What would you say is a traditional British meal?
Posted by Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 136 comments
I have an African housemate, and he mentioned speaking to a colleague about what constitutes a traditional British meal. The answer he got was "Chicken and chips". I've tried to give him ideas but got lost after a fry-up, Sunday roast, shepherds and cottage pie.
Anything else I can suggest to him? Everything else I can come up with originate elsewhere by all accounts.
Few_Expression_3262@reddit
Bangers and mash, cheese & beans jacket potato, beans on toast, chicken tikka masala, Scouse, pies/pastries eg meat & potato pies, Cornish pasties, sausage roll, afternoon tea, fish & chips, Sunday roast, toad in the hole, Lancashire hotpot
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
I know a guy from Romania, who's a chef, and he just can't wrap his head around beans on toast being a meal. He just won't accept how satisfying it is as comfort food. Some people.
GrandGourmande@reddit
American here, and I don’t understand the appeal of beans on toast either. Here, beans are just another side vegetable, never eaten on toast. That must have become popular in Britain after 1776, because it didn’t come down to us here.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
You're missing out. Grab some Heinz, toast off some bread, smother accordingly and enjoy with a generous helping of cracked pepper. Brown sauce as well if you have it. Delicious!
platypuss1871@reddit
Branston beans are so much better than whatever Heinz have become nowadays.
Savanarola79@reddit
Have you tried it? 🫘🥪
GrandGourmande@reddit
No, I haven’t. Are the beans plain? Salty or other seasoning? Include bacon?
SmugDruggler95@reddit
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/252261477?sc_cmp=ppcGHS+-+Grocery+-+NewMPX_PMAX_Mixed+Retention_Beta_Whoosh_Whoosh+Budget_1013974*252261477&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22796716283&gbraid=0AAAAADiyNatVCMqbzHJBY469NuzrlVNeS&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkMjOBhC5ARIsADIdb3f4lPpAfOFa8kBraVXIGyQlbSgvM0lWgs2hWAHC2P7rwjnue1x5SuIaApZcEALw_wcB
Dico80@reddit
The beans we use are different to those you typically have stateside, I hear yours are much sweeter.
Few_Expression_3262@reddit
Interesting considering there are so many thick traditional bean soup recipes in Romanian cuisine that are served with bread.. bro is living his beans on toast fantasy without even knowing it 🤣
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
It's probably more the fact that beans on toast in UK is canned processed beans essentially sitting in ketchup (same ingredients).... That's pretty gross to basically everyone in the world except British people.
Shriven@reddit
Apart from when people try it and go yum
Savanarola79@reddit
More fool the world then 🫘 🌎
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
They serve some of their meals in a bowl of bread lol
Snoo93102@reddit
Fish fingers chips and spaghetti hoops.
moidartach@reddit
Meat and two veg
Fioreborn@reddit
Sausage and mash.
Sausage, chips and beans.
Turkey dinosaurs and smiley faces.
Shepard's/cottage pie.
purplelilacs2017@reddit
Jacket potato
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
With what though? Filling is the key.
purplelilacs2017@reddit
Earlier this week, we had jacket potatoes with some leftover chilli con carne. But most of the time, my kids are more than happy to have it with just baked beans and cheese
sihasihasi@reddit
Sausage, beans & cheese. Or Tuna Mayo.
freakybo0o@reddit
That's a good one!
CosyColouringBooks@reddit
Fish and chips, but definitely a Sunday roast!
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
How did I forget fish and chips?
Final_Flounder9849@reddit
Ah that traditional meal brought here by Portuguese Jews!
Neither_Process_7847@reddit
What, fish and chips? Was it?? If so, another great example of our true national talent of taking other countries food and making something distinct and new from it (qv balti and much of the English language...)
Shriven@reddit
Everything considered Italian is tomatoey as fuck but tomatoes didn't exist in Europe until the 16th century.
Neither_Process_7847@reddit
Half of Italian cuisine was invented out of whole cloth by emigrees to the US after WW2, but don't suggest that to someone from Bologna during a fight with a neighbour over whether ragu di Bolgona should be made with red wine or white wine...
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
This has given me my biggest chuckle today! Thank you!
SituationMundane5452@reddit
I’ve recently come back from a holiday in china. Everyone over there associates the British with fish and chips. Children literally pointed at me saying “fish and chips” whilst laughing
SorryNotSorryMatey@reddit
what do you think of real Chinese food? I find most of it amazing, but some stuff i just find disgusting, mainly due to the textures oh and when I ask what this is, you get a vague reply like - it's some sort of fish thing...
SorryNotSorryMatey@reddit
This is apparently due to a textbook the Chinese use to learn English, so my partner says..
CosyColouringBooks@reddit
Sausage and mash as well maybe? Bloody love sausage and mash with mushy peas and onion gravy
Neither_Process_7847@reddit
Cornish stargazy pie? Cauliflower cheese? Or even balti curry (invented in Birmingham) or tikka masala (invented in Bradford). Fish and chips is as British as it comes too...
Untrustworthy__@reddit
Duck shit and hailstones. It's whats for tea.
Rage_fotf@reddit
lancashire hotpot. scouse
Ennochie@reddit
Kedgeree
Rabbit casserole
Fish pie
Roast venison
Stoavies made with neck of lamb
Devilled kidneys on toast
Calves' liver with bacon and mash
maceion@reddit
Bread, butter and cheese sandwich with pickle.
Fit_General7058@reddit
Faggots please and mash.
Haggis, neeps and tatties, pie chips and mushy peas.
Roast lamb dinner. Pork or lamb chops dinner, stew, and suet dumplings, Lancashire hotpot, Scouse,, steamed puddings (sweet and savoury)
Cod_Proper@reddit
Toad in the hole!
Maleficent-Heart2497@reddit
Lamb, potatoes and cabbage in whatever form you like.
Supposedly one of the most sustainable UK meals
Specific_Pomelo_8281@reddit
A UK Chinese. It is completely different to the Chinese you get anywhere else. But to me it’s definitely more of a British food.
Icy_Mixture1482@reddit
Ugh. Having lived in China for 10 years, coming back after COVID was great… apart from the night my family suggested ordering “Chinese” food.
Had to force that bland shit down and pretend it was tasty. I managed about a quarter before said I was too full.
parsuval@reddit
Not enough gutter oil for your tastes?
mtchgrnt@reddit
Bangers and mash, bubble and squeak, pie and mash, fish and chips. Stews with dumplings, corned beef hash...
Basically meat and potato in all forms 😂
Going into snack territory - beans on toast, pork pies, scotch eggs
iffyClyro@reddit
Funny that all seems English to me which obviously makes it British by default.
CrossCityLine@reddit
Scotland of course famous for not having sausages or fish.
iffyClyro@reddit
Scotch eggs as well.
OptionalQuality789@reddit
Are not Scottish…
iffyClyro@reddit
That’s the joke.
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I wouldn't say bubble and squeak is British as such. I've never seen it anywhere but Reddit. Its a London thing?
lesterbottomley@reddit
Definitely not just London. If someone had told me its regional I would have said Northern as it was very popular growing up in Yorkshire many decades ago.
Its basically Monday's tea using up all the Sunday roast leftovers.
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
Must be a generational thing then
SmugDruggler95@reddit
Cooking it at home seems to be, don't know anyone thay makes it.
Still pretty standard in cafes though
Party-Werewolf-4888@reddit
Bubble and Squeak was our traditional Monday night tea growing up in the 80s, leftovers from Sunday roast. I expect as people have become less frugal and less concerned with leftovers, its died off somewhat. (Not London, NW England). We also have an epic version of bubble and squeak and boxing day, along with the customary turkey curry.
patchworkcat12@reddit
Not Londoner and enjoy bubble and squeak
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I didn't say it was only liked in London but I've never seen it on a menu was my point. And knew up in North Bucks
SaltyLilSelkie@reddit
You might see it in a caff or greasy spoon breakfast menu
sihasihasi@reddit
I'd say that it's about as British as they come, it's just fallen out of fashion in the last few decades.
My standard post-pub cafe breakfast, 30 years ago, had bubble & squeak.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Have to go to a butchers for a genuinely good scotch egg.
Ryledra@reddit
Upgrade your bangers and mash with a giant Yorkshire pud and call it toad in the hole
~~chicken tikka masala~~
El_Bastardo_Grande@reddit
Practical-Command634@reddit
That must be an old picture? Don't get much for a quid anymore
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
I haven't had corned beef hash in so long. Thank you for the inspiration kind stranger!
mtchgrnt@reddit
Toad in the hole!
jimiblakk@reddit
Rarebit
BulldenChoppahYus@reddit
Pork chop, sautéed root veg, greens.
You can change the meat, the potato method and the greens to whatever you like.
Dramatic-Parking-943@reddit
Adding Lamb Henry and Cumberland pie to the list.
Potential_Coast8072@reddit
Ploughman's lunch, Cornish pasty, fried breakfast,
Savanarola79@reddit
Ploughman's Lunch isn't traditional at all, it's a modern marketing gimmick - fun fact! Very tasty though.
Potential_Coast8072@reddit
Yeah the milk board ran the adverts in the 70s. Over 50 years ago. I think it qualifies as traditional now
Scarred_fish@reddit
You need to make a meal map.
A "traditional British meal" varies vastly between London and Shetland!
Big_Chungussi69@reddit
sunday roast, and english breakfast for sure
Spotted dick if you're feeling saucy lmao
KaranDash24@reddit
Lancashire hotpot, scouse, scotch broth, jumble biscuits, Bakewell tart
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
What's a jumble biscuit? I must know.
KaranDash24@reddit
Recipe here. I remember them being quite popular in the 80s/90s but not so much now. Jumble biscuits recipe - BBC Food
scottishsilversurfer@reddit
Spam fritters
scottishsilversurfer@reddit
Fish and chips
Veenkoira00@reddit
When I arrived to Britain, it was fish and chips on Fridays, Sunday roast with all the trimmings on Sundays, pie and mash with liquor in the East End on any day. That's all traditional. Chicken (tikka masala or deep fried) is just common, not yet traditional – chicken just became cheap with factory farming of the foul.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Never tried liquor. I'd like to but don't know what to expect.
Veenkoira00@reddit
Slightly salty and fishy, very parsley.
Savanarola79@reddit
Depends how you define traditional, really.
Veenkoira00@reddit
True. In my books, if your granny's granny didn't make it, it ain't traditional.
OptionalQuality789@reddit
Daft-Count@reddit
Chicken Tikka Masala
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
I did mention that tbh, but he insisted it's Indian.
Few_Expression_3262@reddit
Educate him, the only place you’re finding chicken tikka masala in India is at a tourist hotspot lol. It’s a British-Indian invention and is the national dish of the United Kingdom; if he wants a traditional British dish this is that - a blend of culture & flavours 😎 you should introduce him to some British-Chinese delicacies while you’re at it too :P
OptionalQuality789@reddit
It’s definitely not the nation dish no matter how hard some media institutions try to push it
PennyBunPudding@reddit
National doesn't equal traditional. It's more a modern dish. Traditional is potato and bootstraps
Savanarola79@reddit
Pottage.
PennyBunPudding@reddit
Proper British none of this post Roman era stuff
Savanarola79@reddit
It's actually quite easy to make, tasty and nutritious! 🍲
GoldAndDogs@reddit
Well it was invented in Glasgow by a man from Pakistan
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Exactly what I tried to tell him. Wasn't having it.
Savanarola79@reddit
What about it wasn't he having? Does he want dishes that originated only from a certain date/period?
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
No, he just didn't believe that it was invented here.
Savanarola79@reddit
Even after you explained it was invented here by British Indian people? How strange 🤷♂️
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
What can I say? He just wasn't receptive to it.
Savanarola79@reddit
Maybe he just doesn't consider that 'traditional' enough? Who knows.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Maybe. He couldn't wrap his head around haggis either. Or the Bedfordshire Clanger.
therealhairykrishna@reddit
Balti too. Invented in Birmingham.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Good shout. Would never eat it, but good shout nonetheless.
Lickonmydick@reddit
I'd focus on puddings.
Savanarola79@reddit
Yes, British baking, desserts etc often have more character than our savoury foods
Lickonmydick@reddit
Custard and a steamed anything has always been a treat to anyone not from 'round here.
No-Problem-1354@reddit
Cheesy pasta for main and angel delight for dessert.
Bangers and mash
Stew and dumplings
Cottage pie
Shepherds pie
Roast dinner with all the trimmings
Toad in the hole
Haggis neeps and tatties
Macaroni pie and chips/mash
Beans on toast
Baked potato and beans and cheese
Steak pie and chips/mash
Mince and tatties
Mince pie and chips/mash
Apple pie
Rice pudding
Custard (on its own)
Trifle
Jam roly poly
Icecream Swiss roll
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Or Viennata if it was a special Sunday
Yorkshire_Roast@reddit
Crisp butty
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
What crisp?
Yorkshire_Roast@reddit
Cheese and onion.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Good shout. I love a combo sandwich. If I have them in the house, peanut butter, coleslaw, and salt and vinegar McCoys. Don't knock until you've tried it.
SituationMundane5452@reddit
Sausage egg and chips
EpicEpicnessTheEpic@reddit
Or ham, egg and chips, the other classic variation.
jeanettem67@reddit
Gammon steak with egg and/or pineapple.
Savanarola79@reddit
Parmo (Google it)
LoccyDaBorg@reddit
If you have to Google it it's not remotely traditional.
ArtistEngineer@reddit
something beige with over cooked vegetables
Pockysocks@reddit
Roasts, stews, pastries, fish and chips.
Depending how modern you want to go, There's curry dishes. A number of which were developed in Britain.
jamesycakes231@reddit
Stargazy pie is a unique Cornish dish, there's the pasty as well.
PennyBunPudding@reddit
I mean the national dish is chicken tikka masala but a traditional dish is something based around the classic two veg and meat
whatanabsolutefrog@reddit
Fishcakes (?)
HollyGoLately@reddit
Curry
kalendral_42@reddit
Hotpot
Fish & chips with either curry sauce or gravy
Roast dinner
Cornish pasty, pork pies, sausage rolls, etc
Ploughman’s
Pie & mash
Curry - especially things like Chicken Tikka Massala (invented for the British market)
Suet dumplings/puddings (savoury e.g. steak & kidney), also puddings (sweet - e.g. spotted dick & custard)
Apple pies, crumbles, sticky toffee pudding, cobblers, etc
Jellied eels (particularly in areas of London)
Toad-in-the-hole
Sausages & mash
Party_Biscotti_7583@reddit
mac & cheese
Spiritual_Loss_7287@reddit
Faggots followed by Spotted Dick.
_-poindexter-_@reddit
Cottage/ shepherds pie, beef stew and dumplings
Strong-Librarian-OOK@reddit
Most gravy dinners: a full roast, cottage/shepherds pie, toad in the hole, sausage and mash etc…
Hotpots and stews; I know most regions have their own like scouse, Welsh cawl (apologies if that’s spelled wrong), Irish stew, Lancashire hotpot…
Fish and chips.
Fry up.
High tea.
Radiant_Chart3163@reddit
Liver and onion with bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy.
Rude-Possibility4682@reddit
Steak and ale pie, mash and veg don't forget the gravy.
iffyClyro@reddit
Haggis, neeps and tatties if you count Scottish as British.
Few-Calligrapher3910@reddit (OP)
Absolutely do. Love some haggis. I'll always buy some if I see it.
Active-Strawberry-37@reddit
Sausage Roll, wrapped in yesterday’s newspaper.
amore_pomfritte@reddit
Beef Wellington
Lion_Of_Lime_Street@reddit
Deep fried heroin and a side order or drink fuelled domestic violence
girlsunderpressure@reddit
traditional british meals: breakfast, lunch (dinner in midlands/north), dinner (tea in midlands/north)
modern british meals: brunch, street food at any hour, constant snacks, smoothies, milky sugary prepared drinks from coffee shops.
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