Fancy a Soupe à l'Oignon?

Do you know what Vichyssoise means? 10 exotic dishes’ names explained

Image: Sam Loyd

Whenever browsing through the menu of a foreign restaurant, the names can make food appear exotic, fancy, enticing, or straight-out odd. In these cases, the logic dictates that we ask the waiter for help. But a few of these foreign dishes have become famous all over the world and their names pop up in all sorts of restaurants, not just foreign ones. Take a look at the following ten and see if you already know the meaning of any of them!

Image: Philippe Murray-Pietsch

A staple name when it comes to "fancy" meals, Coq au Vin is French for rooster in wine, even if the rooster is usually replaced with chicken. Coq au Vin was a peasant dish in origin due to the fact that rooster meat is tough and sinewy and it takes a long time to marinate and braise to make the meat tender.

As legend goes, this dish originated during the Roman conquest of Gaul. The rooster was a symbol of valor to the Gauls. The chief of the tribe Arverne sent a symbolic rooster to Julius Caesar to show they would never be defeated. Caesar returned this gesture with a surprising twist, serving the chief with a delicious dish of rooster in wine.

Image: Mgg Vitchakorn

A literal translation of "spring pasta", Pasta Primavera certainly sounds Italian. But this dish originated in 70s America, not Italy. Sirio Maccioni, the co-owner of New York restaurant Le Cirque, initially introduced pasta primavera as an off-menu special.

Maccioni is said to have taken a dish of pasta, vegetables, and cream his wife had mixed from a hunger-induced raid of their kitchen, refined it, and started serving it to his guests. Despite its humble beginnings, pasta primavera gained huge popularity amongst diners and critics, eventually being adopted by home cooks in America and beyond.

Image: Bakd&Raw by Karolin Baitinger

Just pronouncing the name of this dish sounds like speaking French. Vichyssoise is a soup made of cooked and mashed leeks, potatoes, onions, and cream, served chilled and garnished with chopped chives. It was invented in the early 20th century by Louis Diat, a cook working as head chef of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York.

Leek and potato soup is a traditional staple of French cuisine. 19th-century French cookbooks give recipes for a simple leek and potato soup, called potage Parmentier or potage à la Parmentier. The name Vichyssoise means "ice-cold cream from Vichy".

Image: Toa Heftiba

A familiar yet exotic name, Chicken Tikka Masala is a dish consisting of roasted marinated chicken chunks in a spiced sauce, often creamy and orange-colored. The dish was created by cooks from South Asia living in Great Britain and is popular in restaurants around the world.

The sauce usually includes tomatoes, cream, coconut cream, and a masala spice mix. The sauce and chicken pieces may be colored orange using foodstuffs such as turmeric, paprika, tomato purée, or food dye. Tikka translates to "roasted", and Massala is "a mix of spices".

Image: Becca Tapert

Moussaka is an eggplant or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

Many versions have a top layer made of custard or béchamel sauce.

In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. There’s a vegan version that replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice. And, in Turkey, moussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. The word moussaka itself translates to "cold, or dipped in liquid".

Image: silvia trigo

Ceviche is a Peruvian dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. The fish is usually cured in lemon or sour lime juice, marinated together with sliced or chopped onion, and served with chopped cilantro. The dressing also includes some local varieties of chili pepper or chili, replaced by mustard in some locations in Central America.

In Peru, it is served with garnishes of boiled root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, cassava, or, very rarely, potatoes, and grains or seeds such as corn, legumes such as zarandaja, fried plantain, seaweed, and lettuce.

Image: Mulan Sukrisno

A colorful array of small Chinese dishes traditionally consumed for brunch, Dim Sum is commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine. In the 10th century, travelers frequented Cantonese teahouses for small-portion meals with tea. Cantonese dim sum was originally based on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China.

Dim Sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, and travel-friendly items, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late-night snacks. The term Dim Sum translates to "touch the heart."

Image: Viktor Ritsvall

Doner kebab is a dish of Turkish origin made of seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone, turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element. The operator uses a knife to slice thin shavings from the outer layer of the meat as it cooks.

The sliced meat of a doner kebab may be served on a plate with various accompaniments, stuffed into bread as a sandwich, or wrapped in a thin flatbread such as filo. Doner kebab has become popular around the world as a fast food dish sold by kebab shops, and is often called simply a "kebab." The term, donner kebab itself, translates to "roasted lamb."

Image: Alyssa Kowalski

An exotic dish that has become famous all over the world, Pad Thai is a rice noodle dish fried in a wok and commonly served as a street food. As Thailand's national dish, it is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, scrambled eggs, and bean sprouts.

Many of the ingredients on a Pad Thai dish are provided on the side as condiments, such as red chili pepper, lime wedges, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic chives, and other miscellaneous fresh vegetables. The term Pad translates to "fried".

Image: Bakd&Raw by Karolin Baitinger

Wiener schnitzel is made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet served without sauce.

It is one of the best-known specialties of Viennese cuisine and one of the national dishes of Austria.

This dish is prepared from veal slices, butterfly cut, lightly pounded flat, slightly salted, and rolled in flour, whipped eggs, and bread crumbs. Finally, the Schnitzel is fried until it is golden yellow. The term Wiener schnitzel translates, literally to "small, breaded, veal cutlet."

BEYOND THE FIVE

10 Weird Senses Humans And Other Animals Have

Image: Bacila Vlad

Who said there are only five senses? While humans rely heavily on sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, there are many more sensory abilities in both humans and animals, some of which can seem bizarre or even otherworldly.

From detecting magnetic fields to perceiving infrared light, here are 10 extraordinary senses that will challenge your understanding of animal perception.

Image: Inge Poelman

Despite having a weird name, this is by far one of the most standard senses among living organisms. Humans and animals alike rely on proprioception to perceive the position and movement of their bodies in space. This sense operates through specialized receptors (mechanosensory neurons) located in muscles and joints, providing crucial feedback to our brains for keeping balance, coordination, and doing precise movements.

Image: Jametlene Reskp

Some animals, like birds, turtles, and even some insects, possess the remarkable ability to sense Earth's magnetic field. This sense, known as magnetoreception, allows them to navigate during migration or find their way home with astonishing accuracy. In fact, some scientists argue that humans might have a latent or even subconscious ability to perceive Earth’s magnetic field through a number of receptors located in the optical retina.

Image: TJ Fitzsimmons

Bats and dolphins are well known for their use of echolocation, emitting high-frequency sounds and interpreting the echoes to navigate and locate prey. A form of active sonar similar to the one used by ships and submarines, this extraordinary sense enables them to "see" their surroundings even in complete darkness. Interestingly, some insects that are hunted by echolocating bats have developed active countermeasures against them, using ultrasonic clicks for echolocation jamming or by imitating the call of toxic species.

Image: Amos

Sharks, rays, and certain fish have electroreceptive organs called ampullae of Lorenzini, allowing them to detect the electric fields produced by other animals. In most species, this sense is paired with the ability to generate weak electric fields of their own. This unique sense aids in both navigating and hunting in murky or dark waters, where traditional senses might fall short. Monotremes like platypus and echidnas have curiously evolved a similar sense of electroreception to aid them in finding food.

Image: Wolfgang Hasselmann

Thermoception or thermoreception is the sense that aids in detecting changes in the surrounding temperature, and it is the reason anything feels hot or cold. In large animals, like humans, thermoception occurs mainly in the skin. But some species, like pit vipers, possess specialized organs capable of detecting infrared radiation, allowing them to sense heat from prey or predators. Recently, scientists have discovered that dogs possess thermoreceptors within their noses, allowing them to detect weak thermal changes in front of them.

Image: Alexander Grey

Certain insects, such as ants and locusts, possess hygroreceptors that allow them to detect humidity levels in their environment. This sense helps them find suitable habitats, avoid desiccation, and regulate behaviors like nest-building and foraging. And while you might think humans can also tell whether something is wet or not, the truth is we don’t have any hygroreceptors, and can only infer wetness through contextual clues - as wet objects tend to be colder or feel slippery.

Image: Mikhail Vasilyev

Many animals, including insects, mammals, and even some reptiles, communicate using pheromones – chemical signals similar to hormones that trigger social or reproductive behaviors. This sense plays a vital role in mate selection, territory marking, and coordination within social groups. Social insects make extensive use of this ability to coordinate complex colonies and establish hierarchies.

Image: Franco Antonio Giovanella

The vestibular system, found in the inner ear of humans and most vertebrates, contributes to balance, spatial orientation, and sense of motion. This sense is made of two main components or specialized organs: semicircular canals that indicate rotation, and otoliths, which help perceive linear acceleration. This intricate sense helps us stay upright, perceive gravity, and coordinate movements, essential skills for activities like walking or running.

Image: Aron Visuals

While the subjective experience of time might not be associated with a specific sensory system, scientists seem to agree that there are a series of complementary mechanisms that allow humans to perceive the passing of time. In fact, some animals exhibit remarkable abilities to perceive temporal changes, a crucial ability for survival. It has even been suggested that smaller animals with a fast metabolic rate tend to experience time more slowly than larger species with slower metabolic rates.

Image: Marcus Löfvenberg

Certain animals, like the African elephant, possess incredibly sensitive pressure receptors called Pacinian corpuscles in their feet, which allow them to detect minute seismic vibrations and communicate over long distances. This acute sense of touch, paired with their exceptional hearing, plays a crucial role in social bonding, navigation, and detecting potential threats in their environment.