Ginger beef is a Canadian dish influenced by Chinese cuisine. It was invented in the 1970s by George Wong at the Silver Inn restaurant in Calgary. The dish consists of marinated slices of beef that are battered, deep-fried, then coated with a sweet and spicy dark sauce.
The sauce is made with soy sauce, mushroom soy sauce, white vinegar, Chinese wine, sugar, water, and crushed chili peppers, while the batter consists of eggs, water, cornstarch, flour, and white pepper. The sauce is enriched with the addition of vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers, garlic, and, of course, ginger.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Comforting and hearty, chicken pot pie is an American and Canadian savory pie that has a top crust made with flaky pastry and a filling of chicken and vegetables such as peas, potatoes, onions, and carrots. There is no set recipe, and other ingredients can be included.
As far as method goes, the pie can be prepared in the oven, on the stovetop, or in an iron pie over an open fire. Also, although it's traditionally considered that chicken pot pie only has a top crust, it's common to find double-crusted ones. Still, chicken pot pie is just one kind of pot pie, albeit the most famous one, and there are pot pies with beef, lamb, and turkey.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tourtière is a traditional spiced meat pie that is often prepared between Christmas and New Year's Eve, but since it is so savory and fragrant, it doesn't stay on the menu for too long. Usually made with pork, it sometimes also includes beef for a different texture and flavor.
The meat is additionally enhanced with lots of onions, diced or mashed potatoes, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. The mixture of meat, herbs, and vegetables is served under a lid of golden, flaky pastry dough, making it an ideal winter meal.
VARIATIONS OF Tourtière
MOST ICONIC Tourtière
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Halifax donair is a Nova Scotian 'drunk food' staple, invented in the 1970s by a Greek man named Peter Gamoulakos. The dish consists of pita bread filled with roasted shaved beef, onions, tomatoes, and the signature donair sauce. The beef is flavored with secret spices, and those are believed to be salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, and paprika.
The pita bread is usually dipped in water and grilled before assembling the dish. What makes this dish unique is the sweet donair sauce – a concoction made with a combination of garlic, vinegar, sugar, and condensed milk. Halifax donair is typically wrapped in aluminum foil before serving, and in 2015, it was even declared the official food of Halifax, testifying to its popularity as a favorite midnight meal in the city.
MOST ICONIC Halifax donair
Turducken is an American-Canadian dish consisting of deboned turkey, deboned duck, and deboned chicken rolled into one and stuffed with three kinds of stuffings which are layered between the three types of meat. It is believed that the dish originated from a French dish called galantine, which was adapted into turducken by the Cajun people originating from French Canada, who settled in Louisiana.
The dish is served sliced crosswise, so that each slice contains all three types of meat and three different stuffings.
MOST ICONIC Turducken
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Oreilles de crisse is a Quebecois dish made by deep-frying or baking smoked pork rinds until they become crispy. They are traditionally served in Canadian sugar shacks, preferably topped with a drizzle of maple syrup. Apart from sugar shacks, oreilles de crisse can be used as a garnish or served as an accompaniment to stews, beans, or fried eggs.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Caribou stew is a traditional stew and a specialty of Nunavut cuisine. The stew is usually made with a combination of boneless caribou (wild North American reindeer) cubes, onions, celery, red wine, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beef stock, oil, salt, and pepper.
The celery and onions are cooked in oil with some flour. The caribou meat is seasoned and browned in oil, then placed into the other pan with water, stock, wine, bay leaves, tomato paste, and thyme. The mixture is brought to a boil and it's then simmered for about two hours over low heat.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Jiggs dinner is a meat dish that is traditionally prepared on Sundays in Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of salt beef, figgy duff, pease pudding, and various vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and turnips. The dish is often accompanied by butter, pickled beets, and cranberry sauce on the side.
It is typically prepared for large groups of people, often resulting in lots of leftovers, which are then fried and made into a dish called cabbage hash. Jiggs dinner is named after a popular cartoon character called Jiggs, whose favorite meal was corned beef and cabbage.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Flipper pie is a traditional pie made with an unusual ingredient – harp seal flippers. It originates from Newfoundland and Labrador, where it has been prepared and consumed during the Lenten season (especially Good Friday and Easter) and the annual seal hunt since 1555.
Most recipes call for flour-coated, pan-fried seal meat, which is then roasted with vegetables such as onions, potatoes, carrots, and turnips. The combination is baked in a pastry shell, and the pie is often served with Worcestershire sauce on the side.
Long before beef jerky, there was pemmican, a Native American snack with a high fat content that was originally used as travel food. The word pemmican (pimîhkâ) comes from the Cree tribe and is derived from the word pimi, meaning fat or grease.
It's made from a mixture of fat and lean meat of buffalos. The meat is thinly sliced, dried, and ground into a powder to make beef jerky, which is later mixed with fat to make pemmican. The flavor is creamy and salty, and pemmican bars are considered an outdoor tradition, useful for hunters, fishermen, and campers alike, as it provides tons of energy in a small package and it also has a very long shelf life.
MOST ICONIC Pemmican
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.