From the famous dalgona coffee to the popular sushi bake, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about the most viral food trends to date. Now, almost two years into the pandemic, the list of food trends just keeps growing. With this, here is the pandemic, as told through food:
[ March 2020 ]: Dalgona Coffee
One of the trademarks of the first lockdown is the famous dalgona coffee. Originating from South Korea, this trend is a modern spin-off to their classic dalgona candy. Dalgona, which stems from South Korea, is candy made out of cooled melted sugar. It eventually rose to prominence once Buzzfeed’s Inga Lam posted a video of her attempts to follow the trend.
Pretty soon, everybody picked up on this trend and started to recreate the coffee concoction. Almost every other person and their mom were participating in the trend. Jokes aside, this is one of the easiest recipes to accomplish on the list. Made with an equal ratio of instant coffee, sugar, water, and an arm exercise, this recipe is pretty straightforward and easy to do at home.
A link to the recipe: https://youtu.be/hixQ_-VtElM
[ April 2020 ]: Pancake Cereal
Soon after, mini versions of everything became the new trend. People began creating mini pancakes and eating them with milk as a spin-off to the classic cereal and milk combination. Using a spoon, people cooked small droplets of pancake batter until they turned brown and then ate them in a bowl filled with fresh milk – applying a minimalist approach to the pancakes we currently know.
A link to the recipe: https://www.saltysidedish.com/mini-pancake-cereal/
[ Summer of 2020 ]: Sushi Bake
One of the most famous food trends to emerge from the pandemic was sushi bake. While it wasn’t invented during the pandemic, it rose in popularity during the lockdown. Somewhat considered a Filipino take on Japanese cuisine, sushi bake is similar to a rice casserole. After being topped with seafood that varies from artificial crab sticks to fresh tuna, it is then seasoned with furikake (a Japanese rice seasoning) and mixed with Japanese mayonnaise. Because of the popularity of these, small home-based businesses started opening up everywhere selling this Japanese-fusion casserole.
A link to the recipe: https://youtu.be/jqN_GhXuD8k
[ Summer of 2020 ]: Cloud Bread
There was a time in the pandemic when everybody was making whipped versions of everything (ie. dalgona coffee, cloud eggs, cloud bread). The cloud bread was a byproduct of this trend.
Cloud bread isn’t particularly the most flavorful baked good, but it became famous due to its visual aesthetic. Similar to the beating technique that defines dalgona coffee, this recipe is done by beating egg whites repeatedly until frothy. Afterwards, sugar and cornstarch are added and beaten until stiff peaks are formed. Once baked and cut into, the texture of the bread resembles cotton puffs or even clouds, hence its name.
A link to the recipe: https://tasty.co/recipe/tiktok-cloud-bread
[Oct. 2020]: Ube Cheese Pandesal
The ube rendition of the ever-popular home staple grew popular on social media during the pandemic. Made by adding fresh yam to the dough and filling it with cheese, the sweet and savory contrast of the ube and cheese allowed the pandesal flavor to balance out. Soon, home bakers everywhere started making these and selling them via social media. Although this version of the familiar Filipino snack started to gain prominence during the lockdown, recipes with this specific combination can be found long before it.
A link to the recipe: https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/ube-cheese-pandesal/
[ March-April 2021 ]: Baked Feta Pasta
Feta cheese pasta was a viral trend not too long ago, rising to popularity because of its healthy ingredients and simplicity. The tomatoes and feta cheese are baked in the oven and then topped with macaroni pasta. This simple recipe was recreated everywhere as it was quick and fairly easy to make.
A link to the recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a35421563/baked-feta-pasta-tiktok/
[ Summer of 2021 ]: Bento Vintage Cakes
Also known as Pinterest cakes, these bento vintage cakes originated from South Korea. People began to create miniature cakes the size of lunchboxes. These cakes were designed either in a minimalist or vintage maximalist aesthetic. The cakes started to gain popularity due to their small single-serving size, which allowed people to eat the cake all by themselves – a treat gladly welcomed by sweet-tooths globally.
A link to the recipe: https://youtu.be/pMYV1-yZsdo
[ September 2021 ]: Dalgona Candy
Squid Game, known for its unique storyline, was one of the most popular K-dramas in 2021. Released in September, it quickly gained popularity and instantly became a crowd favorite. One of the trademark items from this K-drama was the dalgona candy from one of the games. Although already a staple in South Korea, fans with Squid Game fever began to attempt to make these at home after watching the show, just to simulate the experience.
A link to the recipe: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/dalgona-spongy-candy/
When everything closed down and lives started to change, food remained one of the few constant things in our lives, and because of this, everyone started making the food they craved at home—fueling these food trends. Since then, it has become hard to imagine our pandemic experience without these homemade concoctions. After all, what’s lockdown without dalgona coffee or the famed sushi bake?
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