What ‘foreign food’ do you remember as a child?

Bazza

Has anyone eaten a f tropical fruit called durian? It stinks like a drain and is delicious. We were in Singapore and all taxis had a notice inside saying no durian. Most exotic fruits have made it to the uk over the years but I’ve never seen a durian.

My daughter gave me one last year so they are obviously available.

Susieq62

One of my good mothers was Italian so she made the best spaghetti bolognaise ever! I still cannot replicate it. At college we all thought we were so sophisticated by cooking vest curry, paella or chow Mein .
My first curry was in Bradford in 1974 in a dingy basement with tin tables and a sink in the corner. No after effects though! Love all types of food now!!

Some of the most enjoyable currys I have ever eaten were in Bradford in the seventies. Always a cellar and the entertainment on a Saturday night was the local pimps and pros.

School friends had such tasteless food that I preferred not to accept invitations to eat with them. My elderly foster mother used to get fresh mackerel. A fish my friends mums didn’t ever buy. Gutted and then laid on top of a simmered mix of vinegar, water and sliced onions, then served with either spring greens or spinach with boiled potatoes. Her curries were by todays standards, rather mild. Curry powder came from the local Co-op and was the only thing she used for curries. Both dishes were brought back to England by her ancestors who had served with the British Army. Which is why I heard stories of Waterloo which had been passed down from people who had actually been there. And knew that Doo Lally was where a local Indian mental hospital for British army officers was situated.

I once made spaghetti Bolognese for the family when a teenager. I asked my dad what he thought and he said it was very nice, but he didn't want it again. Apart from that Vesta curry was the most exotic food in our house.

As some have said, when I was little, Vesta packet foods came out, my mum tried it once but nobody cared for the stuff. I'm not sure pasta was a thing back then?

To this day I'm not keen on anything spicy, (digestion not happy) - one of the most disappointing meals I ever had was a firm's project team lunch, we got taken to a Thai place, where somebody had ordered a giant fish, which looked OK, but it turned out to have been poisoned with lots of little spice bits, which went off like a jumping jack in the mouth. My request to see if they could rustle up a plain egg and chips wasn't received very well. These days they tend to ask about allergies, so I suppose I could have said "your entire menu" ?

Oh, as an aside, instead of getting a takeaway, you can get excellent quality (& cheaper) Chinese from Sainsburys or M&S, probably others too. And less salty. I think the same is true with Indian prepared meals, but we'd never get them.

Mum used to make Dad a curry sometimes as a treat, but we never got any. I don’t remember her serving it with rice and I think she got the recipe from my Dad who was a cook during his National service in the R.A.F. We also thought that our friend’s Dad was exotic because he cooked spaghetti that didn’t come from a tin!

Germanshepherdsmum

None at all until Vesta came along in my late teens! I was the only one in the family who would eat it but thought it was wonderful!

I remember Vesta very well!
My father used to take us to a Chinese restaurant in Manchester sometimes and we all loved that.
Living in that area there must have been so many people from the Indian sub-continent working in the mills but we never saw them or smelt any curry. When I went back recently the whole area had changed, everybody was from India or Pakistan, we barely saw a while face. All the old bakeries, fish bars and tripe shops had vanished, but there were curry houses and wonderful green grocers and Halal butchers everywhere.

Occasionally my dad would treat us to the Chinese restaurant 'businessman's lunch' which was three courses for five bob. Chicken and sweetcorn soup, Chinese curry and fried rice and banana fritter and syrup. Then when Indian restaurants became popular we visited them. Loved it all.

Mum did Vesta curry for us as a treat on Saturdays which is about as authentic as Yorkshire pudding. Still loved it though.

One of my good mothers was Italian so she made the best spaghetti bolognaise ever! I still cannot replicate it. At college we all thought we were so sophisticated by cooking vest curry, paella or chow Mein .
My first curry was in Bradford in 1974 in a dingy basement with tin tables and a sink in the corner. No after effects though! Love all types of food now!!

I was born in the mid-sixties and a child in the seventies. Our food was very good but very traditionally British as l think it still was for the vast majority of the population. Occasionally, my mother would make a chicken risotto with leftovers and we thought that was very exotic as the rice was savoury rather than in the pudding form we were used to. I can remember the first time I had Chinese food. I was nine and we had gone to Lichfield with my grandmother. For a treat we were taken to a Chinese restaurant. It was very much Anglicised as I can remember having, on the advice of my father, sweet and sour pork, which was served on a dinner plate and eaten with a fork. No little dishes of different foods on a Lazy Susan as we would have now with everyone trying bits of everything. No sign of any chopsticks, either - does anyone else remember gameshows of the era playing “hilarious” games where people had to pick up peas and the like and race while carrying them without dropping them? No matter. I felt very grown up and worldly after my introduction to Chinese food.

Witzend yes, I remember that from part of my childhood in Malaya. Having t shut the car windows when driving through a village where someone had been preparing durian to eat.

We never tried it.

I remember domski (Domestic Science) we were to cook a dish of our choice and the listed ingredients would be ready for us the following week.
The Penguin recipe book was used and I chose cheesecake which involved butter, cream cheese and digestive biscuits.
The next week I was presented with margarine and, cheddar cheese. Your choice was far too expensive, I was told.

Bazza

Has anyone eaten a f tropical fruit called durian? It stinks like a drain and is delicious. We were in Singapore and all taxis had a notice inside saying no durian. Most exotic fruits have made it to the uk over the years but I’ve never seen a durian.

No, but I’ve smelt them! We had to close the car windows when driving past a durian stall in Malaysia. TBH they smelt like sick. The taste is said to be nice though.

An Aussie friend, married to a Vietnamese, used to ban durians from the house, but the wife and her maid used to smuggle them in while he was at work and make pigs of themselves. He could always tell, even with all the windows and doors open for hours afterwards.

I’ve seen them for sale in London’s Chinatown, but there was no smell. Maybe they weren’t ripe enough, or it was just too cold.

Spaghetti bolognese - my Mum, we were repeatedly told, learnt to make it from an Italian army wife in Tripoli in the late 50s. To the extent when we made it at school, she sent me with her recipe, not the schools, and I wasn't allowed to serve it with pasta as it was a waste. My teacher failed me because of this, Mum phoned the school - and the teacher hated me ever after...

Has anyone eaten a f tropical fruit called durian? It stinks like a drain and is delicious. We were in Singapore and all taxis had a notice inside saying no durian. Most exotic fruits have made it to the uk over the years but I’ve never seen a durian.

My mother's spaghetti Bolognese, which she made made with Campbell's condensed tomato sauce as the base for the Bolognese sauce. My grandmother used to join us but my grandfather refused to eat ' worms' so he had the Bolognese with boiled potatoes.
My father travelled a lot when we were young children so we were introduced to lots of different foods. Mother used to grown her own mung bean sprouts in a large container. I remember the water being changed several times but sprouting was quick and ready to eat in about 7 days.

My mum used to mince the lamb from the roast we has on Sunday to make a curry in the fifties.

My mother's mother was French. She ( my nana) went every year to France . She stocked up on saucisson,olive oil," proper" coffee,fois gras and of course, wine. She even exceeded her limit and filled a bottle of holy water from lourds with alcohol so she could make pastise. Her kitchen always smelt wonderfully of fried potatoes, boef a la bourgingon ,and blanquet de vaux. She gave us children pain au chocolat, and pain d'epice. Happy days !

Ailidh

Vesta Chow Mein!!

And Paella

Like other posters, I remember the Vesta chow mien. That was about as exotic it got back then 😂 (how times have changed).

Same here Germanshepherdsmum. No way my mum would "experiment" with food that my dad called "foreign muck"

I can spell, honestly .....

Wenmore

RosiesMaw

Despite being invented by Antonin Carême (1784-1883) one of the most famous French chefs , vol-au-vents are as British as cucumber sandwiches, especially when filled with egg mayonnaise. Or mushrooms in cold white sauce.
The stalwart of many a Bridge evening or church social.

Cucumbers are Indian. We really can't claim much to be truly 'British'.

They have been around in Europe since Roman times and in Brupitain for centuries.

I bet it's only the British who sliced them and put them between two pieces of bread and butter, though 😃

RosiesMaw

Despite being invented by Antonin Carême (1784-1883) one of the most famous French chefs , vol-au-vents are as British as cucumber sandwiches, especially when filled with egg mayonnaise. Or mushrooms in cold white sauce.
The stalwart of many a Bridge evening or church social.

Cucumbers are Indian. We really can't claim much to be truly 'British'.

When I was a child on the early 60s my mother worked in The London (now Royal London) hospital with the very diverse Whitechapel market outside. As a very special treat she would bring home an avocado for my brother and I to share. We ate our half with salt and black pepper, made sure we got every last morsel from the skin then tried to grow the plant from the stone.
Even now an avocado still gives me that feeling of it being a special treat.