There’s much more to the Netherlands than tulips, windmills, and bicycles. In fact, the Dutch street food game is pretty incredible, so we’re going to introduce you to 4 of Holland’s most popular snacks! First, there’s kaassoufflé, which is a fried puff pastry pocket with ooey, gooey cheese inside. There’s also bitterballen, which is basically stew that’s breaded and fried. Then there’s bamischijf, an Indonesian noodle dish that’s also breaded and deep-fried. Last but not least, there’s kipcorn, which is essentially a majorly upgraded version of chicken nuggets. Yeah, our mouth is watering too!
1. Kaassoufflé – Fried Cheese Pastries
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
You’ll Need:
- 1 puff pastry sheet
- 1 block of Gouda (approx. 10 oz), cut into rectangles
- 2 whisked eggs for the egg wash
- whisked egg + bread crumbs for the breading
Here’s How:
1.1 Heat a pot with cooking oil. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 6 equal squares and put 1 rectangular piece of Gouda in the lower half of each square.
1.2 Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry edges, fold the dough over the cheese, and press down lightly to seal the edges.
1.3 Dredge the pastry pockets in whisked egg and bread crumbs and fry in hot oil until golden brown.
2. Bitterballen – Fried Beef Bombs
Yield: 10
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
You’ll Need:
- 10 oz ground beef
- ¼ stick butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp beef broth
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 cup shredded Gouda
- salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste
- whisked egg + bread crumbs for the breading
Here’s How:
2.1 Brown the ground beef and set aside. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onions in it. Add the flour and sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Gradually stir in the beef broth and milk and let everything simmer for about 5 minutes over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool, and stir in 1 egg. Add the ground beef, parsley, and shredded Gouda to the mixture, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and mix well. Refrigerate the mixture for about 90 minutes.
2.2 Slightly wet your hands and form balls out of the refrigerated mixture. Dredge each ball in bread crumbs, whisked egg, and bread crumbs once again. Refrigerate the balls for 90 minutes and then fry them in hot cooking oil until golden brown.
3. Bamischijf – Fried Pasta Balls
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
You’ll Need:
- ¼ stick butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 12 oz cooked pasta (e.g. fettuccine)
- 3 scallions, diced
- 1 red chili pepper, diced
- 2–3 tbsp soy sauce
- whisked egg + bread crumbs for the breading
Here’s How:
3.1 Cook the pasta, and once the noodles have cooled, cut them into smaller segments. Melt the butter in a frying pan over low heat and stir in the flour until combined. Gradually pour in the chicken broth and stir until all of the clumps have dissolved.
3.2 Add the cooked pasta, scallions, chili pepper, and soy sauce to the sauce and stir until combined. Once the mixture has cooled, divide it between 6 muffin molds and freeze the pan for 30 minutes.
3.3 Remove the pasta balls from the muffin pan, dredge them in whisked egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot cooking oil until golden brown.
4. Kipcorn – Fried Chicken Fingers
Yield: 10
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
You’ll Need:
- 14 oz chicken breast, chilled
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- salt to taste
- 10–15 leaves fresh cilantro
- flour + whisked egg + crushed corn flakes for the breading
Here’s How:
4.1 Put the chicken breast, garlic, onion powder, salt, and cilantro in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag.
4.2 Prepare the breading station with flour, whisked eggs, and crushed corn flakes.
4.3 Squeeze medium-length sticks out of the piping bag straight into the flour – the length should be about as long as mozzarella or fish sticks. Once the stick is the right length, cut it off with a pair of scissors. Dredge each stick in flour, egg, and crushed corn flakes and fry in hot cooking oil until golden brown.
Not only are these deep-fried street food snacks super tasty, they’re also super easy to make! If you’ve already visited the Netherlands, they’ll be a nice reminder of the delicious food there. If not, you might find yourself inspired to take a virtual trip. As they say in Holland, Eet smakelijk!