Must Try Turkish Food In Turkey | Foodie Guide
A crossroad between Europe and Asia, Turkey truly defines a country where East meets West. Due to the country’s history and its unique geography, Turkish cuisine is a rich gastronomic culture which is known as a fusion of Eastern European, Balkan, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. We love the diverse flavours of Turkish food. Keep reading to find out which are the top 10 dishes you must try in Turkey! It is so difficult to choose only ten because a trip to Turkey is indeed a wonderful culinary experience.
Döner Kebab
Turkey is known as the birthplace of Kebab, this is where you can enjoy the most authentic Kebab in the world. Everyone must be familiar with the significant sight of giant rotisserie meat when you walk into a Kebab store. Really satisfying to see the staff slicing the meat. Döner Kebab is commonly made of a lamb, beef or chicken, it is served in two different ways.
In restaurants, you can have together with rice, salad or cooked vegetables. On the streets, people eat it as fast food dish like sandwich. You will get generous amount of Döner Kebab and vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and red onion in the pita bread.
You might confused Shawarma with Döner Kebab as they are prepared in similar ways and almost look the same too. However, both meat are marinated in different herbs and spices. Additionally, Döner Kebab originates from Turkey and Shawarma is from the Middle East. We cannot forget the feeling of taking a mouthful of juicy Kebab meat, scrunchy lettuce with appetising sauce.
Balik Ekmek
Turkish street food scene is amazing with tons of selections and the famous Balik Ekmek (fish sandwich) is one of them. When visiting Istanbul, one of our favourite street food is the Balik Ekmek, we truly fell in love with this simple yet delicious grilled fish sandwich. This sandwich is usually served with the freshest Mackerel fish you can get in Istanbul together with some vegetables.
There a few similar stalls selling Balik Ekmek along the Bosphorus shore in Istanbul. You can simply get the fish sandwich from one of the stalls, munch on the juicy Mackerel fish sandwich while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Bosphorus Strait.
Lokum (Turkish Delight)
Pleasing to both the eyes and mouth, Lokum which is known as Turkish delight, is the cutest sweet treat you have to try in Turkey. It is like eating a cloud, soft and chewy at the same time. Lokum is made of starch and sugar, traditionally flavoured with Rosewater, Citrus or Lemon. Nowadays, you can find modern varieties that come in Chocolate, Coffee or Saffron flavours coated with Almonds, Pistachios and Sesame.
Generally, Lokum is a very sweet snack similar to Baklava. Thus, it is best to enjoy it with a cup of Turkish tea or coffee which is how usually Turkish people consume it. Lokum is also an ideal premium souvenir from Turkey, as it comes in pretty colours and it tastes good too!
Turkish Apple Tea
Although Turkey does not produce tea, but the country has the highest tea consumption in the world. Turks usually drink 5 to 10 cups of tea per day. Besides the normal red tea, their second favourite tea is Apple Tea. Turkish Apple Tea is super tasty, healthy and perfect to be served hot or iced. It is our favourite drink in Turkey! It tastes so good and refreshing especially after a long day or heavy meal.
Apart from Lokum, Turkish Apple Tea is also one of the most popular things to buy as a souvenir from Turkey. We will not recommend you to buy instant apple tea bags because of the artificial flavourings. The best Turkish Apple Tea you can get is definitely the one made from dried apple cubes.
Turkish Coffee
Besides tea, Turkish coffee is the second preferred beverage of Turkish people during the day. Turkish coffee is different from the usual Espresso based coffee and the brewing method is also very special.
In order to make the coffee more aromatic, thick and frothy, Turks will brew super fine coffee ground together with sugar and water in a small copper or brass pot over the super hot sand. Once boiled, it is served in cute and small ceramic Turkish coffee cups.
Here comes the interesting part. When you finish the coffee, you can see the coffee ground settles at the bottom of the cup. Turkish people usually use this for fortune telling. Turkish coffee cup-reading is very popular where the shapes left by coffee ground represents your past and future. If you would like to know whether or not the reading is accurate, then give it a try when you visit Turkey next time!
Turkish Raki
Raki is the national drink of Turkey. It is a unique alcoholic drink that is very popular in Turkey. Some people including us find it difficult to accept the taste because this brandy is often flavoured with star anise, and it comes with a strong, pungent smell and taste.
It is similar like the Durian fruit, there is no in between, it is either you like it or you hate it. This is why usually people drink diluted Raki, where they mix it with chilled water. Originally, Raki looks like clear purified water, but it will immediately turn cloudy once mixed with water. Therefore, Raki is also known as Lion’s Milk because of the cloudy result.
Midye Dolma (Stuffed Mussel)
Stuffed Mussel or the Turks called it as Midye Dolma is another popular street food in Istanbul. It is also one of our favourite street food. As Istanbul is located very close to the ports, the Mussel you can get here is surely the freshest. The Mussel usually stuffed with aromatic rice, herbs and spices. It is a simple yet delicious treat approved by every Turkish and us.
Firstly, take off the top shell and squeeze some lemon juice over the mix. Then scoop the mussel and rice using the shell as a spoon into your mouth. It just taste heavenly. Stuffed Mussel stores can be easily found on the streets of Istanbul. Turkish people usually eat it as a quick energy-boosting food, just like how Italians get their quick Espresso fix in the cafe. Simply walk over, order a few mussels, scoop them into your mouth, pay and go.
Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza)
Turkey used to be an important part of the Silk Road and has a long history with Roman influence. This is why some of the Turkish food are similar to Italian dishes. Italian pizza’s counterpart, Lahmacun is a Turkish pizza quite similar to it.
However, Lahmacun is more flavourful because of the spices. It is served with minced meat mixed with tomato paste, garlic and spices on a thin oval or round shaped pita. The uniqueness of Lahmacun is where the Mediterranean spices really enhanced the taste and make it more flavourful compared to Italian pizza.
Testi Kebab
The food in Cappadocia is as amazing as its sceneries. The small town of Avanos in Cappadocia is well-known for pottery making and people use potteries to prepare delicious food. Testi Kebab is a Cappadocia speciality cooked in a clay pot.
The ingredients commonly used are lamb, beef or chicken cubes with vegetables. As a casserole dish, the meat is very tender since it is slow cooked in the pottery under low heat. The meat also absorbs all the essence in the gravy. The taste is superb when you eat it with bread or rice. In fact, the best Testi Kebab is always freshly prepared and the waiter will break the pot in front of you before serve it to you.
Turkish Cherry
Due to its unique weather and fertile landscape, Turkey is one of the most important and best agricultural producers in the world, producing fruits like Cherry, Olive and Fig. You definitely do not want to miss out the Cherry (both sweet and sour varieties), from the world’s largest Cherry producer.
We have a soft spot for sweet Cherries. This glossy fruit grows particularly well in cooler temperature and with sufficient rainfall. We guarantee that you can enjoy top quality Cherry in Turkey. We bought some Cherries from a small stall in a rest station along highway and those Cherries are some of the sweetest, juiciest ones we have ever tasted in our life.
Turkish food can be considered as a healthy diet as bread, vegetables and low-fat cheese are commonly seen in their food. If your taste buds enjoy herbs and spices flavour, you will like Turkish cuisine as much as we do too. We would love to be back in Turkey for a culinary trip. See you in our next food chapter!
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All contents are ours and are based on unbiased opinion. We just want to share good stuff so don’t be shy to approach us for any travel related questions!
