The Food of The Kingdom of Bhutan

Punakha Dzong

It was last October that the king of Bhutan got married, I remember being captivated by the beautiful clothes and pretty countryside it provided a rare glimse into this most isolated of countries. Around this time Patricia commented on the Chow and Chatter facebook wall she was going!, I always enjoy Patricia's comments and conversation and finally last night I asked to see pictures and asked for a guest post. She's a busy lady and doesn't blog but has a facebook page for food and shares my passion for food, travel and culture. Here's a wonderful treat a look at the delightful food of Bhutan thanks so much Patricia means the world to me.



 Thank you for the invite to do a guest post. In November of 2011, I travelled to the Kingdom of Bhutan. I am a friend of the King of Bhutan, we met while students together at JFK School of Government at Harvard University in 2005 (he was Crown Prince and I was doing post-graduate studies after law school). He invited his classmates to visit him in Bhutan. I began my plans in 2006, working with a local friend, Margrit Elliot, who has a non-profit that takes medical burn teams to Bhutan to volunteer their services in the country. She kindly arranged for me to lecture in the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan at the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, in an area of law called intellectual property and more specifically, cultural resource protection. (A lecture I am also doing this July in Vienna, Austria at the International Congress of the Americanists). I love cooking and food and focused several of my travel photos on the foods of the Kingdom of Bhutan and brought back one Bhutanese cookbook. I consumed at least eight fresh vegetables daily, drank tea six times a day, and walked along trails, up mountains and saw so much beauty!

Rice at Weekend Market

 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.

small fruit and vegetable market in the city 

Chiles and ginger, weekend market, Thimphu, Bhutan.

lemons and limes. weekend market

 — inThimphu, Bhutan.

Swiss cheese factory in Bumthang.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bhutan/news/article.cfm?l_id=511&objectid=10469968

 — inBumtang, Bumthang, Bhutan.

Dal (lentil soup), spinach, rice, green chilis with cheese, potatoes with cheese and pickled chilis. Offered at the Taksang Cafeteria, half-way point up to Tiger's Nest Monastery, Paro, Bhutan.

Hummus in bowl, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and steamed dumplings. Lunch at Ambient Cafe, Thimphu, Bhutan.

in the green leaves Yak Butter and cheese

 Prayer flags 

Fresh fruit salad, dinner at a private residence in Thimphu, Bhutan. Apples are the star points. Fruit cocktail is the center with fresh mango, papaya and red cherries.

Chiles in weekend market

 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.

Swiss cheese 

Dried fish at weekend market

 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.

These are BBQ salmon eggs a custom of her husbands Native American tribe I just had to share this as it looks so tasty 

The wonderful and cultured Patricia Paul, be sure to like her facebook page Aqiimuk Nikniaktuk - the name of her facebook page translates Aqiimuk is cooking. Aqiimuk is my Inupiaq name (a name given at birth and passed from generation to generation). Patricia's heritage is Inupiaq (northern Alaskan Eskimo on my mother's side and of English/Danish descent on my father's side). Maybe we can persuade her to share some of her native recipes one day with us, be sure to comment :-). 

Pin It