What is ema datshi? The curious origins of Bhutan's beloved fiery cheese dish

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Here's the only thing you need to know about Bhutanese cuisine: in this country, chilli is not considered a spice. It's a vegetable. It's something you cook with as if it were a potato, or a zucchini. You don't even concern yourself with the fact that your main ingredient, the basis of the entire dish, is just chillies.

So yes, it's fair to say the Bhutanese don't mind a bit of heat, and perhaps the prime example is the national dish, ema datshi. The name is simple if you speak Dzongkha: "ema" means chilli, and "datshi" means cheese. Those are the two main ingredients, and pretty much all this dish is made of. Just red or green chillies, sliced and stir-fried, and drowned in a sauce made from rich yak's milk cheese. Ema datshi is served with rice, and sometimes ezay, a condiment made of – you guessed it – chillies.

FIRST SERVE

Given it's wedged between India and China, two vastly influential food-loving nations, you could expect Bhutan to take its gastronomic cues from those neighbours. However, that isn't really the case. This mountainous kingdom does things its own way, and its cuisine is more reflective of Tibet that anywhere else. The Bhutanese have long used yak cheese, a Tibetan staple; however, when chillies were introduced from Latin America (via India) in the early 17th century, a nationwide obsession was born.

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If a restaurant in Bhutan serves local food, it will serve ema datshi. In the capital, Thimphu, try Zombala 2 Restaurant (Norzin Lam 1, Thimphu).

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Sydneysiders will struggle to find ema datshi close by; however, in Canberra, try the Druk Family Restaurant (thedrukfamilyrestaurant.com). In Melbourne, the closest you will get to Bhutanese food is Wild Yak (wildyakrestaurant.com), a Tibetan eatery.

ONE MORE THING

Ema datshi is not just a single dish, but the basis of many staples on the Bhutanese table. Add potato and you have kewa datshi. Add mushrooms and you have shamu datshi. Throw in some dried beef and you have shakam datshi. And so on.