30 Delicious Foods That Start With 'U' To Make At Home

If you have been taking on the alphabet challenge on foods and have found yourself stuck with foods that start with ‘U’, consider yourself lucky because this post offers 30 foods whose names start with the letter ‘U’.

From noodles to pastries, fruits and savory dishes, there is no limit to what the ‘U’ can offer, so read on and you might find something that will interest you.

Table of Contents

30 foods that start with U

#1. Asian flair with udon noodles

Udon is next to ramen when it comes to our all-time favorite Japanese noodle dishes.

The bomb is always the soup and although there are various types of udon, they always have a dashi soup stock base and kakejiru broth.

Udon always comes with the fusion of meat and shredded vegetables, such as scallions and mungo sprouts and topped with egg.

#2. Uttapam

This one is South India’s version of pizza. It is like a crepe-pancake crossover that is crispy outside but light and fluffy inside.

It is easy to make since the batter is made of dosa rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, puffed rice, and salt.

The mixture is fermented for 8hrs and then fried on a flat pan, topped with onions, carrots, lentils, and other herbs. Served with chutney and sambar.

#3. Cornmeal side dish, ugali

This one is a corn-based side dish in Africa that is served like polentas. It is made by mixing corn flour, water, and salt.

It is then cooked slowly, forming a thick, white paste, and then rolled to make ugali balls.

It can be sweetened by rolling in sugar or could be dipped in the sauce of savory foods.

#4. Upma for an Indian breakfast

For a vegan, healthy breakfast, you can easily make an upma. It is a popular breakfast meal in southern India and in Sri Lanka.

It is a rice porridge made with dry-roasted rice flour and mixed with mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, green chili, turmeric, onion, tomatoes, coriander, lime juice, and salt.

#5. Ube ice cream to beat the heat

Purple yam or ube is a famous root crop in Southeast Asia. It is known for its natural sweetness and smooth texture.

It can be made into local delicacies or in this case, ice cream. For this, you must mix powdered ube, whole milk, sugar, heavy cream, and ube extract.

Churn the mixture for 20mins and freeze for about 2hrs. Serve.

#6. World famous upside down cake

This popular English cake is called as such because it is made by layering fruits at the base of the pan and then pouring the cake mix on top of it to be baked.

After the baking time, it is flipped over, exposing evenly caramelized fruits.

The most used fruits for upside down cake are pineapples, cherry, bananas, berries, and dashed with a choice of nuts.

#7. Exotic yet creamy uni pasta

Uni or sea urchin is considered as an exotic delicacy which requires thorough knowledge on preparation and cooking as it is considered poisonous.

In Japanese cuisine, uni is often made as soup but now, it has gained its way towards being used in pasta.

It is infused in making white sauce along with white wine, salt, Mexican cream, chives, pepper, shallots, olive oil, hot chili spread, and white sake.

#8. All-day urda pancakes

Urda cheese is the Romanian version of ricotta. Urda pancakes are savory and sweet, making it an all-day meal.

To start, mix spring onions, dill, parsley, basil, leurda, and basil. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Add the urda cheese, eggs, flour, and oil. Fry, flip, stack and top with syrup of choice, or shreds of urda cheese.

#9. Spicy urad dal soup

Urad dal is one of India’s most popular ingredients. It is basically black lentils added in curries, and in making Indian seasonings like garam masala.

For a spicy urad dal soup, pressure cook the dal and then add ginger, paprika, cayenne, and turmeric.

Simmer and then add tomatoes, garam masala, garlic, and then add veggie stock to simmer down again. Season, add coriander, and butter. Serve with roti.

#10. Umbricelli pasta, a culinary treat

The umbricelli pasta looks like a thicker spaghetti, cut from hand-pulled dough. After kneading, pulling, and dusting with flour, cook al dente on water, olive oil, and salt.

The sauce is simply made of anchovies, black truffle, salt, and veggie stock. Toss in the pasta and serve with grated truffle on top. Best served with your favorite wine.

#11. Perfect combo unagi and rice

Unagi is the Japanese term for freshwater eel and is a local delicacy that is either steamed or grilled.

It is also a favorite for nigiri sushi. For this, cook rice and then heat the broiler. Mix rice vinegar, scallions, sesame oil, and fish sauce.

Skin the unagi, and then broil for a few minutes. Cut the unagi and pour sauce. Serve with rice.

#12. Loaded umami burger

The word umami refers more to one seasoning that has a range of food tangs, making dishes more flavorful.

For this, you must first work on marinating ground beef on miso paste. Grill the beef and work on your toasted brioche bun.

Fix with mushrooms, lettuce and tomatoes. Spread with mayonnaise. For the fixings, fry strips of sweet potatoes. Serve.

#13. Traditional Ukrainian rolls

Locally called as Pampushki, Ukrainian rolls are pull-apart garlic bread served in every meal among traditional Ukrainian households.

Rye is added to the dough. After kneading and fermentation, the dough is punched to make 6-8 dough balls.

It is then baked for 20mins and topped with chives and parsley.

#14. Filipino dessert ube halaya

Purple yam is abundant in the Philippines and the ingenious Filipinos never fell short of making food out of it.

It is made by steaming a mixture of mashed ube, butter, coconut milk, and sugar. It is then topped with latik or fried coconut crumbs or grated cheese.

It is also used as filling for pastries, cakes, and for halo-halo, another Filipino dessert.

#15. Symbolic ul boov

This Mongolian layered biscuit is more than just baked dough. Each layer represents age, and social status.

It is made as a family during the lunar New Year. Each ul boov is intricately designed.

Elders usually have 7-layered ul boovs while adults have 5 and young kids have 1.

#16. Fried Utah scones

As the name says, this one is popular in Utah and it looks more like doughnuts than scones.

It starts with making the dough, kneading it and cutting it into dough balls. And then it is deep fried for 2mins each side.

It is topped with maple syrup, honey, butter or powdered sugar.

#17. Crunchy urap sayur salad

This one is a famous Indonesian salad made with the mix of various steamed veggies and grated coconut topping which makes it crunchy.

The common vegetables used for urap sayur are spinach, mung beans, long beans, cabbage, papaya leaves, and cassava leaves.

The coconut shreds are also cooked with lots of herbs and spices so you get a crunchy and aromatic flair for this salad.

#18. Serbian ustipci

This pastry is served traditionally as a snack or breakfast meal in northern Serbia. It is prepared like the Utah scones but with the addition of two shots of brandy.

And then deep fry the circled doughs until golden brown. It is served with icing sugar, cream, or jam.

#19. Uszka Polish dumplings

Uszka, also called as little ears because they are shaped as such, are one of the three traditional dumplings filled with savory fillings.

Of course, it starts with the dough. For the filling, mushroom and onions are sauteed in butter.

Then, it is mixed with egg, parsley, and breadcrumbs until it becomes pasty. It is folded in the 2-inch dough and then dropped in a boiling broth to cook.

#20. Uunijuusto Finnish cheese dish

The uunijuusto refers to the Finnish cheese made from the mix of cow’s milk and the colostrum of a mother cow.

It is baked to form a custard-like cheese. Some bake it with sweet potatoes, but others just bake it with eggs, and salt for more taste.

#21. Russian ukha fish soup

It comes in many versions and as such, many names, but Russians refer to fish soup as uha. It can be made of cod, salmon, pike, or perch.

The fish is then brought to boil along with celery, onions, carrons, black peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley, and dill.

It is served with fish dumplings or fish pies.

#22. Urnebes salad from Serbia

Popular in southern Serbia, this one is unlike any salad because it is mixed with a lot of pepper.

The first thing to do is mash sheep’s cheese or feta cheese.

Toss in the garlic, olive oil, cayenne pepper, roasted red peppers, cream, egg yolks, and ajvar. Mix well. Shape as desired and serve.

#23. Ugnspannkaka, Swedish pancakes

We all dig pancakes, but there is something about this traditional Swedish, savory, oven pancakes that make it a standout.

The batter is made of milk, flour, salt, oil and butter. Fry the bacon and cut into strips.

Place the bacon in a baking pan and pour the batter on it. Bake for 25mins and serve with jam.

#24. South African umngqusho

This samp and beans dish from South Africa comes with many variants. It could be made of purely veggies or it could also be dashed with lard or fat.

It is made by softening the samp and beans for 30mins. They are then cooked for 30mins along with potatoes, onion, and tomatoes.

As it boils, they are seasoned vegetable bouillon cubes, salt, and curry powder.

#25. Humble umble pie

This one originated in southern France and started as an ‘unpleasant’ dish for many because traditionally, the filling was made of scrap meat parts and innards.

Today, the umble pie became the humble pie, filled with berries and peaches, or savory flavors from bacon and meat.

#26. Chinese udo

Aside from warming tummies since the 13^th century, udo soup is also considered as an aphrodisiac since the udo is a ginseng-like plant.

The udo is peeled and sliced thinly and then soaked in vinegar and water. The wakame is softened next. Boil the two for 20mins and serve with kinome.

#27. Uyghur lamb skewers

The uighurs are in the limelight lately because of political issues that are displacing them in their ancestral lands. But before all of this, they have the best lamb skewers one could taste.

Only the best lamb meat. Marinated for 8hrs or overnight, they are then grilled in skewers. Best served with Uyghur bread.

#28. Japanese uiro, sweet rice dessert

This Japanese delicacy is interesting since it is cooked with different textures depending on where you are in Japan.

But the base ingredients of this sweet rice dessert is cake flour, warabi flour, sugar, and water.

The mixture is microwaved for 10mins, chilled for hours, and then cut. You can make colorful ones by adding food dye in the mixture.

#29. Ulava charu, spicy horse gram soup

This one is one of the healthiest legume soup which originated in Andhra Pradesh in India.

The soup is made from boiling in horse gram, tamarind gooseberry, turmeric, onion, garlic, chili, cumin, fenugreek seeds, and coriander.

#30. Uzbekistan osh

It was first called as osh but now more famous for the name plov is the national dish of Uzbekistan.

It was then only served during weddings and important events but is now considered an everyday meal.

It is made of top quality lamb shoulder, and spiced with coriander, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, pepper, cumin, and salt. The rice is stirred in the same spices and the lamb meat is topped on the rice.

Conclusion

U foods are a delight because they feature a lot of exotic regional foods that we only get to hear of in this list.

Foods that start with U are not just interesting to know but also quite easy to cook. If you want to taste any of these foods starting with U, you can try it anytime as they only come in simple steps.

Tell us what you think about these foods starting with U by reacting and commenting on this post. Like and share if you have enjoyed sifting through various U foods around the world.

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30 Tasty Foods That Start With ‘U’