I’m a Polish foodie and former chocolate lover (as you may know or not, I gave up chocolate and sweets in January for health reasons). Although, I keen on eating different food from all over the world, I’m always faithful to my native cuisine. Wherever I go, I miss my favourite Polish dishes so badly. Especially now, when I eat Chinese food almost every day.
I try to cook some Polish food in my apartment here in Dongguan, but the taste is never the same. Besides, some ingredients such as bread crumbs, proper cheese and pasta are not available at Chinese supermarkets.
Some of the features of traditional Polish cuisine:
- Consists of high calorie dishes.
- The majority of dishes are stodgy and filling.
- Very rich in meat such as beef, chicken and pork.
- Bread and flour are the main ingredients.
- Nearly every meal is served with potatoes and kind of salad (gherkins, pickles, sauerkraut).
- Various herbs and spices are used to make dishes tasty – dill, pepper, parsley, marjoram.
- Meat is mostly fried, veggies are served raw.
There are times when I would die for a plate of Polish dumpling (pierogi), a bowl of chicken soup (rosół). some herring in oil or just simple butter potatoes. Here is the list of my best Polish food I always look forward to having when coming back home from my exotic voyages:
#1 Rosół (chicken soup)
My best soup every. I usually have it on Sunday dinner after coming back home from church. It always warms me up in winter and gives me a boost of energy in autumn and spring. It takes approximately 45 minutes to cook it. All you need is a piece of meat (chicken is the best one), some water, veggies (onion, parsley, carrot) and salt and pepper for taste. You cook your pasta separately and add it to the soup afterwards. Yummy and refreshing!
#2 Bigos (Hunter’s stew)
You can’t really imagine traditional Polish national holidays without having a bowl of homemade bigos on your table. Made from shreds sauerkraut and cabbage plus dried mushrooms with some chopped sausages tastes just delicious enough to go for the seconds.
#3 Łazanki
My mom used to make them on Saturday lunch and I always looked forward to this. It’s a dish which consists of homemade pasta, chopped and fried cabbage served with well done pork meat and slices of carrot and onions. Your mouth’s watering when you just look at it!
#4 Polish meat – sausages, pork chops and meatballs
You must have heard of famous Polish sausages such as krakowska or starowiejska – smoked and fresh. When I was a kid, I used to have a few slices of bread with butter and sliced sausages for my breakfast. I still remember its smell and flavour and miss it badly these days.
The other meat feast are Polish meatballs (pulpety mielone) and breaded pork cutlets (schabowe). They can be both perfectly served with buttered potatoes and cabbage salad.
#5 Herring in oil (śledź w oleju)
A must eat when you attend a Polish wedding! Slightly salty dipped in pickled onion oil or garlic sour cream sprinkled with dills. Real treat!
# 6 – Polish dumplings (pierogi)
I can’t get enough of Chinese dumplings (baozi) but they can’t compare to Polish dumplings (pierogi), they just can’t! Reason? Polish ones are thick and can be filled with:
- Meat (beef).
- Sauerkraut and mushrooms.
- Seasonal fruits (strawberries and blueberries taste the best).
- Cottage cheese and boiled potatoes.
They taste differently every time you eat them and they just melt in your mouth!
#7 Polish fish – Greek style (ryba po grecku)
It’s very easy to make, you just need a fried white fish, some carrot, onions and few tomatoes. You lay the fried fish on top of the plate and cover it completely with tomato-vegetable mixture. Served hot or cold tastes equally awesome!
#8 – Gelatine (galareta)
In very simple words galareta are vegetables and meat ( any kind of poultry, pig’s and cattle’s feet, snouts, ears, skin) dipped in a gelatine. It has a jelly consistency and tastes nice.
#9 Apple pie with ice cream (jabłecznik z lodami)
It’s my favourite dessert I have every Sundays and a cup of nice latte with cinnamon or hot chocolate are its best friends! I used to put some extra nutella on top to make it more sweet :). Unfortunately, Chinese sweets are tasteless so I can only dream of a dessert like that in China.
#10 Polish croissant cookies
Filled with jam and made of puff pastry, I simply love them and guess what … I know how to bake them, ha!
66 thoughts on “My 10 Favourite Polish Foods I’m Missing So Badly in China”
Hi Agness, I understand your angst. Not only is Chinese food so world apart from Polish food but Polish dish ingredients are so hard to find in China. I crave for Filipino food from time to time, but the thing is there are Filipino stores in New York where I can pick up what I crave for. I can just imagine how frustrating it is to crave for your traditional food and can’t get them.
True. I crave more Polish food than Chinese actually.
When I got back from South America this year i couldnt wait to cook myself some healthy food as it seemed as though eating on a budget in south america meant eating alot of greasy fried food including snitzel and burgers…however thats what i loved when i first arrived in south america. I like to chop and change with the food i eat, curry one night, noodles the next, then pizza :) i find it hard to do that when travelling on a budget – you have to just stick to the staple food in the country your in.
I know. So true. Healthy food can be really expensive even in Asia, especially fresh fish or chicken. Veggies and fruits are cheap though. When I travel, I allow myself to eat everything I want, but at the same time I try to keep the balance. Have a healthy snacks, something greasy for a lunch and come back to a healthy dinner :). I’m going to South America soon and that scares me!! It cannot be that expensive, can it?
Polish dumplings are some of my absolute favorite food, they’re good enough reason alone to travel to Poland!
Yep, totally agree!
Ohh, thanks, Agness! You’ve reminded me my good childhood times :) Love pierogi and galareta!!!!
So happy to do that! I’m craving some galareta right now!! :)
Omg that apple pie looks to die for!! Thanks for sharing this, I’m ashamed to say that I know so little of Polish cuisine. If love to try some of these one day. I truly think that eating is one of the greatest joys of travelling- you take in so much of a country’s condition through its food.
Thanks Tim. Maybe you can make it to Poland one day and we will teach more more about Polish food and drinking habits :)
I’m gonna get myself some pierogi when I go to Poland – looks really appetizing! :)
They are heaven in your mouth, seriously. My mom promised to cook some when I get back home. Less than 4 weeks left!!! Pierogis, I’m coming!!
I’m so excited to spend several days in Poland in a few weeks! I’ve always loved pierogi :) I haven’t heard of some of the others on the list though. I’m excited to try Bigos, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to stomach galareta. I can’t wait for our trip to start!
Hi Jen. Great to hear you’re going to Poland. I bet you will enjoy the food, local hospitality and historical monuments. Galareta tastes better than it looks, I’m telling you. Enjoy your trip and I want to know what food was your favourite one:)
Ok, I want to visit your grandma (I miss mine more than you can know) so she can cook for me!! These dishes look amazing, Agness. So, if you could pick ONE dish (and only one…I know, unfair question)…which one would it be for you to eat?? :)
Polish herrings and vodka! Good memories from Poland! Nice website, keep it up!
Cheers Luca!
I’ve eaten so many pierogi since arriving in Poland!!! They’re really good, and I was surprised that they are so similar to Asian dumpling, except of course very different fillings. Looking forward to trying some more Polish food, though it’s harder for vegetarians of course.
NICE! What was your favourite feeling? Mine are fruits (strawberries and raspberries) and of course potatoes with cheese!
Ah, these are some of my favourite foods too! I always try to get my mum to teach me some of the recipes when I see her – so that I can recreate them myself, of course! Hope you get to eat some of these soon xx
I’ve heard so many good things about pierogi, I definitely have to try those one of these days!
Hey Agness ! Could you please write an article about where to eat in Krakow .. I am from India and traveling to Krakow next month and need your expert guidance :)
Hi Priyanka,
We haven’t been to Krakow yet but we will be there at the end of April for the Trablin Conference. We are real foodies so writing about where and what to eat in Krakow sounds like a plan.
For now, we recommend https://www.likealocalguide.com/krakow/eating for top foods and restaurants in the city.
Enjoy your trip :-) X
My favorite polish dishes are: Żurek, Kopytka and Schabowy!!
Same here!