Cuisine in the World of Avatar

Cuisine in the World of Avatar can be divided into four major categories which follow the division of the four nations; however, regional variation in cuisine can be found, particularly in the Earth Kingdom.

Air Nomads


Being that the Air Nomad civilization was mainly wiped out at the beginning of the Hundred Year War, little information is known about the culinary tastes of the Air Nomads. However, the most defining characteristic in their cuisine was a strict vegetarianism. Aside from vegetarian dishes, Air Nomads are known for their sweets, such as fruit pies and custard tarts.

Cooking style
Little information is known about the cooking style of the Air Nomads except that they are known to be skilled at baking foods.

Common ingredients

 * Apple — Used for pies and feeding sky bison.
 * Banana — Used for juices.
 * Flour — Used in baking fruit pies, for example.
 * Moon peach — Eaten whole.
 * Nuts — Eaten for a snack.
 * Onion — Used for juices.

Dishes

 * Dumplings — Presumably filled with vegetables.
 * Fruit pie — Baked pastries filled with minced fruit.
 * Moon cakes — A cake.
 * Noodles — Mixed with vegetables.
 * Rice — Eaten as a side dish.

Water Tribe


Because of the bare land on which they live, the Water Tribes draw most of their food sources from the ocean. Cuisine basically consists of sea crab, sea prunes, sea squid, seaweed, and seal jerky.

Cooking style
The cooking style of the Water Tribe is mainly boiling or stewing, due to the limited resources they have available to make more elaborate dishes. Also, as they live in a colder part of the world, it is more practical to have food that warms the body like stews and less practical to have salads. They also make jerky out of seal meat.

Common ingredients

 * Fish — Usually steamed or boiled.
 * Giant sea crab — A delicacy considered by many to be the most popular and sought-after food in the Northern Sea.
 * Octopus/Squid — Used in stews.
 * Sea prune — Boiled into sea prune stew, similar in taste to ocean kumquats.
 * Seal - Used to make blubbered seal jerky.
 * Seaweed — Made into noodles, sprinkles, soup, bread, and cookies.
 * Two-headed fish — Used to make two-headed fish soup and found as a mutation of a normal fish.
 * Whale — Usually boiled.

Dishes

 * Arctic hen — A delectable Southern Water Tribe dish.
 * Blubbered seal jerky — Jerky made from seal meat and blubber.
 * Five-flavor soup — Traditional Southern Water Tribe dinner.
 * Pickled fish — A meal that lives up to its name; eaten in the Northern Water Tribe.
 * Sea prune stew — Sea prunes stewed in water and with other common ingredients.
 * Seaweed noodles — A typical Southern Water Tribe dish.
 * Tentacle soup — A Northern Water Tribe dish, consisting of squid/octopus tentacles and noodles.
 * Two-headed fish soup — Southern Water Tribe specialty.

Earth Kingdom


People in the Earth Kingdom eat a variety of grown foods such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, rice, and tea. There is a large regional variation on the types of food eaten, ranging from simpler village fare to the elaborate roasts, cakes, etc. found in Ba Sing Se. Meat and poultry from wild game and farms are also common.

Cooking style
A huge variety of cooking methods are utilized in the Earth Kingdom. Earth Kingdom people live in a huge country with great variation in climate and therefore food. Boiling is used for rice and many vegetables. Fish is usually steamed, and meats are usually roasted. Baking is also extensively used to make cakes, buns, and tarts.

Common ingredients

 * Cabbage — Usually boiled, stir-fried or left uncooked and used as garnish.
 * Chicken — Usually roasted.
 * Chili — Used as a flavoring.
 * Duck — Usually roasted.
 * Egg — Used in a variety of ways.
 * Fish — Usually steamed and applied with garnish.
 * Flour — Used to make noodles, cakes, pastries, and buns.
 * Jennamite — Rock candy.
 * Lettuce — Usually boiled, stir-fried, or left uncooked and used as garnish.
 * Mango — Used to make a beverage of the same name.
 * Platypus bear egg — Used in a variety of ways.
 * Pork — Usually roasted.
 * Rice — A staple food, usually boiled.
 * Soy — Used to make tofu.
 * Wheat — A staple food, usually made into flour.

Fruits

 * Apple
 * Berries
 * Eggplant
 * Leechi nuts
 * Mango
 * Moon peaches
 * Papaya
 * Watermelon

Dishes

 * Cakes — Mixed flour, sugar, egg, and butter; baked.
 * Crab puffs — Crab meat made into puffs.
 * Deep-fried pickled radishes — These are never seen, only mentioned by Katara in "Sokka, The Avatar".
 * Egg custard tart — Tart with an egg custard center.
 * Fried dough — Flour dough that is fried.
 * Jook — Rice congee.
 * Noodle soup — Noodles and various vegetables and meats cooked in soup.
 * Pan-fried noodles
 * Pau buns
 * Roast duck — A duck that is seasoned with herbs and spices, roasted, and applied with a special sauce.
 * Soup — Made from a variety of meats and vegetables; usually thin.
 * Tofu/Bean curd puffs — Tofu made into smaller puffs and fried.
 * Unfried dough — Regular flour dough, cut into the shape of Avatar Aang. Exclusive dish of Chin Village.

Beverages

 * Cactus juice — Can be consumed straight from the cactus, but has hallucinogenic properties.
 * Mango — Made from mangoes and other fruits mixed with water in an ice bowl.
 * Tea — Made from a variety of leaves in hot water.

Others

 * Mint — A small piece of candy.

Fire Nation


The defining characteristic of Fire Nation cuisine is its spicy nature, closely resembling Szechuan cuisine. Fire Nation citizens even put spices into many of their delicacies and treats. Like the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation uses a wide variety of grains, meats, and vegetables in cooking.

Cooking style
As with the Earth Kingdom, there are many cooking methods. Regional variation is smaller, but the available types of food are still extensive. Boiling is used for rice and many vegetables. Fish is usually steamed, and meats roasted. Baking is also extensively used to make cakes, buns, and tarts. The Fire Nation also has many snack foods, commonly in the form of roasted bite-sized pieces with a large amount of spices. Chili and other spices are added to nearly all savory food.

Common ingredients

 * Cabbage — Usually boiled, stir-fried, or left uncooked and used as garnish.
 * Chili — Used extensively for almost any type of dish; found stir fried, boiled, and in salads.
 * Clams — Usually boiled.
 * Crab — Presumably fried.
 * Duck — Usually roasted.
 * Fish — Usually steamed with garnish applied.
 * Flour — Made from wheat into buns and dumplings.
 * Komodo chicken — Presumably roasted.
 * Komodo rhino — Made into sausages.
 * Rice — A staple food, usually boiled.
 * Sea slug — Usually smoked.
 * Squid — Presumably fried.
 * Wheat — A staple food, made into flour.

Fruits and vegetables

 * Ash banana
 * Banana
 * Cherries
 * Leechi nuts
 * Lemon
 * Lettuce
 * Mango
 * Ocean kumquat
 * Pink berries 
 * Pomegranate
 * Purple berries
 * Tomato
 * Tomato-carrot
 * Watermelon

Dishes

 * Buns and bread — Made from flour.
 * Cookies
 * Dumplings — Flour filled with meat and vegetables, usually boiled.
 * Fire gummies — Snack food.
 * Flaming fire flakes — Snack food; spicy flakes that are roasted.
 * Fruit tart — Dessert. It can be served with rose petals on top.
 * Ice cream — Frozen cream, eaten in waffle cones.
 * Komodo sausage — Sausage made from komodo rhino meat.
 * Mochi — Rice cake.
 * Noodles
 * Noodle soup — Soup with noodles and sea foods.
 * Roast duck — Duck that is seasoned, roasted and cut into bite-sized pieces.
 * Sea soup — Soup with seafood and eggs.
 * Sizzle-crisps — Snack food, probably made from meat.
 * Smoked sea slug — Common dish enjoyed by middle and upper class.
 * Rice
 * Superspicy soufflé — Specialty of Kirachu Island.
 * Tart pie — Pie with fruit tart on top.

Beverages

 * Juice — A cold drink with a slice of fruit; a favorite of Piandao.
 * Tea — Made from a variety of leaves in hot water. There are many varieties. The type drunk in the homeland is Fire Nation spice tea, mainly by commoners, but nobles may have it as well. They also enjoy jasmine and ginseng tea, the latter of which Iroh says is his favorite.
 * Watermelon juice — Consumed on especially hot days or at the beach.

Dishes

 * Flamey-Os Instant Noodles — A convenient dish known for its quick preparation time. The producers of the product sponsored a pro-bending match in order to advertise the product. Shiro Shinobi advertised the product over the radio, calling them "the noodliest noodles in the United Republic."
 * Seaweed noodles — A dish typically from the Southern Water Tribe. It is sold at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery.

Beverages

 * Leechi juice — Made from leechi nuts.

Trivia

 * Most dishes, specifically those of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, are heavily influenced by Asian cuisine, particularly that of China. Many of them are actual dishes. Also, chopsticks are the primary eating utensils worldwide.
 * The Air Nomads are the only entirely vegetarian nation.