# Pan-ethnic food combinations that would be really bad ideas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478 "2008-12-24T00:28:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/21 "2008-12-24T20:02:26Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > tandoori scallops That actually sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/22 "2008-12-24T21:42:36Z")
They were um interesting… Personally I thought that the scallops were overpowered. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/23 "2008-12-25T01:28:15Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > ‘Kosher bacon’ is just a legal contradiction in terms, something along the lines of ‘consensual rape,’ not a food fusion. All I was trying for was that - the immediate and explicit contradiction in terms. I’m a simple minded sort, and perfectly willing to bend definitions in pursuit of the cheap joke. ---
**Author:** ![stucco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@stucco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucco)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/24 "2008-12-25T01:55:46Z")
I saw a sign in the window of a chip shop in Edinburgh for haggis samosas. I can’t even begin to imagine. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/25 "2008-12-25T14:02:03Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > I read somewhere that Spam-sushi was a local dish on Hawaii, and something Obama loved as a kid Last year we had a young bachelor engineer bring spam sushi for thanksgiving. I actually like spam and odd kinds of “sushi”. But that was plain nasty. The worst thing was he brought a metric ton of it :eek: and made sure everybody got to take some home with em. The dogs ate pretty well for the next few days! Also, plain old lutefisk is pretty damn bad a well. I worked with a guy that always went on about how bad that stuff was, so one holiday I had him bring some back for me, because I was curious as to how bad it could be. It was pretty darn vile, and I even tried a few variations on how you can prepare it. Keep in mind that I like most foods and can pretty much stomach anything, but both these items were just a bit too much. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/26 "2008-12-25T14:57:40Z")
> [@stucco](#): > > I saw a sign in the window of a chip shop in Edinburgh for haggis samosas. I can’t even begin to imagine. I quite like the sound of them, actually. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/27 "2008-12-25T15:36:01Z")
Gefilte fish with duck sauce or Egg rolls with horseradish ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/28 "2008-12-25T16:05:13Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > A nitpick - kosher isn’t a ethnic food style, it’s a set of rules, like ‘do not mix meat and milk products,’ or ‘avoid shellfish’. I routinely turn out kosher food of various culinary traditions. Last night, we ate truffled risotto ala Milanese with a side of broccoli rabe, which I think is pretty non-fusion Italian (the truffle was my Chanuka present to my husband - we don’t normally eat quite that lux); other dinners within the last week or so have been Moroccan (spicy vegetable stew over couscous), Chinese (ma po tofu over rice, although you might see it as fusion because I replaced the ground pork with turkey), and vaguely pan-Mediterranean fusion (saffron-pimenton chicken with chestnut-tangerine bulgur and Roman-style broccoli). None of those was influenced by what you probably think of as ‘kosher’ as an ethnic food style, which I’d guess is the chicken soup-kugels-brisket variety, but they were all kosher. (Okay, there was chicken soup as a first course before the pimenton chicken.) ‘Kosher bacon’ is just a legal contradiction in terms, something along the lines of ‘consensual rape,’ not a food fusion. Years ago, there used to be a kosher Mexican place not far from here. It was called Casa Hadassah. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/29 "2008-12-25T17:06:42Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Egg rolls with horseradish That sounds delicious. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/30 "2008-12-25T21:27:07Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Egg rolls with horseradish Chinese mustard tastes like horseradish to me, so this is an excellent combination. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/31 "2008-12-25T21:56:55Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > “Lutefisk sashimi” Like Captain Carrot said, you don’t need the sashimi for that to be disgusting (and I say that as some who’s of half Norwegian descent). However, that doesn’t mean there’s no Scandinavian food that actually would be a good candidate for possible pan-ethnic combinations. For example, there’s [lefse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefse)–a soft flatbread made with flour, milk, shortening, and potatoes. I realize this might sound completely unappetizing but I’d be willing to try at least once a gyro or burrito made with lefse rather than a pita or tortilla. You could even put together a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner wrap with turkey, cranberry sauce, yams, and mashed potatoes (i.e., by way of the lefse). ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/32 "2008-12-25T22:18:57Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > For example, there’s [lefse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefse)–a soft flatbread made with flour, milk, shortening, and potatoes. I realize this might sound completely unappetizing but I’d be willing to try at least once a gyro or burrito made with lefse rather than a pita or tortilla. Oh goodness. You just reminded me of the _weirdest_ bit of the Mexican place in Krakow – I’d ordered fajitas, which instead of coming with the usual tortillas came with some sort of toasted folded pitta bread type thing… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/33 "2008-12-25T22:25:35Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Like Captain Carrot said, you don’t need the sashimi for that to be disgusting (and I say that as some who’s of half Norwegian descent). Oh, absolutely–I have personal experience with lutefisk. > [@](#): > > However, that doesn’t mean there’s no Scandinavian food that actually would be a good candidate for possible pan-ethnic combinations. Also agreed. As another example, it might be interesting to try [piirakka](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_pasties) with filling inspired by Indian cuisine. It’d essentially be open-face samosas, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478/34 "2008-12-26T03:53:07Z")
There was a commercial similar to this a year or two back. Not sure what they were advertising but the commercial talked about ChiMexican food. The two they jokingly mentioned were Peking duck enchiladas and, my favorite, Moo Goo Gai _Flan._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pan-ethnic-food-combinations-that-would-be-really-bad-ideas/478478.md?page=1)