Bhutanese food — extreme. Ema datshi (chili-cheese national dish). Chilies eaten as vegetable not spice. Buckwheat, red rice, butter tea.
Ema Datshi
Ema datshi — national dish. Green chili + yak/cow cheese stewed. Chilies main ingredient, NOT spice. With red rice. Every meal.
Variants of Datshi
Kewa datshi (potato), shamu datshi (mushroom), sikam datshi (dried pork), shakam datshi (dried beef). Datshi = cheese stew. National obsession.
Red Rice
Bhutanese red rice — high altitude variety. Nutty flavor, semi-husked. Base of every meal. Paro Valley known.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat (Bumthang specialty) — pancakes (khulay), noodles (puta). High altitude alternative to rice.
Phaksha Paa
Phaksha paa — pork with red chilies and radish. Hot. Festival food. Beef and yak meat also (Buddhist but meat-eating).
Momos & Suja
Momos (Tibetan dumplings) — meat or cheese. Suja (butter tea) — yak butter + tea + salt. Acquired taste.
Ara & Drinks
Ara — local spirit (rice, maize, wheat or barley). Banchhang (fermented rice beer). Druk 11000 beer (national).