Bhutan Street Food

Bhutan's food culture centers on chili as a vegetable, not just a seasoning, and one fiery stew shows up at nearly every meal.

🌶️ In Bhutan's national dish, chilies aren't a garnish — they're the main vegetable, eaten by the plateful.

5 street food dishes from Bhutan — what each one is, why it's made that way, and what to expect when you order it.

🗺️ Open the interactive view Filter by diet & time of day

Signature street foods of Bhutan

🥃 Home-Brewed Spirit · Farmhouse Distillate Ara It's sometimes served hot with a scrambled egg and butter stirred right into the glass, turning the spirit into something closer to a savory broth. Ara is a clear, home-distilled liquor made from fermented rice, maize, wheat, or barley depending on the region and season. Traditionally distilled by women of the household, it's poured…

National Dish · Chili & Cheese Stew Ema Datshi It's treated less like a spicy condiment and more like a vegetable dish in its own right — whole chilies are the bulk of the meal, not a garnish on… Whole green or red chilies are simmered with a soft, local farmer's cheese (datshi) until they soften into a thick, fiery stew, usually eaten scooped up with red rice. It's served at food… 🍵 Everyday Drink · Butter Tea Suja (Butter Tea) Bhutanese households drink this tea by the bowlful all day long — but it's churned with yak butter and salt, never sugar. Strong black tea is churned together with yak butter and salt until it turns frothy and pale, then served hot in small bowls, often alongside puffed rice. Poured throughout the day and…

Street Icon · Steamed Dumplings Momo Bhutanese momo are often judged by their pleating — a well-crimped dumpling with a dozen or more folds is considered a mark of a skilled cook. Momo are hand-pleated dumplings filled with minced beef, pork, or cheese and datshi, folded into small parcels and steamed in stacked bamboo baskets over boiling water. Street stalls in…

Festival Snack · Fried Pastry Khapse Some khapse shapes are reserved strictly for festivals — big, ornate ear- or bow-shaped pieces are stacked into towers as offerings and are rarely… Khapse is a deep-fried biscuit made from a stiff dough of flour, butter, egg, and sugar, twisted, braided, or cut into shapes before being fried in hot oil until golden and crisp. Vendors…

More street food in Asia

Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Photo credits.