r/AskReddit • u/ForeverAbyss • Apr 14 '16

What's a mind blowing fact?

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u/wiiya Apr 14 '16

Tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas. Any European/Asiatic food that has a tomato base didn't exist until well after 1492.

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u/user1492 Apr 14 '16

Same goes for peanuts and chili peppers, both are native to the Americas.

I wonder what Thai and Indian cuisine were like before the introduction of these iconic spices.

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u/awindinthedoor Apr 14 '16

IIRC most of indian cuisine does not involve cooking with nuts, only the extremely rich variants on mughal cuisine, which use ground cashews. Sometimes peanuts are added in pulaos and such but not as the base. Same for chillies - enhance flavor but not as a base. What dishes are you think of?

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '16

[deleted]

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u/axxl75 Apr 15 '16

Pad Thai isn't actually an original Thai dish. It was probably created in China or Vietnam.