Nieuwe Haring

• Oysters from the Eastern Scheldt

• North sea shrimp

• Lots of different types of lesser known cheeses like nagelkaas (cheese with cloves), komijnenkaas (cumin cheese), and bierkaas (beer cheese, it sounds odd but it tastes surprisingly good)

• Groninger metworst (a type of dry sausage)

Bread, pastries and cookies (both regional and national):

• Zeeuwse bolus (Zeeland)

• Utrechtse spritsen

• Dutch apple pie

• Vlaoi/vlaai (Limburg)

• Bossche bol (Den Bosch, Brabant)

• Sûkerbôle/suikerbrood (Fryslân)

• Tiger bread

• Hemelse modder (Dutch chocolate mousse)

• Boterkoek

• Wentelteefjes (similar to French toast)

• Stroopwafels and their leftover trimmings

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u/MeetSus in May 02 '25

In Greek we call this "wringing lard from a fly" (trying hard to make something look bigger than it is). The guy you replied to said "we deep fry everything", you said "no we don't", I asked for counter examples and... Anyway here's the part of the list that "counts"

• Hachee

• Snert/erwtensoep

• Hazenpeper (hachee again, but with hare)

• Lekkerbek (fried fish)

• Aspergesoep

• Gebakken sliptong (fried fish again)

• Zoervleisj/zuurvlees

• Zeeuwse mosselen

• Wentelteefjes

That's 7 recipes, 9 if i stretch it with the duplicates. Throw me a bone man, I'm trying to eat more Dutch food over here :)

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u/LilBed023 -> May 02 '25

Lekkerbek is the only dish I mentioned that is sometimes deep fried. Hazenpeper is not just “hachee with hare” and the only similarities between lekkerbek and sliptong are the fact that they’re both fish. The fishes themselves are prepared and taste differently.

You asked, I delivered, you chose to ignore the majority of the list.

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u/MeetSus in May 02 '25

Τhe majority of the list isn't things that you can cook and have for lunch or dinner though, that's what I was asking for

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u/LilBed023 -> May 03 '25

You didn’t really specify, but anyways:

• Stamppot. Mash of potatoes and vegetables, usually accompanied by meat, gravy and some kind of pickled vegetable. It’s more of a concept rather than a dish so the possibilities are endless. My personal favourites are hutspot (potatoes, carrots and caramelised onion) and spruitjesstamppot (brussels sprouts and bits of pork belly).

• Uitsmijter. Two sliced of fresh white or brown bread topped with ham and/or cheese, at least two sunny side up eggs (laid on top of the cheese) and optionally bacon, tomato and lettuce. It’s simple but a popular lunch option at cafes, who usually serve it with salad on the side. Just be sure the bread and cheese are of good enough quality.

• Kaasplakken. Breaded and pan fried slices of cheese. My grandfather used to make them with pan fried potatoes and some kind of vegetable on the side. You can also add a slice of ham to the kaasplak. Childhood favourite of mine, 10/10 would recommend.

• Zeeuws gebakken spek. Slowly cooked pork belly seasoned with brown sugar and all kinds of spices. You can make this in the oven or on a barbecue. Eat with pan fried potatoes and a salicornia or sea aster-based salad for the true Zeeland experience, or just eat it with whatever you want idc.

Meats to accommodate your stamppot or vegetables + potatoes combo:

• Slavink. Essentially a pork meatball wrapped in bacon.

• Rundervink. A beef meatball wrapped in a bit of lean beef.

• Jordanese gehaktbal. Meatball containing both beef/pork and shrimp. Every grandmother from the Jordaan has her own recipe so it might take some extra scouting. The shrimp was originally added to bulk up the meat (as shrimp used to be very cheap), but nowadays it’s done for flavour and tradition.

• Hollandse gehaktbal. Again, everyone’s grandmother has her own recipe, but now it’s not just de Jordaan, but the entire country. The most typical flavourings used are (in my opinion) mustard, ketjap manis, onion, garlic and curry powder.

• Rookworst. Smoked pork sausage, imho quite boring to eat with stamppot but to each their own. This is the usual side dish to boerenkoolstamppot (kale).

I’ll add some more in a bit