Living in a diverse country such as the United States, people are bound to come across foods they’ve never seen or had that have originated from a different part of the world. They may stumble upon the common Kabob in a middle eastern restaurant or the famous Chow Mein found in Chinese eateries. Yet many people have stayed away from these foreign delicacies in fear that it might not be befitting of their taste. So here’s a list of a few international foods that are sure to satisfy even the hungriest of stomachs and appeal to the pickiest of eaters. Bon apetite!

1. Aguachado

Aguachado is seafood dish that has shrimp marinated in lemon juice and served with tomato and other fresh vegetables. Its origin comes from the coasts of Mexico, and despite being a mainly seafood dish, it has a very fresh taste rather than a fishy one and is a delightful meal to enjoy, especially during the summer time.

2. Dolma

This popular meal is enjoyed by many people of middle eastern origin. It typically includes a stuffed grape leaf that is filled with rice, meat and lots of spices, but there are also stuffed eggplants, onions, squash, potatoes and many more options. It can be served cold or warm depending on taste, but traditionally most people tend to prefer eating it right after it comes out from the pot, while it’s still boiling hot. The Dolma is known for being very flavorful and spicy, but is sure to be a satisfying meal for anyone who consumes it.

3. Khao Soi

It is a soft and yellow egg noodle savory dish that is bathed in a thick curry broth and can be found being served on the streets of Thailand. The noodles are then topped with deep-fried, egg noodles that have a crispy exterior and are then served with a side of pickled greens. This combination may seem odd, but it is sure to awaken a person’s taste buds in ways that no other foods had done before.

4. Poulet Yassa

This is another savory dish, but this time it’s chicken based and originates from Senegal. The chicken is marinaded in lemon, onion, chile, and sometimes dijon mustard and fresh ginger. It is then cooked slowly over a low fire to allow for all the flavors to be soaked in before being served over a platter of rice. Once a person enjoys this aromatic and delicious chicken dish, he/she will come back to enjoy it time after time again.

5. Shin Kobe

It is oftentimes described as being a melt-in-your-mouth type beef dish originating from the lands of Japan. The reason why it is described like that is because, unlike regular beef, its fat is monounsaturated (meaning that it is healthy and will even lower a person’s cholesterol) and has a lower melting temperature. Interestingly enough, if it is prepared like regular steak, it would melt if cooked past medium rare. Thankfully the cooks of Japan know how to prepare this kind of meat just right, and it may end up becoming a person’s favorite meat if he/she were to ever try it.

6. Nasi Lemak

This unique dish is one that originated in Malaysia, and a food enthusiast once proclaimed that she would even travel across the world just to eat it. This flavorful dish uses rice as the base and is then cooked in a flavorful combination of coconut milk, chili sambal anchovies, deep fried chicken, half a hard boiled egg, sambal squid, peanuts and cucumbers. It is then served either wrapped in or just on top of a regular banana leaf which aids with the fragrance of this delicious nose as its aroma is sure to stir up a person’s hunger.

7. Jalebi

Unlike the other foods that have been previously mentioned on this list, this Indian dish is a sweet dessert. This dessert is made up of flour dough which is deliciously crispy yet soft and chewy at the same time. After being deep fried, these crunchy treats, in order to get their sweet taste, are then dipped in a specially prepared kind of sugary syrup called chashni. They can then be served hot or cold and are best recommended to be eaten as a breakfast snack with hot milk or after a large meal.

8. Gimbap

Last, but not least is the very popular South Korean dish which can be found almost everywhere. It is made up of cooked rice mixed with other various ingredients such as vegetables and then rolled in gim (a sheet of dried seaweed) and then cut up into round, bite size slices. Because of its easy nature, this food is oftentimes very easy to make and can be taken along with to be eaten on picnics, outdoor events, road trips, or it can be enjoyed as a light meal.

A person doesn’t need to travel the world to enjoy its varying cultures. Sometimes it’s enough to just enjoy the traditional meals of a land and a person can feel like they have travelled to a whole other world just by having the right atmosphere. So a person should at least once in their lifetime find a local, traditional, non-American eatery and treat themselves to a world of flavors he/she may have never experienced before.