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Top six food nom-nominations in Amsterdam

The Netherlands is known for its tulips, wooden shoes, famous artists, red lights and a liberal approach towards certain plants. 😉

What it’s not known for is its cuisine. I find that understandable considering the thousands of Dutch food trucks that sell raw herring covered in fresh onions – and how the Dutch love it! Safe to say that when I jumped on a plane to Amsterdam, it wasn’t for culinary reasons. A real shame, since I am Dutch myself and know that my nation is not completely oblivious when it comes to our tastebuds. That’s why during my last trip, I hopped between different bars and restaurants to find the top five foods you should try when in the Low Lands.

This is what I came up with:

Kip Sate Amsterdam1. Kip sate

Kip Sate – Chicken Satay – is a fancy way to describe a chicken skewer drowned in peanut sauce. It’s very likely that you have tried something similar when travelling through Asia, but the Dutch version is adjusted to a not so spicy cuisine which results in a sweet and soft piece of meat, accompanied by a bunch of chips with mayonnaise, prawn crackers and atjar (pickled vegetables).  It’s basically the Chicken Satays bigger and fatter brother, taking a bath in liquid peanut butter. I had mine at Café Kost Verloren in Amsterdam, but you’ll find this dish on the menu of pretty much every decent pub.

Bitterbal in Amsterdam2. Bitterballen

The Netherlands might not be known for its wine or excellent liquor, but they sure know how to organise some arvo drinks. They call it ‘borrelen’ and a good ‘borrel’ is not complete without a decent snack. Forget crackers and brie, a true Dutch ‘Borrel Snack’ is deep fried, fatty and exactly what you need after two drinks in the sun. My favourite is the ‘Bitterball’. The outside is crispy, whilse the inside is filled with a thick beef or veal broth and they’re typically served with mustard. You’ll find the bitterbal at almost every pub or café on the ‘borrel menu’. I indulged in this deliciousness at Pllek in Amsterdam.

3. Tompouce

Pink, yellow and delicious. If you have a sweet tooth, this better be the first thing you try after landing. The tompouce is an icon, especially those you buy at HEMA. It’s vanilla custard locked in between two layers of puff pastry with pink icing. Due to its interesting shape, it is hard to eat, and the art of eating one has yet to be invented. It’s going to be nasty, but you’ll be so high on sugar that you don’t care about the vanilla custard moustache that you just created. Get yours at Hema and enjoy it with coffee or tea.

4. Broodje Filet American

Those who have been to Belgium are probably familiar with their famous Steak Tartare. Those who have never heard of it, are probably best to stay away from it. Scrap that image of a juicy steak and replace it by a bunch of raw beef meat, decorated with an equally as raw egg, topped with capers and – you guessed it – raw onion. The Dutch came up with their own version and named  it something just as deceiving. Filet American is blended raw beef meat which you can have for breakfast or lunch on a sandwich, or on a cracker during the ‘borrel’. It’s served best with salt and pepper, a boiled egg or raw onions and capers.

 

Ragout pasteitje Amsterdam

5. Ragout Pasteitje

Newsflash: Gravy and Pastry had a baby and it’s called Ragout Pasteitje. There are two parts to this magical creature. The ‘pasteitje’ is a bowl made out of puff pastry, the ‘ragout’ is a combination of butter, flower, stock and meat or fish. You pour the ragout in the puff pastry and serve it as a starter. It sounds complicated, but easy starter packs are available in the supermarket. These will take 10 minutes to prepare and will look as if you just won Masterchef. My favourite is chicken or the veal ragout.

 

Patatje Oorlog In Amsterdam

6. Worth mentioning: Patatje oorlog

Freely translated as ‘Hot Chips at War’ (I imagine this has to do with the mess). It’s a bunch of fries covered in a lot of spicy ketchup, a lot of mayonnaise and raw onions. Yum!

Have you tried any weird and wonderful foods in Amsterdam that we should know about? Tell us in the comments!




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