Serious Eats
Destination Dinners Offers DIY Ethnic Recipe Kits
Ever wanted to make exotic, ethnic dishes but had idea where to even begin? Destination Dinners aims to simplify the process by selling DIY recipe kits specific to each region, complete with all the major ingredients, pre-measured spices, a shopping list for additionally required fresh ingredients, and also includes a trivia card to boost your cultural knowledge.
The kits look like they belong more in a science lab than a kitchen, but if you're feeling intimidated by shopping at ethnic groceries for your first attempt at cooking chicken garam masala, it's a helpful baby step. The range of dishes is pretty impressive for its variety, with kits for kibbeh bil-saneeyeh (baked spice lamb) from Lebanon, saikyo miso (black cod in miso marinade) from Kyoto, or jerk chicken and shrimp BBQ from Jamaica.
Sounds a little lazy, to be honest, but some people have found it helpful in their forays in exploring foreign cuisine. Each kit sells for $25, or alternatively, you can sign up for the passport program, which operates very much like a wine club in that you get a new recipe kit from a different country each month ($228 for six months, $441 for one year).