What are the main food dishes in New Zealand?
NZ cuisine has its origins in British foods but is also influenced by Maori cuisine. Modern NZ cuisine is largely influenced by the cuisines of the Pacific Rim. Although NZ is famous for its lamb, seafood plays a large role in the diet as well. These dishes distinctly have a New Zealand style, there’s lamb, pork and cervena (venison), salmon, crayfish (lobster), Bluff oysters, paua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (both are types of New Zealand shellfish); kumara (sweet potato); kiwifruit and tamarillo; and pavlova, the national dessert. The New Zealand summer sees many eat outdoors, often in a barbecue setting. Kiwi barbecues – featuring New Zealand beef, lamb and seafood – are a big part of the culture, and typify the laid-back nature of the New Zealand people. Another style of all-year-round outdoor cooking is the traditional Maori hangi (pronounced hung-ee), cooked underground on hot coals, usually prepared for special occasions. It includes a vegetable called the kum
