These are the most popular cuisines in the world (spoiler: Italian isn’t number 1!)
When we get a plate of food in front of us, homemade or in a restaurant, the first thing we do is take a photo. It has to go on the Gram. Pics or it didn’t happen, right? The Bucketlist Company cleverly used our addiction for their research into the most popular cuisines in the world. And the result is quite surprising.
The company collected data on international cuisines on Instagram, TikTok and Reddit. They looked at the number of hashtags about international cuisines per month. They combined those figures with data from research by Ranker.com on the number of likes, views, shares and searches in 2022. The result: a remarkable top 10 of the most popular cuisines worldwide.
10. Turkish
The fact that Turkish cuisine is in the top 10 doesn’t surprise us. It’s a rich cuisine that places great emphasis on vegetarian food—very on-trend, in other words. Meat lovers are also well catered for in Turkish cuisine, though. Çigköfte and kebab remain hugely popular—whether they’re prepared in a culinary fashion or as post-night-out grub. And (spoiler alert), not entirely coincidentally, the most popular sandwich in the world comes from Turkish cuisine.
9. Filipino
Honestly, we’re not very familiar with Filipino cuisine. It’s a cuisine that has been influenced by many cultures over the years, especially Chinese, Spanish and Malay. Very multicultural, in other words. Filipinos mainly eat a lot of meat. The more popular traditional dishes are lechon (roast suckling pig), kalderetang kambing (goat stew) and kare-kare (oxtail, pieces of beef and/or tripe in peanut sauce). Hmm. This cuisine isn’t in my personal top 10, I can tell you that.
8. Vietnamese
Yes, I completely agree with this one. Vietnamese food is delicious. Lots of fresh ingredients, great combinations of sweet, sour and salty… The top favourite is (of course) the banh mi sandwich: a crispy roll with pork and pickled vegetables. Also a fan of Vietnamese cuisine? Try these Vietnamese crispy pancakes. Delicious with pork belly and lots of herbs. And if you’re in the mood for something sweet, you should make Vietnamese egg coffee. Just like liquid tiramisu.
7. Thai
In seventh place: Thai cuisine. It’s especially known for its rice dishes and curries (did you know there are quite a few differences between them?). If you can’t handle spicy food, it’s best to stay away from this cuisine. But spicy types often absolutely love Thai food. For them, we have a delicious list of the best Thai restaurants in Amsterdam. Prefer to turn your own kitchen into a Thai temple? Then get started with this Thai noodle salad with ribeye or Thai sweet potato balls.
6. Chinese
Chinese cuisine was incredibly popular in our country for years. I think that, about 15 years ago, we ordered Chinese takeaway just as often as fries. That has become less common in recent years (although we still love our local Chinese takeaway). I also don’t think there are many photos on social media of tables full of takeaway from the “Dutch Chinese”. Some of those dishes don’t even come from Chinese cuisine. So what does? Peking duck, traditional Chinese rice balls, wontons, bāo zi… Tip: stock up on Shaoxing rice wine. It makes every dish taste authentically Chinese.
5. Indonesian
Traditional Indonesian cuisine emerged during the era of the Dutch East Indies. It’s a kind of fusion of Chinese-Indonesian and European cuisine. People all over the world enjoy Indonesian cuisine immensely, as it’s not in fifth place in the top 10 for nothing. Top dishes include satay ayam, gado gado and rendang (this really is by far the best rendang recipe ever!). And there are another four Indonesian dishes every home cook should know. So get cooking—you’ll have a few more food photos for the Gram.
4. Japanese
Why is Japanese cuisine so high in the top 10 most popular cuisines? Probably because Japanese sushi is the favourite food of around 90% of the world’s population. And honestly: what’s more photogenic than a row of cheerfully coloured seaweed-and-rice rolls on a fancy plate? No wonder social media is full of it. For anyone who loves Japanese food (and doesn’t have the money for a trip there), we have tips for Japanese products that shouldn’t be missing from your pantry. You’ll always be able to satisfy your Japanese cravings.
3. Mexican
Mexican cuisine makes people happy. Salsas, burritos, nachos, tortillas, guacamole: just hearing the names of those dishes puts a big smile on your face, doesn’t it? That alone makes it a perfect cuisine to post on social media.
2. Italian
Yes, this one was inevitable, of course. The first person who doesn’t like pizza and pasta has yet to be born. You’ll find Italian restaurants all over the world, whether you’re on holiday in Alaska or Bangkok. And Italian food also happens to be very photogenic. Slurping a little spaghetti, licking a gigantic Italian ice cream or taking a bite of a wonderfully greasy slice of pizza—and the likes come flooding in. We’re actually surprised this cuisine isn’t shining brightly at number one on this list.
1. Korean
The most popular cuisine of all, the cuisine that’s most hot and happening on social media, is Korean. Korean cuisine was already booming in 2019, and its popularity has only grown since then. Kimchi, Korean fried chicken, bibimbap… they’re all being posted on social media en masse. As a result, Italian cuisine has been knocked off its throne with a gigantic Korean bang.
A note about the research
The results of the research depend heavily on the source. If you only look at Instagram data, you’ll see that Italian cuisine takes first place again. But if you check TikTok data, it’s Korean once more. So numbers one and two are very close. Want Italian cuisine to take the top spot? Make more food pics of your spaghetti and pizza!
Also read:
- These are the most popular diets in America (spoiler: keto is no longer number 1)
- Horrifying: these are the 10 strangest snacks in the world
- This is the most hated food in the world
Source: HLN.be/The Bucketlist Company
