5 Hungarian traditional dishes you must try in Hungary

Food is something common and universal, irrespective of gender, class, religion or life choices. Cuisines from all over the world are representations of the culture, the land and the heritage, and travelers will testify to the insight the food provides into the native mind.

So one day, if you’re backpacking across Europe and find yourself in Hungary; it’s important for you to know exactly what food you should eat first and why.

Apart from the dessert, all the main Hungarian dishes are full of spices and heavy on the paprika. That’s because Hungarian cuisine lays special emphasis on the spice, but the spice is balanced out with all the servings on the side, like nokedli, that add the base to the rich sauces made with black peppercorn, caraway, dill, coriander, marjoram, horseradish, black olives and other such ingredients.

There are always so many things that you feel like trying that it can get quite overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s your guide to the five dishes you definitely need to try, and that you should not leave Hungary without eating.

1. Goulash

The Italian cuisine is famous for their pasta and the Hungarian for their goulash. This is a traditional and centuries old dish made of warm soup or stew cooked with meat, vegetables and seasoned to perfection with paprika and with coarse salt and pepper and everything nice. It’s a meal prepared in slow-cookers and slaved over for hours, but we’re lucky that’s’ where all the fine and dine comes in and saves the day.

2. Paprikash

Then comes the Paprikash, which takes the name from its extensive use of sweet paprika in the flavouring of chicken strips in a Paprika-infused roux for long periods of time. The food hack here is to think, spicy Hungarian steaks. Cooked to perfection, drizzled with olive oil and served with a side of nokedli (dumpling-like boiled egg noodles) or tagliatelle, which are boiled ribbon noodles, this dish comes in a variety suited for its intended taste pallets. The vegetable lovers may add greens, bell peppers and tomatoes, while the not-so-vegetable-lovers may do without.

3. Halászlé

On special occasions, Hungarians usually have their famous Fisherman’s soup, or natively known as halászlé. The soup base is made with fish trimmings, fresh carp heads, bones, skin and fins, water, salt and vegetables. Once the base has been cooked and the court bouillon strained, hot ground paprika and carp fillets, roe and coral are added only ten minutes before serving to ensure the flavor is rich and the experience enjoyable to the fullest. It is a bright red soup, served hot, and definitely not for the faint of taste and tongue.