The latest installment in our Around the World in 80 Dishes series is doro wett, an Ethiopian chicken stew with a thick, spiced sauce. When I was working on this story, I was struck by a quote in chef Marcus Samuelsson's book New American Table, which focuses on immigrant cooking in America. "I've always thought that in America—where you have access to the highest-quality ingredients and great cooking supplies—you can often make ethnic food that actually tastes better than it does in its native country," writes Samuelsson. This is a bold statement, but it makes sense: These days, in most parts of the country, we can buy not only top-notch, fresh-from-the-farm produce, meat, and dairy, but also all the once-obscure seasonings required to produce authentic dishes from around the world. Case in point: berbere, the pungent spice mix that's a required element in many Ethiopian recipes, including doro wett. Our recipe (from Samuelsson) explains how to make it at home, but you can also easily order it from kalustyans.com, an indispensable source for many ethnic ingredients. (We often find ourselves linking to Kalustyans from Around the World in 80 Dishes articles.)
Do you like to cook less-known ethnic dishes? Do you agree with Samuelsson's statement—do you find it easy to get top-quality ethnic ingredients?
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