Pacific Northwest cuisine

Pacific Northwest cuisine is a North American cuisine of the states of Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as British Columbia and the southern Yukon. The cuisine reflects the ethnic makeup of the region, with noticeable influence from Asian and Native American traditions.[1]

Alaskan ceviche made with Pacific halibut, serrano peppers, cilantro and tomato

Chanterelle mushrooms

Seattle's Pike Place Market is notable regarding this culinary style, along with Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia. Former restaurant critic of The New York Times Frank Bruni wrote of Seattle in June 2011, "I'm hard-pressed to think of another corner or patch of the United States where the locavore sensibilities of the moment are on such florid (and often sweetly funny) display, or where they pay richer dividends, at least if you're a lover of fish."[2]

Foods and dishes

Common ingredients in the cuisine include salmon, shellfish, and other fresh seafood, game meats such as moose, elk, or caribou, wild mushrooms, berries, small fruits, potatoes, kale, and wild plants such as fiddlehead ferns and even young pushki. Smoking fish or grilling seafood on cedar planks are techniques often used in this cuisine.[3] Since the 1980s, Northwest cuisine has begun to emphasize the use of locally produced craft beer and wine. There is generally an emphasis on fresh ingredients, simply prepared,[4] but unlike other cuisine styles, there are various recipes for each dish, with none of them considered more or less correct than the others. This has led some food writers to question whether it truly is a "cuisine" in the traditional sense of the word.[5]

Many food carts and food trucks in the Northwest specialize in fusion cuisine, such as bulgogi burritos, deep-fried sushi rolls, Korean tacos and "Japanese-style" hot dogs.[6]

See also

• Tlingit cuisine, the food of the Tlingit people, an indigenous people from Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon
• Seattle roll, derived from Japanese sushi

References

1. A taste of Seattle: A Pacific Northwest culinary pilgrimage Janis Cooke Newman, San Francisco Chronicle, 10-21-01
2. Bruni, Frank (10 June 2011). "Seattle, A Tasting Menu". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-06-11.
3. Can you package the Pacific Northwest in a Big Apple restaurant? Caryn Brooks, Associated Press, USA Today, 9-18-07
4. Exporting nirvana: Northwest's cuisine migrates across the U.S. Bret Thorn, Nation's Restaurant News, 5-15-2000
5. Authors Disdain Northwest Cuisine Notion as Mere Hype Jamie Neely, Spokane Chronicle, 11-18-1988
6. Fusion Of Food Carts Continue To Stir Melting Pot

External links

• Celebrating Food and Wine in the Northwest NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday 1-13-2008 (mp3 audio)